“The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found it, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
Ah, how simple this message is, Theophila! Who would not give all that they possess for the sake of love? “If a man should give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing” (Canticle 8:7). The message of the Beloved is tucked into the heart as a love letter found, and the lover of God casts all else into the wind as so much chaff: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before” (Philippians 3:13). Or, this can mean that love is seen, then buried in heavenly learning, that with the first glimpse of the beauty of the Beloved, the lover then seeks to know more about Him: “Shew me thy glory” (Exodus 33:18). Those that then carry their treasures openly, that is seeking human praise, do not save them for God, but the one that learns, prays, and works for love alone is the one that keeps their treasures for Him: “And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). The third interpretation is that you can find love in the Scriptures, which are the field, and by setting aside temporal things and the delights thereof and purchase for yourself holy leisure, you can come to plunge into the depths of them and keep your mind perpetually heavenward: “Their hearts may be comforted, being instructed in love, and unto all riches of fulness of understanding, unto the knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Christ Jesus: in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3). Perfect Love opens His arms to you, inviting you to the marriage feast: “And he sent his servants, to call them that were invited to the marriage” (Matthew 22:2), which is lavish with beautiful gifts: “And he commanded a magnificent feast to be prepared for all the princes, and for his servants, for the marriage and wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to all the provinces, and bestowed gifts according to princely magnificence” (Esther 2:18), offering you the treasure that every human heart seeks, which is to love and be loved: “When I had a little passed by them,” by which is indicated created things, “I found him whom my soul loveth” (Canticle 3:4). The preciousness of this is seen in the parable of the Pearl of Great Price. Now, the merchant that seeks good pearls is a symbol of multiple interpretations: The first is that all hearts are seeking love, and when they find the love contained in the Gospel, they move with love’s urgency to attain the fulness of this love: “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love” (Canticle 5:8). The second meaning is that the merchant is a discerning man, who knows what love truly is when he sees it, having an eye for truth and justice in addition to the draw to love: “Thy eyes are dove’s eyes, besides what is hid within” (Canticle 4:1). While others may not know the treasure of a pearl like this merchant, he does, and so too do those who do not know the love of Christ dismiss it as silly: “His look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not” (Isaias 53:3), whereas the one who does would give anything for it: “He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). Or, the merchant can be the one seeking wisdom: “The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, and with all thy possession purchase prudence” (Proverbs 4:7), and the good pearls he seeks are the Law, the Prophets, the Wisdom Literature, and different philosophies, but in Christ wisdom comes alive as a person that loves and not as a concept to be grasped, being the fulfillment of all that wisdom points towards: “But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Thus all wisdom faints before this wondrous love: “And count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8), for though there is no adornment to the human soul as beautiful as wisdom: “He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:35), it is an adornment, and not the life of the soul that the love of Jesus is: “And that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and adhere to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy days)” (Deuteronomy 30:20). The sweetness of God’s love then becomes one’s rest and repose: “While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof” (Canticle 1:11), with all else fading like stars in the daylight. Another interpretation can be that virtue, happiness, a well-ordered life, and meaning are all pearls that are treasures to the human person, whereas to love God and one’s neighbor gives all of these and more: “The Lord will make thee abound with all goods” (Deuteronomy 28:11), which in the Old Covenant were temporal, but in the commandment to love is spiritual. Thus does St. Paul say, “’For thou shalt not commit adultery: Thou shalt not kill: Thou shalt not steal: Thou shalt not bear false witness: Thou shalt not covet:’ and if there be any other commandment, it is comprised in this word, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’” (Romans 13:9). Finally, the last interpretation of the pearl of great price is that in the gift of love, the greatest gift one can give is oneself. In the giving away of one’s possessions and distractions, one finds oneself and their true value and then can give that self to the other with the utmost freedom as the greatest gift they can give. Thus, the price of the pearl of Jesus’ love, though of an infinite value beyond all grasping, is given to you not for your work or your things, but for you: “Shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely” (Canticle 2:14), that you may give back all that you are: “I to my beloved, and my beloved to me” (Canticle 6:2).