17th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Fr. Peter

We learn on the first day of Economics 101 that the market value of an item is determined by the interaction of supply and demand. Today, for example, computer memory has become so easy to produce that some companies like Google virtually give it away: it is not worth very much, despite a high demand for it. On the other hand, as some sorry parents have found out, the iPod music player is very expensive. It probably does not cost very much to produce, but every kid needs to have one. Therefore, it costs twice as much as many other players of its kind. The same goes for Nike shoes, Levi jeans, and Starbucks coffee—there is plenty to go around, but people are willing to pay extra for the cultural caché that these particular brands bring with them.
Many people forget that economics is not a mathematical science but a social science. The example I quoted above should baffle any reasonable theorist at a certain level. Why do we prefer Starbucks and not some other brand? The choice at one level is completely irrational. After all, coffee is not even necessary for our survival, contrary to the appeals our early-morning bodies make to us.
Then again, human beings are not merely biological creatures. The very fact that we can speak of the value of things betrays our freedom as spiritual beings. Value is a function of choice and preference, and these are activities of heart and mind. Animals do not need Alan Greenspan to help regulate their commerce in durable goods and commodities.
Our circumstances force us to make choices. For one thing, we are not going to live forever. So when someone urges us to believe that we can be whatever we want to be is misleading us. I lack the time to accomplish all of the things that seem worth doing. I can also mention the fact that I lack the talent for most of the things I would most like to do. These limitations press upon all of us, and at first glance it may seem to be unfair.
The recognition of our limitations is the first step toward living a meaningful life. The very fact that we are limited creatures makes our choices meaningful. We recognize what is important in our lives by what we are willing to forego in order to have it. This calculation does not come easy today. Rather, many people will claim a status for themselves that is based not on the sacrifices they have made, but on the feelings they happen to have. There are those who would like to call themselves monks without having given up personal property and the freedom from external authority. Nor is it fair to call someone a scholar just because he is intelligent, or someone a musician just because he can play an instrument. Without a corresponding sacrifice, these sorts of titles are like American currency: they have an arbitrary value by fiat, but not any real worth. This sort of linguistic slipperiness is characteristic of those who would avoid sobering up to the fact of our creatureliness.
As Christians, we know that life does not end with our deaths, but we also know that this life is our time of trial, in which we can either choose greater goods or be caught in a quagmire of lesser. We also know that there is one good that is infinitely greater than any created good, and that is God Himself. When we have a hard time making choices because too many of them seem available and desirable, we need recourse to the one Good that gives meaning and value to all the others, and that is the Creator of all goods, God. This fact is obvious to our minds, but our wills and our affections are slow to follow.
We often forget about the unsurpassable value of God because we become enamored at the greatness of the human person. I began saying that human choices determine the worth of various items, and the fact that economics is based on human behavior means that it is a behavioral and not a mathematical science. This is true insofar as this limited world goes. But when we come to include God in the equation, all predictions are off. God can make rich or poor in an instant as He chooses. We don’t like to admit it, but all of our values are relative compared to Him, all of our efforts are provisional and subject to reversal. The tendency of the past four or five centuries has been to hold this fact against God and so to attempt to go it on our own.
If we look at today’s first reading, we immediately see that humility follows a different path. Solomon recognizes his limitations. Incidentally, we are used to speaking of Solomon as one who asked God for wisdom. In fact, he asks God for a ‘hearing heart’ or even better, an ‘obedient heart’. Solomon wishes to be totally attuned to God, to pattern his life after the Word of God, just as he patterned the temple after the heavenly reality. It is because he wishes to bow before God’s judgments rather than pursue his own that God gives him the preciously rare gift of wisdom.
But does God ask us what it is that we want? Was not Solomon an exception? No, God asks us daily what we want. Our very restlessness, our passions and hopes are all indications that God is posing us this very question. "What is it that you want, and what would you give for it?" We answer God’s question by our choices. When I take the time to examine my choices, what do they tell me about what I value in life?
If I find that my choices are often weak, clouded by comfort or laziness, skewed by an incompleteness of knowledge, I should not despair. Why not? Because the very fact that you have taken this time means that you have an opportunity for conversion. Remember, the merchant did not just come upon the pearl of great price by accident. He had spent a good deal of time learning to judge the precious pearl from the imitation, and he had researched into where he might find the finest pearls. Am I making these preparations in my search for the Kingdom of God? If not, why not begin today? Would I recognize the Kingdom if I came upon it? If I fear not, perhaps I could see this limitation and ask God for an obedient heart. Would I be prepared to give everything for it? If not, perhaps I can begin by giving something a little above my accustomed tithe to God.
I suspect that we are leery of taking the time to make these sorts of examinations in our lives because we are afraid that they will show us up to be unworthy of the kingdom. So we return again to that word: worth. We prayed in the opening of this morning's liturgy that without God nothing has value, yet we act as if we can generate our own value by making ourselves more in demand or keeping the supply of ourselves low. That is, we either try to impress everyone or we try to disdain everyone in a vain attempt to inflate our self-worth. But our true worth is known best to God who made us. So we should pose the same question to God that we posed to ourselves when were investigating what was of most value to ourselves. What is God willing to give up for us?
The answer is plain: we, you and I, are worth the infinite price of the life of God’s Only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, to whom be all power and glory and worship in His Kingdom forever and ever. Amen.