FR. TONY'S HOMILY – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

July 26, 2026

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ANECDOTESEXEGESISLIFE MESSAGES

MasterCard (1997)

17th Sunday of Year A

THREE INFOGRAPHICS FOR PARISH BULLETINS

Looking for a powerful way to begin your homily? Use the anecdote below, and feature one of the infographics above in your parish bulletin. It’s an excellent visual reminder to help your congregation carry the message of The Word This Week home with them.

A classic MasterCard commercial from 1997 shows a rapid succession of transactional purchases with concrete prices listed on screen (e.g., two tickets to a baseball game: $28; two hot dogs and drinks: $18; an autographed baseball: $45). The commercial then shifts to an emotional, intangible moment between a father and son, labeled as “Priceless.” The famous tagline follows: “There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s Mastercard.”

The Connection: The parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl turn standard economics upside down. The finder doesn’t begrudgingly sell everything he owns; he does it “in his joy.” The Mastercard campaign captures this exact shift in value calculus. It contrasts the finite, everyday currencies of life with an ultimate experience that transcends monetary calculation. To gain the “priceless” reality, one must look past the immediate cost of the investments required to get there.

The Red Pill or the Blue Pill?

17th Sunday of Year A

THREE INFOGRAPHICS FOR PARISH BULLETINS

In the movie, The Matrix, Morpheus offers Neo a choice between the blue pill (returning to his comfortable, familiar, yet artificial life) and the red pill (discovering the unsettling truth of reality). Neo chooses the red pill, completely severing his connection to everything he has ever known.

The Connection: This echoes the man discovering the treasure in the field. Once Neo gets a glimpse of the true nature of reality (an awakening parallel to discovering the Kingdom), he cannot simply go back to normal. He abandons his entire established life, his career, and his safety to pursue the absolute truth.

The Biggest Diamond

17th Sunday of Year A

This is a true story, no matter how much like a fairy tale it may sound. In early 1905, at Premier Mine #2 near Pretoria, South Africa, a totally unsuspecting man literally stumbled upon the world’s largest diamond—all 3,106 carats of it. Known as the Cullinan diamond, this amazing stone was sent to England in an ordinary cardboard box. Eventually, 105 individual stones were cut from it. Two of the largest stones produced from the rough diamond—the 530-carat Star of Africa (Cullinan I) and the 317-carat Cullinan II—were mounted on the Scepter with the Cross of the British Monarch as part of the royal Crown Jewels. Today, Cullinan I remains the second largest polished gem in the world, while Cullinan II stands as the fourth largest polished diamond. [Isaac Asimov, Book of Facts, (New York: Wings Books, 1979), pp. 16-17.]

The Connection: In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God with such a treasure. Just as the Cullinan diamond was a staggering, unmatched reality hidden in the earth until someone unexpectedly came across it, the Kingdom of God represents a prize of absolute, incomparable worth. It is a treasure so immense that finding it changes everything, transforming the ordinary ground of our daily lives into the setting for a royal inheritance.

God is in Charge

17th Sunday of Year A

Henry Ford (1863-1947) was the famous American motor manufacturer who pioneered large-scale motor production. He was the founder of the Ford Motor Company. A man, who went to interview Mr. Ford when he was very old, was surprised to find him calm and serene. The interviewer asked him, “Sir, are you not worried in your life? You have to face so many problems every day and deal with so many workers. Don’t you feel the strain on yourself?” Henry Ford replied, “No! I am not worried. I believe that God is managing the affairs and He doesn’t need my advice. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work for the best in the end.”

The Connection: “All things work for good for those who love God,” assures St. Paul in today’s second reading. (John Rose in John’s Sunday Stories; quoted by Fr. Botelho).

Yates Oil Field

17th Sunday of Year A

In west Texas, there is a famous oil field known as the Yates Oil Field. It is a giant oil field in the Permian basin of west Texas, bordering Pecos River. The field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, making it one of the largest in the United States. Estimated recoverable reserves are still approximately one billion barrels, which represents approximately 50% of the original oil in place. During the depression, this field was a sheep ranch owned Mr. Ira and Mrs. Ann Yates. Ira was not able to make enough money on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on his mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family, like many others, had to live on a government subsidy. Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling west Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would be able to pay his bills. Ira heard about oil excavation in Texas and invited Transcontinental Oil Company to explore his land for oil. A crew from the oil company came into the area and told Mr. Yates that there was oil on this land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease. At a little more than a thousand feet, they struck a huge oil reserve, giving eighty thousand barrels a day. In fact, thirty years after the discovery, a government test of one of Mr. Yates’ wells showed that it still could produce more than a hundred thousand barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he had purchased the land, he received the oil and mineral rights. And yet, he had been living on relief – a multimillionaire living in poverty. Why? He did not know the oil was there! He owned it, but he did not possess it. [James Hewett, How to Live Confidently in a Hostile World (Wheaton, IL: Word Publishing, 1989), p. 177.]

The Connection: In today’s Gospel Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in a field.

MORE ANECDOTES

The Art of Listening: Wisdom and the Reign of God

by Fr. Tony Kadavil

In today’s Gospel, Jesus concludes a long series of parables about the reign of God by praising those wise men and women who have listened carefully, understood and responded to his message.

1 Kings 3:5, 7-12

The first reading tells us how the young King Solomon opted for the great treasure of accepting God to rule his life and then doing God’s will. That is why he asked of God “an understanding heart” “to distinguish right from wrong,” so that he might govern God’s people properly. Yahweh was pleased with his request and granted him “a wise and discerning heart” which enabled him to surpass everyone in wisdom.

In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 119), the psalmist says of the commands of God, “For I love Your commands more that gold however fine. For in all Your precepts, I go forward; every false way I hate,” thus showing real Wisdom.

The first reading (1 Kings 3:5, 7-12) explained: In the Old Testament, dreams were the accepted means of Divine communication, especially for rulers seeking God’s guidance. In our first reading, God appears to young king Solomon with an undeserved, generous offer: “Ask something of Me and I will give it to you.” The ancient Semitic belief was that people think with their hearts and feel with their kidneys. The latter were considered the source of our emotions and the former, the source of our thoughts and insights. Thus, when Solomon says, “Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to distinguish right from wrong,” he’s simply requesting a mind capable of seeing what others overlook. He asks for an understanding heart so that he will be able to deal well with people, act compassionately and discern right from wrong. He selflessly asks for “a heart with skill to listen” — sensitivity in understanding his subjects’ needs, skillful decision-making — in order to build a just society. Wisdom gives us insight into what is truly important in life, an awareness of the meaning and purpose of living, of what really matters. Wisdom is an understanding of where our real well-being and happiness lie. Wisdom is indeed the “pearl of great price,” that Jesus speaks of.

While Solomon discerns and follows the right way, he is a model and a challenge for us. His request here invites us to cultivate his prayer for a heart and mind attuned to God’s word and docile to His desires. Prayer means asking God for what He wants to give — that which makes us better able to do His will of loving service to others. In this reading, Solomon recognizes two things: 1) wisdom ultimately comes from God; and 2), from wisdom, all other blessings will flow. Using the language, we find in today’s parables, we could say that Solomon asked for a “treasure” or a “pearl of great price.” And he got it. The reading teaches us that when we fulfill our duties as God desires, we are in His presence and on the threshold of the Kingdom.

Romans 8:28-30

In the second reading, Paul teaches that the wisdom to perceive God’s grace is essential for those who want to follow Him and to do His will, thus remaining in His kingdom. He assures Rome’s Christian community that “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”

The second reading (Romans 8:28-30) explained: In this lesson from the Epistle to the Romans, Paul makes two important statements:

1) “All things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” In the context of today’s Gospel, the statement is true of all who accept a close relationship with God as their greatest treasure.

2) “and those He predestined He also called; and those He called He also justified; and those He justified He also glorified.”

The first statement means that the “Kingdom of Heaven” is present when all things somehow work together for good for those who love God. The “Kingdom of God” is present when we know that there is absolutely nothing in this world, or out of it, that can separate us from Christ’s love for us. If we are following in the footsteps of Christ, they will lead us to the Kingdom of the Father. The Kingdom of God is a treasure worth our selling all that we have in order that we may possess it. This treasure is of such great value that anything else we may own pales by comparison. It would be easy to give up everything else in order to have the Kingdom of God, and, unlike the treasure hidden in the field, the love of Christ is a treasure everyone is invited to possess.

The second statement simply means that God is calling people through the stages of spiritual growth needed for enjoying eternity with Him: we are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. When Paul speaks about those whom God has predestined, he doesn’t mean that God chooses some to be saved and others to be lost. God’s plan is for all to be saved. This means it is God’s active will that all be saved, but God’s permissive will allows individuals to accept or reject God’s salvation as they choose, for He has created each of us with free will, and loving Him is a choice, as is refusing His love. In other words, God’s original intention (and still existing desire) is for all mankind to be with Him in Heaven; but only those who respond by fulfilling what is asked of them will be able to reach the throne of God.

[Explanation by “Catholic Doors:” Today, you heard that those who are justified in Jesus will be glorified. To be justified means to be made right in the eyes of God, to be declared free of sin. The Holy Bible teaches that there are two phases to being justified in Christ, justification during the Sacrament of Baptism and justification after the Sacrament of Baptism. Both are absolutely necessary to inherit the Kingdom of God, to qualify as children of God and to be glorified. How is one truly justified in Christ? By the grace of God, we were all called to accept Jesus in living Faith so we may receive our salvation. Through sincere repentance of our past sins, we received Jesus in our hearts. Following this, we joined the holy Catholic Church that was instituted by Jesus Christ Himself. We received the Sacrament of Baptism that admitted us into the Body of Christ, blessing us with the free gift of the new creation. Then we received the Sacrament of Reconciliation to maintain our righteousness in the eyes of God. By the grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, our Faith in Jesus Christ and the Sacrament of Baptism, we received a new heart and spirit, free of all the past sins that we had committed, including all the traces of the original sin. And to help our new heart and spirit, we were born again of the Spirit, (Jn. 3:5) having received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide us in the Christian path. That new creation within us is our only assurance of the blessed hope of eternal life.]

Matthew 13:44-52

In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us that God’s Kingdom (the rule of God in us, established by accepting Jesus as our God and Savior, putting our Faith in God and doing His will), is something of extraordinary value, like a hidden treasure or costly pearl. Possessing that treasure demands from us a total commitment if we are to preserve it. The Kingdom of God is God’s reign in our hearts, in our lives, in our homes, in our society, and in our world. Only those who develop searching minds and are willing to give up everything for the great treasure of God’s Kingdom will be rewarded. Through the first and second parables, of the treasure and the pearl, Jesus teaches us that identifying God’s will and living according to the Gospel, both with His help, are the most precious and worthwhile things in life. Through Jesus and his Gospel, we come to know and understand the real meaning of life and the most important things we must do to secure our eternal salvation.

Gospel exegesis: What is the “Kingdom of Heaven” like? Jesus continues his teaching on the “Kingdom of Heaven” using little stories based on the experiences of rural Galileans. Like Jesus’ mini stories of the mustard seed and the leaven, those of the treasure and the pearl form a pair of His “Kingdom parables.” Jesus tells us that true wisdom involves recognizing a pearl of great price and being willing to sacrifice all to purchase it. The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is “a society on earth where God’s will is done as perfectly as it is in Heaven.”

By “Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus is referring to a triple reality:

a group of people sharing the Divine life of sanctifying grace and friendship with God by doing His will,
participation in God’s life through the Eucharistic celebration in the Church and
eternal bliss in Heaven. This triple reality is worth more than anything else in our lives.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares the “Kingdom of Heaven” to a treasure hidden in a field, to a pearl of great value and to a net thrown in the sea collecting all types of fish. The “Kingdom of Heaven,” synonymous in these parables with the “Kingdom of God,” is hidden, but it is of surpassing value. The parable of the pearl (vv 45-46) makes the point that the sacrifice of everything must be made for this one thing of immense value. Those who have not sacrificed everything for it will not have this treasure and will come to know how much they have lost.

The parable of the treasure hunter: The first two parables in today’s Gospel – the parables of the buried treasure and the pearl – are lessons in the total attachment to Christ and detachment from the things of the world demanded of the disciple in order to make the reign of God in himself, and in the world, a reality. Frequent battles and foreign invasions encouraged the people of Palestine to bury their treasures like money and jewelry in their fields. For example, the great religious treasure – the “Dead Sea Scrolls,” discovered in the caves at Qumran in 1947 – was hidden there over 2,000 years ago. Sometimes unclaimed and forgotten, the hidden treasures await some lucky finder. Jesus tells the story of one such lucky treasure-finder who sold everything he had in order to buy the field in which the treasure was buried. According to the Palestinian laws of that time, the mere finding of buried treasure did not entitle the finder to possession unless he also owned the property in which it was found. In the parable of the treasure in the field and in the parable of the merchant who sought fine pearls, we see the image of one who recognizes the value of the kingdom of God and gives everything to possess it. Matthew, a tax-collector, might have experienced something like this when he discovered the eternal value of the Kingdom preached by Jesus of Nazareth. When he discovered Jesus and his vision of life, everything else became secondary. Having a personal relationship with Christ, that is, making Christ’s view of life one’s own, is the most beautiful, the most precious thing in the world. But most of the time, we are chasing false treasures like money, social status and pleasure. Jesus our true treasure may come to our lives unexpectedly through some daily experience as he did with Mathew.

The parable of the pearl hunter: A well-to-do merchant on the lookout for quality pearls finds a very precious pearl (“pearl of great price“), and he immediately “sells everything” to buy it. In our day, pearls have lost much of their value. Firms have learned to culture them in vast pearl beds and even to make them artificially. However, in Biblical times, the pearl was probably the costliest and most sought-after gem. Jesus wants us to know that the Kingdom of God is worth all we have. He has come to offer us God’s Kingdom, a unique pearl of the greatest price. The genuine disciples are those who respond to this opportunity with joy and selfless commitment, eagerly giving top priority to life in the Kingdom by doing God’s will, whatever it may be. The “treasures” and “pearls” of lasting value are the things of God. They are the love of family and friends, the support of community, and the sense of fulfillment that rises from serving and giving for the sake of others. In order to attain such treasure, we must “sell off” our own interests, ambitions, and agendas and thus free ourselves to embrace the lasting values of the compassion, love, and mercy of God Who reconciles us to Himself. This parable teaches us that, although we are baptized Christians, we still need to pursue the true and full meaning of the Gospel, which can escape us for many years. We always need to understand more, to love more, and to serve more. The first and second parables also remind us that the most precious things in life are to know God and to live according to the Gospel. “Isn’t it possible that what we want most is something very selfish: possessions, security, power, pleasure, comfort? What would the world be like if, instead of these, our one really valuable pearl was something like world peace based on justice for all? or the development of a classless society based on respect for all and the priority of need over want? or the worship of God through prayer, service, and a preferential option for the poor? What would the world be like? Jesus says it would be like the Kingdom of God/Heaven. Buying the treasure and the pearl is the beginning of wisdom; living out the influences of these purchases is righteousness.” (Father Larry Gillick, SJ, Creighton University)

The parable of the fishing net: In Palestine, there were two main ways of fishing. The first was with the casting-net, which required a keen eye and great skill in throwing the net at the correct moment. The second was with a dragnet or seine, as it is sometimes called. Galilean seine-nets were tied to two boats and drawn through the water. The catch was sorted only afterwards, with edible or kosher fish going to market and the unacceptable fish being thrown away. Just as a dragnet collects good and bad fish indiscriminately, so the Church is a mixture of all kinds of people, good and bad, useful and useless, saints and sinners. Like the wheat and weeds parable, this parable is a warning against premature judgment, but also a warning which tells us that Final Judgment will take place. This parable encourages the Church to adopt an open approach to evangelism, by accepting “the poor, the crippled, the blind, the lame” (Lk 14:21) and by leading them to the treasure and the pearl of great price. It instructs us to be tolerant, compassionate, and understanding of those who seem, to us, to fall far below the requirements of the Gospel and the Kingdom. Through this parable of the dragnet, Jesus calls us to embrace the vision of God that seeks out the good in everyone, nurtures it, and looks for the right and just in all things, amid the “junk” of life. The parable also teaches that a time of separation will come when the good and the bad will be sent to their respective destinies. This parable pictures that separation as happening in the final judgment. This parable is thus a counterpart to the parable of the weeds and the wheat.

The teaching: The three parables illustrate the opportunity as well as the challenge of discipleship. The first and the second parables speak of the total commitment and dedication which are the ideal of every follower of Christ. What the parables really teach us is that, when one discovers Jesus and his vision of life, everything else becomes secondary. That is what St. Paul meant when he said: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:8), and again “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 2:21). To have a personal experience of Christ and personal relationship with Him – in other words, to have made Christ’s view of life one’s own – is the most precious thing in the world. “Life under God’s righteous rule is to be sought about everything else” (HarperCollins Bible Commentary). “The parables are very alike, but it is interesting to note the differences: the treasure means abundance of gifts; the pearl indicates the beauty of the Kingdom. The treasure is something stumbled upon; the pearl, the result of a lengthy search—but in both instances, the finder is filled with joy. Faith, vocation, true wisdom, desire for heaven, are things that sometimes are discovered suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes after much searching … However, the man’s attitude is the same in both parables and is described in the same terms: ‘he goes and sells all that he has and buys it’: detachment and generosity are indispensable for obtaining the treasure” (The Navarre Bible: Gospels and Acts). “God’s presence and reign are often hidden below the surface of life, but we experience little epiphanies of it at surprising, unplanned moments” (The Lectionary Commentary, Vol. 3: The Gospels).

The concluding parable or simile. Jesus concludes his parables by advising the listeners to imitate wise scribes (Jewish scholars — the experts in the Law and/or Scriptures). Hence, a scholar need not give up his scholarship when he becomes a Christian; rather he should use it for Christ. A businessman need not give up his business; rather he should run it as a Christian would. Christians are also expected to be like scholars who know how to value both the old and the new. In this simile, Jesus refers to those, who like Matthew himself, now serve as scribes trained for the Kingdom of Heaven and serving their local Churches. Such a scribe, Jesus tells us, is one who brings forth from his storeroom both the old and the new. Already trained in the meanings of all the stories and wise sayings from the Old Testament, such scribes, when they teach the Gospel to new believers, are able to show that all Jesus’ teachings and deeds are truly the “fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.” Thus, they demonstrate that Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven does not destroy, but genuinely reinterprets, the Jewish tradition to show its full Truth for all ages. Jesus does not replace what we call the Old Testament with the New Testament. He is combining the best of the Hebrew Scriptures with the New Way, the Kingdom of God. The wise ones, the scribes of the Kingdom, therefore, know how to use what is old and what is new. The parable teaches that the teacher in the Church should draw teachings out of the Hebrew Scriptures and the words of Jesus, thereby gaining new insights to transmit to others” (The Lectionary Commentary, Vol. 3: The Gospels). Hence, those of us who are the Church’s preachers and teachers have the responsibility to bring forth both the new and the old, to teach the Bible in a way that speaks to and about the present, and to read the present by the Bible’s light. (Beverly R. Gaventa, Online at The Christian Century).

by Fr. Tony Kadavil

Most of the time, we are chasing false treasures such as money, status or pleasure. Often, we are locked into regrets over the past, or focused too much on the future. As a result, the enriching present passes us by, and the treasure is never discovered. Thus, the really valuable pearl of sharing in God’s life through Jesus here on earth and later in Heaven is never found. Let us always remember that Heaven is within the reach of all of us who try to do the will of God, following the ordinary vocations of life and enjoying this world’s joys and pleasures within the framework of God’s Commandments. Right now, it is for us to use the time given to us to go in search of the pearl of great price and to help others in their search. We are challenged to search and discern where the Lord is calling us so that we may know what path to take. Let us remember that whenever we fight against discrimination, whenever we trust completely in God, whenever our selflessness conquers selfishness, whenever our love overcomes sin and our Faith overcomes suffering, whenever we render humble service to others, we are doing the will of God as it is done in Heaven, Hence, we are already living in the Kingdom of Heaven while we are still on earth. The pearl of great price in this life is also found in our human relationships: a happy family, good friends, and people who love and accept us, even if neither we nor they are perfect. We must give all we have to possess this great pearl because, through selfishness and self-worship, we can destroy entirely the bond of love joining us to God and each other, a bond that otherwise would flourish, surviving in spite of sickness, disease or geographical distance, and growing stronger when death divides us.

Precautions to Keep
Our Greatest Treasure Safe

by Fr. Tony Kadavil

We will be able to keep safe the treasure of our personal relationship with Jesus by accepting him every day as our God and Savior, by allowing him to have total control over our lives through our loving obedience to his will, and by asking him daily for the strengthening and guidance of his Holy Spirit. We do this by talking to him daily in prayer, by listening to him in our meditative reading of the Bible, by getting reconciled to him and others every day, asking pardon and forgiveness for our sins, by offering Him our lives on the altar during the Holy Mass, and by nourishing our souls frequently, receiving Jesus in Holy Communion.

The Lesson of the Dragnet

by Fr. Tony Kadavil

This parable offers us a lesson in tolerance and compassionate understanding. In this, it resembles the parable of the weeds growing up with the wheat, for both parables teach us that the kingdom is a mixed body of saints and sinners (wheat and weeds; good and rotten fish). There will be always a temptation for those who feel they are more “faithful” to separate themselves from the “weeds”/” bad fish.”

But Jesus reminds us that the final judgment resulting in reward or punishment is God’s work. Thus, we must learn to be patient, compassionate and understanding with those who seem to us to fall far below the requirements of the Gospel and the Kingdom.

Let us humbly admit the fact that only Jesus, Who is True God and True Man, and our Blessed Mother who is simply human though Immaculately conceived and remaining sinless throughout her life, are not mixtures of good and evil! For the rest us, the good we do is the result of God’s work within us, while we are responsible for the evil. Let us gratefully declare as St. Paul did, “I am what I am with the grace of God.”