Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21
Psalm 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18
Matthew 13:44-46
Oftentimes, when we think of today's parables, we tend to think of Christ as the pearl of great price, and so we must look upon our sacrifices as similar to those of the person who finds the treasure or the merchant who finds the great pearl, and sells all he has for it.
Fair enough, Christ is our greatest treasure, but we could look at the parable in another way: that of Christ viewing the human race as the pearl of great price. We might feel that we are not worthy of God's attention to consider ourselves as the pearl of great price, but God and His Son might view us in a different way.
When God created human beings in His image and likeness, He put His seal on all human beings. Was He therefore to lose all human beings for the mistake of their first parents? Evidently, God did not think so. He sent His Son. He, in a sense, sold all He had, to ransom the sin of our first parents.
As a result, it's fair enough that we should make sacrifices for deepening our lives in Christ as our pearl of great price. But we might also consider doing so out of a sense of gratitude, rather than simply out of a sense of obligation.
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church/Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo, Victoria
Australia
