Sunday the 26th of July 2026 -The Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 3:5-6a, 7-12/ Ps 119(118)/ Romans 8:28-30/

Matthew 13:44-52

Today we live in a time of instant answers. If we want to know something, anything at all, we simply take out our phones and ask. When I was young, things were different. We had an encyclopaedia on the bookshelf at home, along with a dictionary or two and the Bible. If those did not have the answer, we could go to the library and research the query. Today we have the whole of human knowledge in the palm of our hand. With all this knowledge at our fingertips, are we any wiser? Knowledge is not the same thing as wisdom. Knowledge is information, wisdom is knowing what to do with it. Our phones can give us endless facts, but they cannot give us a discerning heart, which is what the readings today tell us is the treasure worth seeking above all others.

In the first reading God spoke to the young King Solomon in a dream and offered to give him anything he asked for. It was a test of sorts, if that offer was made to us what would we ask for? Wealth, health, a long life, success for our children? Solomon, at the beginning of his reign and feeling the weight of his responsibility, asked for something different, he asked for an understanding heart to judge his people and to distinguish right from wrong. He did not ask for power, but for a discerning heart. Solomon became a byword for wisdom throughout the ages. True wisdom is so much more than knowledge. It is knowledge deepened by discernment, warmed by compassion, and directed towards the good. Wisdom takes what we know and lets it shape how we live. It gives us the ability to see beneath the surface of things, to recognise what truly matters. The psalm for today looks towards the same truth calling God's law more precious than piles of silver and gold. To be wise is to value God's word above any earthly treasure, because God's word is a light for the path, an understanding for the simple.

In the Gospel passage Jesus gives three snapshots of the Kingdom of Heaven. A man finds a treasure hidden in a field and sells all he has to buy the field. A merchant, searching for fine pearls, finds one of great value and sells all he has to buy it. A net is cast into the sea, gathering fish of every kind, which are then sorted at the end of the day.

The man in the field is looking for something. He finds a great treasure hidden in the field and must sell all he has to buy the field. The merchant was looking for pearls, and when he found one of great value, he committed everything he had to possess it. The Kingdom of Heaven calls for that same active seeking and that same total commitment. We do not simply drift into the Kingdom of God. We must desire it, seek it, and when we find it, we must be willing to reorder our lives around it. The treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great value, represent the Kingdom of Heaven. We find it through prayer, knowledge of scripture, our faith, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We sell all we have by giving up the things this world presents as treasure to obtain the true treasure of the Kingdom of God. This is the wisdom Solomon asked for. It is the discerning heart that recognises the treasure and the pearl when it sees it and has the courage to give up everything else to hold onto it. The parable of the net full of fish sorted into the good and bad, shows us how important it is to seek out what is truly valuable to us. Not the passing glitter of earthly wealth but the lasting treasure of Heaven. We are reminded that wisdom matters, discernment is a necessity. We must know what is truly valuable so that we become the good catch in the net.

At the conclusion of the passage Jesus gives the image of the householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old. Through our faith we have an inheritance two thousand years in the making and rooted even further back in the covenants with Israel. The old treasures remain, the creed, the sacraments, the prayers we learned as children, the hymns we still sing in church, the moral wisdom that has guided generations. Then there are the new treasures, the renewed liturgy given to us by the Second Vatican Council, new ways of serving the poor, new movements of the Spirit. A wise Christian, like a good householder, treasures both.

In the second reading Saint Paul assures us that God wishes us to be conformed to the image of his Son. Our faith calls us to become like Christ, to share in his eternal life. At Mass, in the Eucharist, we have the source and summit of our faith, this is the treasure of the Kingdom of God, this is the pearl of great price, Jesus, given to us in body, blood, soul, and divinity. Every other treasure in this world will one day pass away, only this one lasts. We need the discernment asked for by Solomon to understand what we receive in the Eucharist. With a full understanding of the knowledge we have we would indeed sell all we have to obtain it. The holy martyrs down the ages understood this and gave their lives for the only thing that matters, being chosen as the good catch at the end of time.

Today let our prayer be for the wisdom of Solomon, for a discerning heart which recognises true treasure when we find it. Let us actively seek the Kingdom in prayer, in scripture, in the sacraments, in service to God and our neighbour. Let us be ready to give up whatever holds us back from possessing the one thing that truly matters. May the Lord grant us a wise and discerning heart, so we may find the treasure, buy the field, and rejoice forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

God Bless Brendan.