Peggy Roe, Longtime Member

Matthew 13:45-46 (NSRV)
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” 

Reflection:
When my mother passed away, she left me her long, beautiful string of perfectly matched pearls – one of her most prized possessions.  Pearls are the jewel of June, and since I have a June birthday, these round, lustrous beads were precious to me even before I received my mother’s necklace.  I am not the only person to treasure the pearl:  wealthy Egyptians and Romans regarded the pearl as the most priceless treasure they could own and lavishly adorned themselves with the gems.  Even the Roman historian Pliny the Elder, writing in the first-century anno domini, complained about the “conspicuous consumption of his status-seeking compatriots” festooned with the jewel. It should be no surprise to find a parable that uses the pearl as an example of a priceless commodity in the book of Matthew – a disciple who lived at the same time as Pliny.

In the scripture, Matthew describes a merchant who, when searching for “fine pearls,” discovers the “pearl of great value” and sells all his possessions in order to buy that one particular gem. Ancient Christian scholars differ in their interpretation of the passage.  Saint Jerome, who wrote in the fourth-century anno domini,  suggests that the “fine pearls” are the Law and the Prophets; but their value pales against the most precious pearl of all, which is knowledge of the Savior.  His contemporary, Saint Augustine, posits that the merchant might have been seeking “good men,” “precepts of life,” or “good thoughts” as the fine pearls.  But Augustine offers a different interpretation of the parable:  when one sells all one owns, there is only one thing left to give, and that is oneself—the most priceless possession of all.

Matthew, Jerome, or Augustine, these three Christian writers are alluding to a core principle of the faith- the insignificance of “things” and the preeminence of the kingdom of God.  As Matthew himself writes, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33 KJV). If we can divest ourselves, at least figuratively, of our earthly possessions, we are better prepared to invest ourselves spiritually in a faith that is as pure and priceless as a pearl of great value.  Wearing my mother’s precious pearls is a reminder of the kingdom that awaits you, and me, and our fellows in Christ – when we give ourselves away to God. 

Prayer:
Dear Precious Heavenly Father, I am grateful for the treasures that await me as a member of your kingdom—the treasures of love, forgiveness, and salvation, which are as precious as pearls.  In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.