She Hath Done What She Couldn’t

One of the big automobile manufacturers recently built a massive advertising campaign around the simple theme of “getting down to basics.” You may recall hearing it on TV or Radio: “When people get down to basics, they come over to our car” (or words to that effect). Today’s Gospel Lesson-like all Gospel Lessons, really-is built around the same theme: “When people get down to basics, they come to God.”

In today’s Lesson, a man finds that a “hidden treasure” is within his grasp. A second man discovers the one really valuable pearl he has been long searching for. In both instances, they are placed in the situation of “getting down to basics”: Is the treasure worth everything I possess? Do I want it badly enough to give up all the rest? That is what the Kingdom of God is like, Jesus says. It costs a lot. You must give up things to acquire a place in it, but renunciation has its reward-it is worth…