The Nazareth Page - A gospel meditation for your home
July 26, 2026 – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Matthew 13:44-52
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Download this simple process to Prepare for Sunday using the Observe, Judge, Act Method
There are many references to “treasure” in the Bible. These images are used to emphasize what should be most important in our lives. Like what values get us up in the morning? When faced with decisions large and small, what moves us to make a good choice? What specifically do we judge as very important?
In the time of Jesus finding a treasure in a field would be considered extremely fortuitous. Acquiring a large perfectly formed pearl would be a true blessing. And Jesus implies in today’s gospel that we all have our own list of what we would consider genuine treasures.
On my own list treasures would be my marriage and our family, both those who have passed to the next place and those who have recently entered our fold. I treasure the many friendships that I have enjoyed over the years. I treasure the opportunities when I have been invited to teach or write about our faith, our commitments and our values. But to do all of these matters well, I had to make many decisions along the way.
Should I do this or that? Multiple times I have walked away from tenured professorships to pursue new opportunities and challenges that I (along with others close to me) judged more in line with what I felt were more central to my vocation fully supporting and valuing Christian marriage and family life. While I tried to make those decisions in light of my Christian and Catholic values, I often had to make those decisions with some degree of uncertainty. Who knows the future?
What I take from this is that life can be filled with questions and challenges. Lots of crossroads and forks in the road. Sometimes it is clear what we should do. But more often the path we should take is not crystal clear. This is when the process of deciding that is suggested by St. Ignatius Loyola in his spiritual exercises can be helpful. Helpful guidance for this can be found online and from those already familiar with his process of what is called “discernment.”
Our efforts to decide what is right for us should always by influenced and guided by what we come to judge as God’s will for us. That means that we use prayer and not just a list of financial variables to make important decisions in our lives. Or what is easier in contrast with potential difficulties. May our decisions be in accord with God’s will for our world, our country , our families and for each of us.
David M. Thomas, PhD