The Best Investment: Investing Everything. 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Today's liturgy is about investment. Financial experts may recommend something else, but those who understand the dynamics of the spiritual life know that the greatest investment is the one in which we give our all.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a treasure hidden in a field, to a pearl of great value, and, finally, to a net cast into the sea. The first two parables are particularly similar, both in their message and in the response they require. The man who finds the treasure and the merchant who discovers the pearl both come to the same conclusion: what they have found is worth more than everything else they possess. Ordinary human prudence alone would lead them to sell everything they have in order to obtain something infinitely more valuable.

These parables appeal not only to our intellect but also to our freedom. They demand a decision. Once the treasure is discovered, neutrality is no longer possible. Either one turns away from it or gives up everything to possess it. The central question of today’s liturgy is, therefore, this: What is our response to our encounter with Christ? Are we willing to stake everything on Him? We cannot possess the treasure of the Kingdom while clinging tightly to lesser things. To attain the greater good, we must be willing to let go of false securities, selfish ambitions, and so on. 

At the same time, Jesus is realistic. Not everyone finds the treasure, and not everyone who finds it is willing to pay the price necessary to possess it. That is why the last parable speaks of the net that gathers fish of every kind and of the separation that will take place at the end of time. The Gospel reminds us that our decisions have eternal consequences. Therefore, we are encouraged not only to actively seek the treasure of the Kingdom, but also to have the courage to acquire it at any cost.

The figure of Solomon in the first reading is a beautiful example of someone who made the right investment. At the beginning of his reign, the Lord gave him what we might call a blank check: “Ask me for whatever you want me to give you”. Solomon could have asked for power, a long life, or the defeat of his enemies. However, he asked for something greater: “Grant, then, your servant a discerning heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil.".

In Solomon’s request, we see the greatness of his soul. He recognized the true pearl of great value and refused to settle for lesser things. Solomon became famous throughout the world for his wisdom. God delights in a magnanimous heart—a heart that seeks the eternal rather than the fleeting. The only investment that never fails is a total investment in God. The Kingdom costs everything because it gives everything.