How do you imagine the Kingdom of Heaven to be? We are all aiming for it, what do you imagine it looks like? The most common image I have is from the old holy picture cards from my childhood, some of which I still have. Pictures of the Lord Jesus, Mary, or the saints in a neutral grey sky sitting on a cloud; a bit boring really. In Rome there are churches with painted ceilings, flat surfaces but painted in such a way as to be seeming to soar far above you crowded with angels and saints leading to the throne of God. Different perspectives, but what is the Kingdom of Heaven like to you?

For the third successive week this Sunday Jesus tells us what the Kingdom of Heaven “is like”. It’s as though he is making his point through repetition. At the end of this Sunday's gospel he asks the disciples if they “get it”. They answer “yes”, perhaps, given Jesus’ repeated efforts, they were afraid to say no!

Two weeks ago it was the parable of the sower; last week the wheat and weeds, the mustard seed and the yeast. This week it’s the treasure in the field; finding a pearl; and the fish and the dragnet. Again Jesus uses images that people could understand. It was quite common for people to bury valuables as there were no banks then as we understand them. Just think about the treasures found in our time in this country with a metal detector and spade! At the time of Jesus pearls were incredibly valuable. People had risk their lives to dive to deep depths in the hope of coming across an oyster with a single pearl in it. Pearls would commonly come from the waters of the Persian Gulf or the Indian Ocean. Of course Jesus and his listeners would be very familiar with the fishing net.

The treasure and the pearl is Jesus using images to show the priceless value of God’s kingdom and the need for the follower to give up everything to be part of it.

As with last week’s gospel, with regard to the fishing net, at the end of our lives, and ultimately at the end of time and history, each of us will be sorted either into eternal life sharing in the glory and majesty of God, or be cast aside for eternity where we will be conscious of, and lament forever, what has been lost. It’s a very difficult message but in all honesty Jesus could not be any clearer, and I would be lying to you if I say anything different.

But Jesus wants us to inherit our birth right of heaven not through fear but through love. Not through the fear of punishment, but through a desire to see Him face to face forever, to be in his company, and in the company of Mary, the saints and those we love who, God willing, are there before us. Jesus wants us to share eternal joy where our joy will be complete, where those who mourn will laugh, and where the dejected and poor in spirit will rejoice. Jesus died and rose again for this very purpose. God our loving Father, who constantly looks for us, desires all people to be saved, not to endure the pain of eternal separation from Him.

It comes down to us and what we decide. In all honesty living the Kingdom of Heaven in our lives through the love of God and each other is not easy. All of us know that it is a lifetime’s work. The life of faith is often with of two steps forward with one step back. But we are given the means. We have the teaching and example of Jesus. Baptism has washed us clean, and we can renew this time after time in the Sacrament of Reconciliation; we have been given the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation; and Jesus literally becomes one with us in the Eucharist.

We don’t need to hunt for the treasure it is in our plain sight. We have all the tools we need to make the Kingdom ours, let’s put them to work in our lives and souls.

Please accept an assurance of my daily prayers for your needs and intentions.

God bless you.

Fr Chris