St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church

The parable of the fishing net helps us understand one of the main reasons that our friendship with Christ is so valuable. At the end of history (either our personal history, or history in general, whichever comes first), if we are found living a vital and personal relationship with Christ, we will enter into His glory, the indescribable joy of everlasting life.

But if we are not living in Christ's friendship when the end comes, then we will suffer eternal frustration; we who were created to enjoy the warm light of God's presence will be stuck forever in the cold shadows of His absence. It sounds harsh, but Jesus Christ mentions no third alternative.  This helps explain why the farmer and the merchant sold everything they owned to get the treasure - it was worth it. This is the lesson God has long been trying to teach us through the many thousands of Christian martyrs.

St. Peter Balsam was one of these. He was apprehended in Palestine in the early 300s for refusing to compromise his friendship with Christ, by worshiping the false pagan gods. The governor tried to convince him that he was being unreasonable. He had Peter hung and stretched from the rack and torn with iron hooks. Every once in a while, the governor would invite him once again to renounce Jesus, but Peter, from the depths of his pain, would uphold his faith. The tortures lasted so long and were so horrendous that even the crowd of onlookers became horrified, and urged the saint to save himself. But this Christian knew where his true treasure was, and he refused to give it up.

At one point during the trial, he told the governor: "You will also know one day that there is a law of the eternal king, proclaiming that everyone shall perish, who offers sacrifice to devils: which do you counsel me to obey, and which, do you think, should be my option; to die by your sword, or to be condemned to everlasting misery, by the sentence of the great king, the true God?"

 After wearing out two separate shifts of torturers, Peter finally met his death by crucifixion. He is one of our many older brothers and sisters in the Church who literally gave up everything so as not lose the pearl of great price - their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is someone who pronounced not only with his lips, but also with his life, the words of today's Psalm: "Truly I love your commands more than the finest gold."

In a sense, each one of us has already found the treasure of friendship with Christ, and the benefits it brings. Yet, here He is, telling us this parable again. Why? Because our friendships are unique treasures. Not only can it be lost, like normal treasures and pearls of great price, but it can also grow. We can always get to know our friends better, experience more things together, and enjoy each other's company more as the years go by. If that's the case with merely human friendships, how much more is it the case of our friendship with God Himself, Who is infinite wisdom, sheer goodness, and eternal beauty!

St. Paul wrote about the inexhaustibly abundant riches of Christ's grace (Ephesians 2:7). It's as if he were saying that Jesus is not just one buried treasure, but a whole series of them, each one more marvelous than the one before.  Jesus has more He wants to give us, more He wants to show us, more He wants to teach us. He is reminding us today that nothing is more valuable than discovering and laying claim to that "more."

The farmer sold all he had to buy his treasure. The merchant sold all he had to buy the pearl. We too have to step out of our comfort zone to lay claim to the treasures Christ has in store for us. We have to give something up - maybe a sinful habit, a secret grudge, a self-centered ambition, or a hidden sorrow - in order to lay firmer hold on Christ.

Today, Jesus is hoping with all His heart that we will trust Him enough to do just that, to give up whatever it is He has put on our conscience, in order to experience His grace more fully.  Let's not disappoint Him.