This Sunday’s readings reminded me of a famous Congolese comedy. It is about a journalist who asks a young man, “what do you want to become in life?” Without thinking, the young man replies “Rich, that’s all”. The sketch became famous because of the intensity of and simplicity of the answer. His greatest dream was simply to become rich. One can easily imagine that person with such an ambition would be willing to invest all his strength, intelligence, time, and resources to achieve that goal, perhaps even putting his own life at risk. 

Now let us take this reflection a step further. Imagine that tonight God appears to you , just as He appeared to Solomon in the first reading, and says, “Ask for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” What would your answer be? Would you ask for wealth? Power? Good health? Success? A long life? Beauty? Peace in your family? Or even something else? In fact, when Solomon had the had the opportunity to ask for anything, he did not ask for material things or power. He just asked for a listening heart. , a heart capable of distinguishing good from evil and listening God’s people with wisdom. God admired his request because he did not search for personal advantage, but for the good of others. 

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field and another who discovers a pearl of great value. Both of them make the same decision, they sell everything they have in order to get that treasure. They have a great longing for the treasure; they search until they find it. Jesus wants to tell us that the Kingdom of God is worth more than anything else. It cannot be equated to anything else, nor can’t be secondary. The kingdom of God is a priority. “See first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you as well” (Mt 6:33).  

But, let us notice two important things. First, In the First reading Grace comes first: Solomon does not earn God’s appearance. It is God who takes initiative and offers him a gift. Wisdom is received as a gift from God. Second, in the Gospel, there is Human response. The man discovers the treasure and then freely decides to sell everything to obtain it. In the same way, the merchant actively searches for fine pearls before finding the one of great value. Here, the kingdom is a gift, but demands human cooperation also. These two aspects together make us understand God’s grace and human cooperation. The Kingdom of God or any spiritual gift cannot is fist of all the fruit of God’s grace. However, we are called to search, to discern as cooperation to this grace. The treasure is there but only those who search and discern recognize it. 

Today’s readings are calling us to ask ourselves: what is the treasure I am seeking every day? What occupies most of my time, my thoughts and my energy?

To answer to these questions, we need the wisdom like that Solomon asked for. The world today tells us that the greatest treasures are wealth, power, fame, and success. Without wisdom, we may spend all our lives chasing these things and discover later that they are temporary and cannot satisfy our hearts. We have seen rich, powerful and famous men and women disappear without taking of their possessions with them. Some achieved many things, but still with unsatisfied hearts; as St. Augustine has said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord”. The greatest treasure should be Christ Himself and His Kingdom. When we discover this, He becomes our priority and we use all that we are and all that we have to let Him be our priority. Finally we also discover that we don’t lose anything, but we gain everything. 

To conclude, let’s return  to the comedy with which we begun. In fact, the young man wanted only one thing, to be rich (wealth) . Solomon wanted something greater, wisdom. And Jesus invites us to desire something even greater: the Kingdom of God, the only treasure that gives meaning to any other treasure and that will never perish. This is precisely what Saint Paul reminds us in the second reading by teaching that “all things work together for good for those who love God” (Rm 8:28). When God becomes our greatest treasure, every other good finds its proper place. 

1.-If God were to ask me today, “Ask for whatever you want, and I will give it to you,” what would I ask for? Would my answer reveal that I seek God’s Kingdom above all else, or that my heart is still attached to other treasures?

2.-What occupies most of my time, energy, and thoughts each day? Does the way I live show that Christ and His Kingdom are my greatest treasure, and what might I need to let go of in order to make Him my first priority?