SUNDAY’S GOSPEL—July 26, 2020 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Matthew 13:44–52 or 13:44–46

When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. –Matthew 13:46

For Children: Share this short video lesson about Heaven with your young children.

For Adults: My twenty-something niece met a fellow while spending a year abroad. After she returned to the States, nothing seemed right. A year later, she returned to Europe and married the man. When you find the pearl of great price, everything else you have seems worthless in comparison.

We know the pearl when we encounter it. We might not know its name before we lay eyes on it, what shape or form it may take, whether it’s a life mate or vocation, the right city or a congenial community, that we’re looking for. We may not even be looking for anything, until the thing we’re longing for hits us over the head and we realize we can’t live without it. Like the pearl dealer in the story, we may have to visit a lot of stalls and settle for a lot of second-best until real value comes our way. In the meantime, polish your discernment and trust!

When have you known, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this person, place, career, or thing, was the genuine item?

LET US PRAY… Lord, we confess to you that we are not the people you created us to be. You know our failings and our weaknesses well, for you see the hearts of all plainly. Inspire us with the fire of your word, that we might incarnate the truth of Scripture in the lives we lead. Teach us to take risks for love’s sake. Amen.

While The Gospel at Home takes a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings by Alice Camille.

 
Image credit: Sweet Publishing / FreeBibleimages.org