“I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told you.” (John 15:15)
We know from history that during Jesus’ lifetime, the Romans controlled the villages in and around Judea. At any time, soldiers could ride through and ransack homes and farms. Aware of this atrocity, people kept their prized possessions buried underground in their homes or in their fields. So, when they wanted to retrieve their possessions, they had to dig the earth for them.
Those possessions buried out in the fields were much more difficult to obtain. People had to dig deeply into the ground before they found their jewelry, coins, or other valuable possessions like a pearl. Of course, there was no sign to indicate where these possessions were in the field. Obtaining them meant digging deeply in various places. So often, people found garbage buried or the remains of dead animals and plants. Hunting for their “pearl” or prized possessions not only took hard work but also encountering repulsive odors and trash.
So, when Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of heaven-- a love relationship with God and a respect for each other-- is like a person searching for fine pearls, we have a pretty good idea that this is not going to be an easy route to follow!
According to the 2021 statistics of the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 733 hate groups throughout the United States. How did we get so many? Could it be that in our search for the pearl of great price, people have become enamored with the detritus of self-righteousness, have developed a distaste for differences in skin color, nationality, sexual orientation, or have cultivated an over- arching attitude of egotism?
When we take the time to examine our own attitudes, dispositions and words towards people we don’t like, undoubtedly, we encounter the same debris that the Jewish people found when digging up their jewels and other valuable possessions: envy, selfish pride, unjust anger, lust, gluttony, laziness. All this detritus tarnishes our relationship with God and makes it more difficult to respect other people.
Psalm 59 assures us that we are not on this earthly venture alone: “God is my refuge on the day of distress.” When speaking to Jeremiah (and to us) God assures us, “For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.” So, the reality is not that I cannot love and respect people different from me. The reality is that I cannot accomplish this task alone, nor is the venture easy. Each of us is in partnership with God. Will we allow God to help us change from being self-centered people to becoming people who accept and respect differences given to others by God? Jesus is handing each of us that pearl of great price. The question remains: Are we willing to dig for it (listen to how God directs us in our interpersonal relationships) and deal with the result of our negative inclinations? Or do we abandon the treasure and allow ourselves to imbibe the negatives of social media without discernment?
Let’s pray with Jeremiah, “When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart.” (Jeremiah 15:16)