First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12


Those who would tut-tut disapprovingly regarding the significance of dreams get yet another reminder of how God speaks to us. He does so in a myriad of ways, including and maybe especially, through our unedited sub-conscious. This is sometimes sloppily referred to as our dream world. The dream mentioned here is beautiful, all the more so because it gives us the phrase “the wisdom of Solomon’. Solomon is granted his heart’s desire, which is wisdom, precisely because he asked for it. YHWH sees that Solomon could have been more selfish or egotistical, but is impressed by his desire to serve well.



Second Reading: Romans 8:23-30

Lest we miss the call to service that comes through the dream of Solomon, we are reminded here in these very encouraging words in Romans, that if we engage in this service, which is essentially God’s work, we are doing God’s
will, and in fact that we are co-workers his. Our exhilaration comes from being on the divine team! Hand-picked!



Gospel Reading: Matthew 13: 44-52


Matthew equates the deep joy in our soul with the ‘aah’ moment that comes after a long and tedious search of the lovely healthy, exhausting after the long wait just before the great catch. Though there is a surprise. Unlike the discerning merchant of the industrious fisherman who find the treasure after toil, note the mysterious ‘someone’ in verse 44 who also has found the treasure. Granted he may well have been tilling the land, however could it be that he was ambling along? Surely not. Surely one does not stumble on the kingdom of God?