People in the world can search for a long time, finding the true treasure, which determines the value of life. However, first, we must be sure that God already found us. This is the greatest treasure that we need to keep as our anchor in life: We found that God have found us. This is the moment of finding the treasure. Those who already possess the kingdom of God in Christ and His gospel, must try to strengthen their hearts and sell everything for the pearl of great price. We have chosen Christ not because we have to. We have chosen Christ as our treasure, our way of life because it is what we naturally need to give to God who has given us salvation. Our freedom as people who choose Christ is the freedom of love. We want to honor the love of God who loved us first. This is our natural way of becoming as persons created by God. The teachings of Christ will feel right to us if we want to understand them in the context of God's love.

God who wants to love us always calls us with His unique greetings. The second reading from St Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us about this. There is a call from Christ that is specific to each of us. There is a personal path that God has prepared for each of us. We have found that God found us in our hearts as believers. This is the source of the Kingdom of God in us. But we are also asked to continue to look for a way of life that is unique to each of us as our way of living out the Kingdom of God in this world. This is the time for us to become a searcher. The more we find concrete manifestations of ways of life that are in accordance with the Kingdom of God in this world, the more we will make the Kingdom of God a reality of our daily lives.

The world will confuse us so many times by questioning the treasure of faith that we have found. Then we start searching to replace our treasure of faith when we are not supposed to do that. Most often we found ourselves tired and confused in the midst of all these tribulations. In this moment there is only one thing we can do: pray with the verse from the first reading, “Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong. For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?” St. Ignatius of Loyola taught us the discernment of spirits. The basic movements are, he says, within a person who progresses spiritually the Holy Spirit will always try to inspire, to burn our hearts, to give us consolation of hearts. And in the opposite, the bad spirits will try destroy our hope, put us in constant fear, and make the desolation of our hearts continue. Within a person who spiritually falls from one vice to another, the Holy Spirit will give warning, uncovering the truth the bad spirit is trying to cover. The bad spirit will try to persuade us to fall deeper with lies and rationalizations. Discernment of spirit is what we do when we try to keep the treasure and finding ways to make it as ours. God has laid out the true treasures of the old and the new in our lives. Those who has found the true treasure, considers the other worthless, and chooses the one appointed by God; which is the true value we celebrate in the Eucharist and prayer.
 

Fr.Antonius Firmansyah, SJ