Life is a risky treasure hunt whereby the hidden treasure is hidden somewhere in each and every one of us. Until we find that treasure, something very important will remain missing in life.
The analogies in today's Gospel with someone who has found a hidden treasure, or with a merchant looking for fine pearls, or even with a dragnet cast into the sea which takes in every kind of fish, speak clearly about the way we live and the search for meaning that can give direction to our life.
It is no mere coincidence that the first reading today speaks of Solomon who, on taking office, asked for wisdom and for a heart to understand. Solomon reminds us that at the end of the day we are all governors in some sense and that life is a question of governance.
Where life and its meaning is concerned, you either take over or you are taken over. Unfortunately, what happens many a time is the contrary of what Jesus says in the parable. For a multitude of reasons many of us, instead of finding the hidden treasure and selling everything to buy the field, are ready to sell the field, which represents their own life, without ever realising that it had a hidden treasure.
There are decisions to be taken in life. But there is one big decision which, when taken, can change the whole perspective on life and on what comes across. Non-decision is the worst form of decision.
Even in Christian living there is some sort of point of no return, once we really grasp what life is about and what really adds value to whoever we are and whatever we do. This can be understood in line with Augustine's affirmation that you start searching for God only when you have found Him.
Further, the Gospel speaks of a hidden treasure. God is always there in our lives; His gifts are always there in whoever we are. But everything can remain hidden unless the moment comes in life when we open our eyes. This explains the theme of urgency highlighted in today's short parables.
From time to time we need to ask ourselves what in life that is worth selling everything in order to obtain. If there is nothing that is worth that much, then maybe we risk putting everything on one and the same level. As always, it becomes a problem of priorities. We end up treasuring what is not worth treasuring and devaluing what actually can add value to life.
This is what makes life an ongoing treasure hunt. Our search never ends. We pass from one thing to the other, switching our attention from things that at one time we consider valuable, which at another seem void of sense and meaning.
As in every treasure hunt, what is mostly important is the wisdom to read and interpret the signs that can help us locate the treasure. And here Solomon's wisdom comes in again. That's the work of the Spirit in us. It is the Spirit who makes us discover the treasure and gives us the power and the courage to sell everything to buy the field. Until that happens, we will continue to be, instead, always ready to sell the field in exchange for who knows what.
That's what I feel Pope Benedict spoke about in his World Youth Day homily when he practically called for a silent revolution of non-conformists in our culture. "God's love", said the Pope, "can only unleash its power when it is allowed to change us from within". But first, he continues, "we have to let it break through the hard crust of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age".