Pearl – Daily Graces

This Sunday’s Gospel reading includes some famous imagery. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure in a field, or a pearl of great price. In both instances, a person happens upon their desired object, surprised to discover it. They swiftly go to sell all they have so they can purchase their prize, so precious it is to them.

Jesus is a master storyteller. There is so much to unpack and explore in His teachings and parables. While there are a number of angles to approach Jesus’ parables, I’d like to hold up Ignatian Contemplation, or Imaginative Prayer, as an excellent way to spend time with these parables. If you are not familiar with Ignatian imaginative prayer, or Ignatian spirituality in general, Ignatianspirituality.com is a great resource for you to check out. In a most basic definition, Ignatian imaginative prayer involves placing yourself in the scene depicted by Scripture, something from the Gospels most often, though this method is not exclusive to the Gospels. You might be a bystander in the scene, observing as things unfold. Or, you might put yourself in the place of a certain character.

A classic example is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In imaginative prayer, you might first place yourself in the scene as the Good Samaritan. Hear what God has to say to you about your actions and attitudes in light of the Good Samaritan’s choices. Then, a second time (either that day or in the near future), place yourself in the scene as the beaten man. A third time, as the priest or Levite. A fourth time as a robber. A fifth time as the inn keeper. A sixth time as a silent observer. This one passage, only 22 verses, seen from 6 different perspectives. This is a powerful tool!

It is also possible to walk through a passage with a guide of sorts. Either a person reading aloud, or, as I propose to do for you here, a written guide that goes through the passage. There will be prompts for reflection, questions to discover how you are perceiving a specific moment or action, moments of prayer, etc.

As I studied this Gospel, I was struck by the amount of movement happening in just a few short lines. There is a discovery, there is a flurry of activity, there is a return, there is rest. So, if you will permit me to walk with you, let’s go through Matthew 13:45-46 together. I’ll include the verses, as well as questions for you to consider. I’ll be letting you into my own imaginative prayer as I consider the story of the Pearl of Great Price from the perspective of the merchant who finds it.

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.
Mathew 13:45

It is a normal day. The sun is shining, I can hear birds singing. I do not expect anything unordinary to happen. In the back of my mind, I know I am looking for something, a jewel or pearl perhaps, something really worth looking at. Something so beyond compare in its perfection and beauty. I do not expect to find it today, I’m not sure I expect to ever find it. But every so often, the desire for it comes to me and I wish desperately I could find it.

What are you wishing for? What do you wish would happen in your life? Where are you looking for fulfillment?

I am walking through the shops and stalls of the market. I pause by stands as items catch my attention. I am not looking for anything particular on this trip. Money changes hands, my sack becomes heavier. I’ll need to return to my caravan soon, but there is one last stall to check. You never know what you’ll find when you aren’t looking for anything special. I go over, and in my shock, I drop my sack.

The most beautiful, precious pearl I have ever seen is on a piece of cloth.

What does the Kingdom of Heaven look like to you? What would make you stop dead in your tracks when you saw it, achieved it? If Jesus were speaking this parable to you, what image would He use?

When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.
Matthew 13:46

I am in complete shock and elation. I never thought I would find such a pearl! With my mouth still hanging open, I hurriedly pick up my fallen sack of goods, paltry items in comparison to the beauty and perfection before me. I offer them to the merchant. “Please,” I beg him, “Please I must purchase this pearl.” His price is high, higher than the goods I have with me. I think, maybe, if I can sell everything I have in reserve, that might be enough. I had him my bag in the hopes he won’t sell the pearl to anyone else. I race back to my caravan and start shouting orders to unload everything. My servants are confused, we aren’t meant to sell these items here but along the road in the next few towns. My joy is bubbling over as I wildly grin, “I found it! I have found the most perfect, most precious, most lovely pearl. It is worth every shekel the merchant is asking for it and more. It is priceless to me and nothing is going to stop me from acquiring it. We sell everything!”

Have you ever experienced a joy like this? The merchant almost sounds foolish, doesn’t he? Yet how many of us have been a fool in love, walking around with that silly, classic grin and the feeling of weightlessness? Have you ever felt this way about God, the gift of salvation or the gift of forgiveness? Is this a feeling you desire to have about God?

What lengths are you willing to go to be at Mass on Sunday? What are you willing to sacrifice for prayer time? How foolish are you willing to appear to others for the sake of the Truth of the Good News?

After selling all I have, even after telling my servants I can no longer pay them and that I am selling the caravan itself along with my favorite cloak, I finally have enough. It took some time, but I was relentless. I have nothing left in the eyes of my servants or the people I sold my goods to. They do not understand that what I am gaining far surpasses anything I am leaving behind.

Trembling, I approach the merchant. He smiles warmly, the only one with understanding in his eyes. I hand him his payment. Carefully, reverently, he wraps the pearl in its cloth and holds out his hand. I open my hands and extend them, not wanting to risk the pearl dropping. He places the pearl in my hands and closes my fingers around it.

“You have worked hard and sacrificed much, ” the merchant says to me. “Yes,” I reply. “But this moment has made it all worth it. I am finally at peace. I am no longer searching for anything in the world. All I need, I have. All I desire, I possess. My soul is finally at rest.”

Do you believe this kind of peace is meant for you? Would you be able to let go of everything for the sake of Jesus? What are you holding onto? What is keeping you from letting Jesus enter fully into your soul?

I hope this reflection resonated with you in some way. Use it as a springboard to begin a conversation with God. Perhaps one question or section really stood out to you. Go back to that place and spend some time there. What is God trying to say to you, specifically to you?

Jesus told a parable about a merchant who found a pearl of great price. Overjoyed at this discovery, he sells all that he has in order to acquire it. This parable, and others similar to it, are part of a series of teachings about the Kingdom of Heaven. Even one small glimpse is worth sacrificing everything we have.

We are living in a turbulent time. In the midst of school suspensions, sporting events cancelled and family members in various stages of quarantine, it can be challenging to know where to turn next. These sacrifices we are making as a society weren’t voted on, and in most cases our opinion wasn’t sought out. And yet, the gift of sacrifice is waiting for us to make good use of it.

In the Christian tradition, the act of sacrifice is an act of life and love. Jesus Christ’s paramount example of selfless sacrifice on the cross is how God saves us from our sins and opens the gates of Heaven. We are called to participate in that same act when we offer our smaller, daily sacrifices with love for the good of others. Before a few weeks ago, these sacrifices might have included letting someone go before us, listening to a friend’s concerns for longer than we had anticipated, making someone else’s favorite meal instead of your own, etc.

Today, our sacrifices have gotten much larger. They now range to staying home from work, creatively stretching a bag of beans into multiple meals, monitoring toilet paper usage, cancelling our own events and celebrations, handling our children’s disappointment when their activities are cancelled and learning how to “do school” from home.

I think no matter what our situation, the biggest sacrifice we are being asked to make is one of time. Time is a tricky thing. There never seems to be enough, and at the same time (hehe, see what I did there?), we struggle when there is an abundance of it. We are each facing a unique situation which presents an undetermined amount of time that must be spent at home. When, in recent memory, have you been actually required to stay home? The last time you were grounded perhaps?

What an incredible gift this could turn out to be! What a pearl of great price to acquire! There are so many thing you could get done! In fact, I would challenge you to make a list, right now, of all the things you’ve been meaning to do and haven’t had or wanted to find time for. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Finished? Did you remember to switch out your winter and spring wardrobe? How about paint the back bedroom? Or finally organize the closet in your son or daughter’s room? Don’t forget scrubbing the crayon off the wall by your toddler’s crib from who knows how long ago (just me?).

Now, if you’re like me, you probably just got overwhelmed by all the “things” that need to get done. You’re list, though full of great tasks, is missing a critical element. The people who you will be spending this unstructured time with are more important than any to-do list. The people, be they big or small, young or old, are waiting for you to be present with them. They are waiting for your gift of time.

You have time to talk to your grandma on the phone for as long as you and she like. You have time to write the thank you notes from Christmas or a birthday. You have time to make home-made play dough, and then actually play with your kids with it. You have time to read that book, “Just one more time, please!” You have time to say a whole rosary, maybe even uninterrupted if you wake up early enough. You have time to teach your son or daughter to sew, whittle, crochet, garden, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom properly, take your pick! You have time to bake cookies (and then probably put them in the freezer), to celebrate a friend’s birthday after we all get to congregate more than 6ft from one another.

So step back and take another look at your list. Take a moment and close your eyes. The sacrifice of staying home could bring your family a pearl of great value. How do you hope to strengthen your relationships with the people in your home, family and community during this period at home? Pick one or two things that at the end of all this, you want to look back and say, “Wow, that was awesome. Without this concentrated time we never would have done x, or y, what a gift this time turned out to be.”

It’s not going to be easy. I’m not saying that every single moment of this time needs to be spent in togetherness. Be sure to carve out time for yourself, your own growth and mental health. Go for that run, read that book, swing on the swing, make a home altar and spend a period of time each day in silence. Whatever it is, your time together will be all the more fruitful if you are also taking the time to care for your wellbeing.

These sacrifices are challenging indeed. But as we go forward into this unknown territory, the landscape does not need to be as daunting as some might make it out to be. The light shines a bit brighter when we embrace our sacrifices and and discover the pearls God is waiting to shower upon us.