Our Lord speaks to us of the treasure hidden in a field, then found, and the finder selling up everything in order to possess it. Joyfully giving up everything. It is a beautiful and powerful comparison that speaks to us in the depths of our hearts. The grace of the Holy Spirit enables us to recognise our call, to listen for it and to respond to it. Giving up possessions is just stage one : what has to follow in self renunciation, living in obedience and, as years go by, in submission, is not easy for fallen humanity, be it in the family, at school, in the workplace or in the monastery. In times of darkness, such as St Therese and St Teresa of Calcutta experienced, the treasure can seem illusory. The treasure is real, but it is spiritually perceived, and in those times of darkness the perception is hidden. Faith is our light. Hope assures of the strength of God’s grace and he pours his love into our hearts so that we may know him as our shield and our great reward : he alone can satisfy our hearts. Perseverance is his gift.
If we turn over a few pages of the Gospel of St Matthew we come to the call of the rich young man who kept the commandments and asked Jesus what he lacked. Jesus invited him to sell his possessions, to transfer his treasure to the future life. The man could not face the challenge. He was in bondage to his possessions. He went away sorrowful, but what must have been the sorrow of Our Lord? He is himself the treasure in the field, and it was he himself who was rejected.
Such great challenges come to us seldom, but the lesser ones comes very often, often even in a day. We do well to be alert to them so that we may learn to renounce our petty interests and open our selves to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. The life of the kingdom, the life of the Spirit within us, is open to indefinite growth. The joy Our Lord speaks of is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the pledge that we are on the right track, that Jesus is indeed our Leader to life. Let us renounce our selfishness so that we enter joyfully into the kingdom. Thy kingdom come!