Jesus, the Jeweler

by Mark Yuching 

Mark is an active Eucharistic minister of our parish. He is an alumnus of our school and is currently working for a financial institution. He is also involved with the Rotary Club. He is happily married with three lovely children. 

Let’s take a look at these familiar parables in a different light. We are accustomed to seeing ourselves as the merchant in search of fine pearls or the man who finds a treasure in the field. But can we really possess the Almighty? Isn’t it that it is He who possesses us? What if Jesus were the merchant or the treasure-seeker? What if He was the one who gave up everything to have us? We may feel a bit uncomfortable comparing ourselves to a treasure and a pearl, but it does show us how precious we are to Jesus. When He looks at us, He sees beyond our sins and failings. He knows that we need a radical cleanup, but He’s undaunted by the task. After all, he shed his blood for us!  

However, the metaphor falls short in one important detail. Pearls are passive in the jeweler’s hand. Human beings are free. We can choose to cooperate with Him or to resist His work. Seldom are we totally yielded or totally resistant. We let Him work with us for a while, and then we think we can do it better without His help. Jesus patiently respects our freedom and welcomes us back again and again. Rather than insisting on a predetermined plan, He lets us work actively with him to build his kingdom in our hearts and in our world. 

The parable of the dragnet tells us that all human beings are called to the kingdom, but that not all will find eternal life. Even Church membership is no guarantee of holiness. We shouldn’t be disillusioned to find other sinners—sinners just like us—in the Church, and neither should we be too quick to judge. God is perfectly capable of sorting it all out. In the meantime, we should imitate Jesus in seeing the potential pearl in each child of God and encouraging him or her to cooperate with Jesus in his desire to clean us all up and let us shine. So let’s all place ourselves in the Jeweler’s hand.