1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
Romans 8: 28-30
Matthew 13:44-46
Bishop Untener's Homily
Two Fascinating Stories
Those two parables of Jesus catch the imagination. We can picture a poor farm laborer working in the field, working with a hoe or something like that, and by accident, just beneath the surface he hits something hard, uncovers it, and it's a wooden box with a great treasure in it.
The other parable involves, not a poor man, but a well-to-do merchant who travels to far-away places. One day he sees a pile of so-so pearls and suddenly, in amongst them is a pearl that looks like the rest, but his practiced eye can see that it is a magnificent pearl worth a fortune.
More Than Fascinating Stories
Jesus didn't tell these fascinating stories just to entertain his audience. What is Jesus teaching us?
Remember, in both cases the valuable discovery was right there in front of everyone else. The treasure was just beneath the surface of a field that people passed by or walked through all the time. The pearl was in open sight, on a table with all the other pearls. It's just that nobody noticed.
Here's what I want you to do. Take just a few seconds now and look ahead to the things coming up in your life this week. It doesn't have to be something special - just the regular stuff of the week. Take 20 seconds to think about your schedule this week.
[20 second pause]
Okay. Now, the panorama of the week in your mind right now... just beneath the surface of everything in it, and mixed together with everything that's part of it, is a great treasure. It is God. Imagine. God mixed in with all that. God is in all this week's stuff, present, active, part of it, with you, helping you, asking you simply to do your best to bring some goodness to it.
What a treasure! To have God there - especially in some of the things that aren't entirely pleasant, or are boring. What a treasure to have God there.
Now, I have to tell you something. During that pause when we all thought about the coming week... I know what Fr. Jack was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing. On this coming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 12 of us Saginaw priests are playing in our annual three-day golf tournament with the Detroit priests. We've been doing this for nearly 20 years, and the number of tournaments won by each team is about even, which means we have to take this year's match very seriously!
So, this week I'm going to have to think about God on that golf course. And I can tell you when it's going to be difficult. When I'm in a sand trap. Imagine. I'm going to have to think about God being with me in a sand trap! Of all places.
But that's the point. God is with us in everything, and it's especially difficult to notice God's presence in the not-so-good parts of our lives, or in the regular, routine parts of our lives. But God is there, even though God's presence can go unnoticed - just like no one noticed the treasure in that field, or that magnificent pearl in that pile of pearls.
Not "Up There" Looking Down
Now I know and you know that "God is everywhere." But that can be just an abstract thought. It's different when you picture God in the day-to-day things of my life. You see it's not God looking down on us from a distance. It's God in the mix of it all.
Remember. We're not pretending God is there. We're realizing and experiencing the up-close presence of God with us.
And... God isn't there as a spectator. God is part of it. This is God's world. We are God's daughters and sons. God is there in the thick of it to help.
It makes a difference. I know. I tried it. These past couple of days when I was thinking about this homily and came upon this insight, I started trying it. I can tell you first-hand, it makes a difference.
Did you notice in both those parables... the result was joy? The treasure of God's presence is always uplifting. It brings a certain peace, a certain sense of purpose, a pleasant feeling.
The Dismissal Rite at Mass
I close with a thought that I hope will help me and help you notice the presence of God all week long. One of the small parts of the Mass, but an important one, is what we do at the very end. As a matter of fact, it's how the Mass got its name. When the Mass was said in Latin, the priest said, "Ite missa est," which literally means, "Go, it is the sending," but was often translated, "Go, the Mass is ended." The Latin word "missa" is the word for sending. (In aeronautics we have the English word "missile" which means something sent into the air.) That's where the word "Mass" came from.
At the end of Mass, we don't just get up and leave. We are blessed and sent. In other words, we come here for an hour a week so that we can live our faith out there during the other 167 hours of the week.
The Church's ritual has a number of different blessings that can be used in the Dismissal Rite, and I want to read excerpts from a couple of them to you. They take on new meaning in the light of what we've just been talking about.
God has called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. May you experience his kindness and blessings, and be strong in faith, in hope and in love... May he make you a light to all your sisters and brothers.
By faith you rose with Christ in baptism. May your lives be holy so that you will be united with him forever.
You believe that Jesus has taken his seat at the right hand of the Father. May you have the joy of experiencing that he is also with you to the end of time.
May God free you from all anxiety... May he enrich you with his gifts of faith, hope, and love, so that what you do in this life will bring you to the happiness of everlasting life.
Lord, we pray for your people who believe in you. May they enjoy the gift of your love, share it with others, and spread it everywhere.
We are blessed and sent with beautiful words like that. I pray that this ritual at the end of every Mass will help us carry the treasure of God's presence into the week. Remember what St. Paul said in our second reading: "All things work together for good for those who love God."
Originally given on July 28, 2002