ACC ~ Matthew 13 v45 - 46

IN SEARCH OF FINE PEARLS

ORIGEN: Now among the words of all kinds that profess to announce truth, and among those who report them, he seeks pearls. Think of the prophets as, so to speak, the pearls that receive the dew of heaven and become pregnant with the word of truth from heaven. They are goodly pearls that, according to the phrase here set forth, the merchant seeks. And the chief of the pearls, on the finding of which the rest are found with it, is the very costly pearl, the Christ of God, the Word that is superior to the precious letters and thoughts in the law and the prophets. When one finds this pearl all the rest are easily released.

Suppose, then, that one is not a disciple of Christ. He possesses no pearls at all, much less the very costly pearl, as distinguished from those that are cloudy or darkened. … The muddy words and the heresies that are bound up with works of the flesh are like the darkened pearls and those that are produced in the marshes. They are not beautiful. COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10.8 [1]

[1] GCS 40:9-10.

THE PEARL ONE’S HEART WAS SET ON

HILARY: As regards the pearl, the reasoning is the same. But this passage is of value for the merchant who has long been steeped in the law. After lengthy labors, he finds out about this pearl and abandons those things that he obtained under the yoke of the law. For he carried on business for a long time and found the pearl that his heart was set on. He must pay the price of this one pearl he desired at the expense of all his other work. ON MATTHEW 13.8. [1]

[1] SC 254:302.

THE MERCHANT SOLD ALL THAT HE HAD

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Many who were entirely foreign to religion immediately recognized, by divine grace, the greatness of Christ, in that they despised all their former things and looked to this thing alone, recognizing that the one who is salvation is for them. Then he adds, again, that many people, even of those who have been exceedingly zealous about religion, when they recognize the greatness of the preaching, shall turn aside from old things. Such, for instance, was Paul, who had displayed a great deal of zeal for the law, but who, when he came to see the greatness of the gospel, disdained everything having to do with the law. He himself says, “but what things were gain to me, those I counted as loss for the sake of Christ”; [1] and again, “I count all things but loss, and count them as dung, that I may win Christ.” [2] He seems to have said this both on account of those Greeks who were devoted to religion and, again, on account of the Jews. FRAGMENT 75. [3]

[1] Phil 3:7.

[2] Phil 3:8.

[3] MKGK 121.

COMPARING EARTHLY PEARLS WITH HEAVENLY

GREGORY THE GREAT: Again, the kingdom of heaven is said to be like a merchant who is seeking fine pearls. He finds one really precious pearl, and, having found it, he sells everything he has in order to buy it. In the same way, he who has a clear knowledge of the sweetness of heavenly life gladly leaves behind all the things he loved on earth. Compared with that pearl, everything else fades in value. He forsakes those things that he has and scatters those things that he has gathered. His heart yearns for heavenly things, and nothing on earth pleases him. The allure of earthly things has now dissipated, for only the brilliance of that precious pearl dazzles his mind. Solomon justly says of such love, “Love is strong as death,” [1] because just as death destroys the body, so ardent desire for eternal life cuts off the love for material things. For love makes insensitive to extraneous earthly desires the person whom it has swept off his feet. FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 11.2. [2]

[1] Song 8:6.

[2] PL 76:1115; CS 123:63-64 (Homily 9).

THE KINGDOM IS LIKE A MERCHANT

PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: Let no one who hears this take offense at the name merchant. Here Christ is speaking of a merchant who shows mercy, not of one who is always usuriously investing his profits from capital. This merchant is the one who provides for the adornment of virtues, not the incentive of vices. He weighs the dignity of morals, not the weight of jewels. He wears necklaces of integrity, not of luxury. He flaunts not a display of sensual pleasure but the earmarks of discipline. Therefore this merchant exhibits pearls of heart and body, not in human trading but in heavenly commerce. He displays them not to trade for a present advantage but for a future one. He trades in order to gain not earthly but heavenly glory. He seeks to procure the kingdom of heaven as the reward of his virtues and to buy, at the price of innumerable other goods, the one pearl of everlasting life. SERMONS 47.2. [1]

[1] CCL 24:260.