Sunday, 26 July 2026, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12
Second Reading: Romans 8:28-30
Gospel: Matthew 13:44-46
Full text on USCCB: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072626.cfm
What is the one thing you hope God never asks you to give up? Think about your life right now. Do not think of a general answer, but rather that one specific thing. Most of us know the answer right away, even if we have never said it out loud. Hold that answer quietly in your mind, and listen again to what Jesus tells us today. In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus tells two short stories. A worker finds a hidden treasure in a field. A merchant finds one perfect pearl. What do they do next? Out of pure joy, they go and sell everything they own to get it. They finally see what something is truly worth, and they gladly give up everything to have it.
This is where the story stops being about them and starts being about us. You see, our problem is not seeing. We already know where the treasure is. We come to Mass because we know Jesus is the greatest treasure. Our real problem is selling. We are simply not very good at letting things go.
We should be honest with ourselves about why this is so hard. We hold onto things tightly because they make us feel safe. Maybe we hold onto constant worry because it tricks us into feeling like we have control over the future. We might hold onto trying to please everyone because their approval makes us feel valuable. Or maybe we hold onto complaining because it is easier to focus on what is wrong than to do the hard work of trusting God to fix it.
All of these habits act like a thick wall around our hearts. Underneath them sits one quiet fear. If I open my hand and let go, who will catch me? It turns out, we do not refuse God because we love our worries or complaints too much. We refuse God because we are afraid. A closed fist is not always a sign of stubbornness. Usually, it is just fear hiding behind a closed hand.
Saint Paul gives us the cure for this fear in our Second Reading. In Romans 8:28, he reminds us, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God.” This is God’s personal promise to you. You do not have to be afraid to open your hands, because God will not let you fall. He is simply asking you to trade a fake sense of security for the real safety of His loving hands.
King Solomon shows us what this deep trust looks like. In 1 Kings 3:5, God came to him in a dream and said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” Solomon could have asked for long life, wealth, or power. Instead, he opened his hands and let go of worldly desires. He simply asked for “an understanding heart” to judge the people well, as we hear in 1 Kings 3:9. His famous asking began as a selling.
Making this open-handed choice is hard. Letting go is a daily decision. Saint Paul says God is shaping us to be “conformed to the image of his Son” in Romans 8:29. That shaping process takes time and sometimes includes carrying a cross before the morning comes. But you can trust that God is at work in all of it.
This week, let us try to actually open our hands. Go back to that answer you thought of at the very beginning of this homily. Think about that one thing you hold onto so tightly. Tell God what it is out loud just once. Then, take one small step to open your hand against it. If your closed hand is constant worry, spend five minutes in silence every morning giving God permission to handle your day. If your closed hand is needing to always be right, let a disagreement go without having the last word. If it is complaining, try to go one whole day without a single complaint. Make a small sale to buy a real field. You already know where the treasure is. What you are asking God for this week is the courage to finally open your hand.
God bless us all. Amen.
“Think about that one thing you hold onto so tightly. Tell God what it is out loud just once…”
Wonderful suggestion to overcome our weaknesses 🙏