VALUE BEYOND PEARLS
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
November 16, 2014
VALUE BEYOND PEARLS
We all want security. We all look for safeguards against an
uncertain future. And so, people invest and put their money in security bonds
and pre-need plans. Yes … even if the very same pre-need and security companies
in the Philippines actually lack security and eventually fold up, owing to a
multiplicity of factors, not excluding being involved in erratic and
dysfunctional Philippine politics.
People invest because they believe in ultimate value, not
necessarily of money now, but of emerging needs that would require tons of
money later. But there are simple investors and wise investors. The former just
think in terms of what they can get in return for what they place today, and mind
you, what they mean is hefty returns in cash! But smart investors who see value
beyond money and beyond pearls and precious metals and gems, invest in stuff
that do not necessarily glitter … here and now.
They invest in persons! And a wise man who marries a worthy
wife knows deep inside that he is worth more than one who won the jackpot in
the lottery. “Entrusting his heart to her, [he] has an unfailing prize.”
We Christian believers who deeply also belong to a community
called the Church know in our hearts that the value of things goes beyond its
usefulness here and now. For one, we know that life as we know it, is fast
drifting away. We know, too, that for all our efforts at trying to corner
“peace and security,” the same cannot be had in this mortal, fickle world. We
know better, for “we are not of the night or of darkness,” but “we are children
of the light and children of the day.”
Yes, we believers do appreciate REAL VALUE and attach it to
where it matters most. Yes, we do believe in investing, too! And there is
nothing sinful about putting some money tucked some place for a rainy day, even
as there is nothing sinful about creating legitimate wealth for oneself, one’s
family, and for others.
And since we are in the topic of healthy and legitimate
investing, let us pursue the issue further. The Gospel actually rewards those
who used the talents they received to produce even more! And the same gospel
parable actually finds it reprehensible that the one who got one talent simply
buried it and returned it as it was – a lone, miserable talent that produced no
usufruct for himself and for his lender.
We all want peace and security. We all want to invest
properly and legitimately. And there is nothing wrong with wishing to gain
something from both. But we Christian believers want more – real value that
goes beyond compounded interest in cash! And so, we train our sights and use
all that we have – our talents – as capital to work for and attain that whose
value goes far beyond pearls, far beyond earthly material wealth! What is that
pearl of great price you might ask? No less than He who surpasses all as
creator of all – God Himself and His gift of salvation. That, my friend, is the
ultimate peace and security!
“Remain in me as I
remain in you, says the Lord. Whoever remains in me bears much fruit.”
Lawa-an, Talisay City, Cebu
November 15, 2014
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