[1 Kgs. 3:5-12; Rom. 8:28-30; Mt. 13:44-52]
In the 16th
and 17th centuries, Europeans believed that somewhere in the New World there
was a place of immense wealth known as El Dorado. Their searches for this
treasure wasted countless lives. The origins of El Dorado lie deep in South
America.
And like all enduring legends, the tale of El Dorado contains some
scraps of truth. When Spanish explorers reached South America in the early 16th
century, they heard stories about a tribe of natives high in the Andes Mountains
in what is now Colombia. When a new chieftain rose to power, his rule began
with a ceremony at Lake Guatavita. Accounts of the ceremony vary, but they
consistently say the new ruler was covered with gold dust, and that gold and
precious jewels were thrown into the lake to appease a god that lived
underwater. The Spaniards started calling this golden chief El Dorado,
"the gilded one." The ceremony of the gilded man supposedly ended in
the late 15th century when El Dorado and his subjects were conquered by another
tribe. But the Spaniards and other Europeans had found so much gold among the
natives along the continent's northern coast that they believed there had to be
a place of great wealth somewhere in the interior. The Spaniards didn't find El
Dorado, but they did find Lake Guatavita and tried to drain it in 1545. They
lowered its level enough to find hundreds of pieces of gold along the lake's
edge. But the presumed fabulous treasure in the deeper water was beyond their
reach.
The legend
of El Dorado was definitely not set on the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. But the
seven-member panel, which was drawing up a list of assets at the famed shrine
here, had a feel of the lost city of gold as they set foot in one of the two
secret vaults located inside the sprawling granite structure. The team opened
the locks of vault A. What they saw inside was startling. Gold coins dating
back thousands of years, gold necklaces as long as nine feet and weighing about
2.5 kg, about one tonne of the
yellow metal in the shape of rice trinkets, sticks made of the yellow metal,
sack full of diamonds, gold ropes, thousands of pieces of antique jewellery
studded with diamonds and emeralds, crowns and other precious stones lay
scattered in the chamber. The next day threw up far more surprises in the form
of 17 kg of gold coins dating back to the East India Company period, 18 coins
from Napolean's era, precious stones wrapped in silk bundles besides over 1,000
kg of gold in the form of coins and trinkets and a small elephant made of the
yellow metal. There were also sovereigns bearing the 1772 seal indicating they
were from the reign of the then native king Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma.
Stories of hidden treasure have been very common
from the ancient times. In times of war, enemy soldiers were always on
the lookout for treasures to plunder. Hence, at the enemy’s approach,
people would bury their treasure hoping to recover them once peace
returned. But, often the owner would die, carrying to the tomb the secret
of the place where the treasure had been hidden. There was a rabbinic saying
that there was only one safe repository for money – the earth.
Jesus used a very familiar story that anyone in
Palestine and in the east generally recognize, to describe the Kingdom of
God: “The kingdom of Heaven is
like a treasure that is hidden in a field that someone found”
The lesson in this parable is, first, that
the man found the precious thing, not so much by chance, as in his day’s
work. The man stumbled all unexpectedly upon it, but he did so when he
was going about his daily business. So, Jesus tells His hearers that
the Kingdom of God is to be found while doing the daily routine of
our life with efficiency and diligence.
When Jesus called His disciples they were all
engaged in their work. Peter was fishing with Andrew, when Jesus called them.
Mathew was at the tax collection booth when he was called. Jesus saw all
the 12 men at work, and picked them up to be his followers.
When we read the biographies of great
saints, too, we see that they were called when they were actively engaged in
their daily responsibilities. St Paul was on his way to Rome, to engage in the
new responsibility of annihilating Christians, Jesus called him on his
way. St Francis Assisi was with the group of crusaders when he was called
to accept the new responsibility. St Francis Xavier was engaged in his daily
routine when the call of Jesus came to him through Ignatius Layola.
St. Isidore
was a farmer from Madrid, Spain. For the greater part of his life he was
employed as a laborer on a farm outside the city. Many marvelous happenings
accompanied his lifelong work in the fields and continued long after his holy
death. He was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the angels
sometimes helped him in his work in the fields. St. Isidore was canonized in
1622.
By the time Maria Goreti was six, her family
had become so poor that they were forced to give up their farm, move, and work
for other farmers. Soon, Maria's father Luigi became very sick with malaria,
and died when Maria was just nine. While her brothers, mother, and sister
worked in the fields, Maria would cook, sew, watch her infant sister, and keep
the house clean. She accepted martyrdom, at the age of 11, when she was
doing the household routine.
As Jesus met his disciples, As Jesus Called
St Paul, As Jesus interrupted St Francis, As Jesus Assisted St Isidore, As
Jesus came to Maria Goreti, in their daily work, today Jesus meets
us in our daily life too. There is an unwritten saying of Jesus, “Raise
the stone and thou shalt find me; cleave the wood and I am there.”
When the mason is working on the stone, when the carpenter is working with
the wood, Jesus is there. True happiness, true satisfaction, the sense of
God, the presence of the Kingdom of God are all to be found in the day’s
work, when the day’s work is honestly and conscientiously done. The
mothers can find the great treasure of the Kingdom of God, if they dedicate
themselves in the service of their children and family. Wives can find the
great joy offered by Jesus, when they dedicate their life selflessly, ignoring
all the difference of opinion and their spouse with all their limitations,
children can find the Kingdom of God and Jesus when they lovingly submit
themselves to their parents, and dedicate themselves to their little
responsibilities. “Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God
speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.” Says Malcolm
Muggeridge. But, “We always keep God waiting while we admit more
importunate suitors.” Says Malcolm de Chazal.
The second lesson of this parable is that it
is worthy any sacrifice to enter the kingdom. Suddenly, as the man
discovered the treasure, there may flash upon us, in some moment of
illumination, the conviction of what God’s will is for us. Be ready to accept
it.
Satish