“‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.’” (Luke 2:51).
There is a very interesting taxation law case in Australia that relates to the treatment of the proceeds of crime for taxation purposes. You see, in the 1990s, a criminal buried the proceeds of his crime (a substantial amount of money) in his backyard as he could not deposit into his bank account without incurring tax. Later, a rival criminal dug the money up out of the original criminal’s backyard (while the other man was incarcerated) and stole it from him. The original man made a claim for a tax deduction of the stolen money, claiming that it was a business loss – being in the business of crime. The Australian judicial system decided that the stolen money was tax deductible – though the criminal was punished for tax evasion for hiding the money in the first place.
And I have been thinking about the actions of that criminal, for they remind me of Christ’s words in the Gospel… “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46).
Granted, in the taxation law case, the treasure was only money… But the concept is the same. You see, when something of value is found, the finder does everything in their power to hide ad protect it. In the case of that criminal, they bury the cash. In the case of a husband, he protects and respects his wife. In the case of a child with a new toy, they pack it away when friends come over so that they will not have to share it.
And yet, when Christ talked of this treasure, He was referring to vocation – He was talking about finding our purpose in this world. You see, I was made for a purpose – you were also – and it takes time for me to understand what it is. For Christ and the Blessed Virgin, who were without sin, there was no time required to understand their purpose. You see, They knew that Their purpose was to fulfil the Will of God and – seeing the TREASURE of such a vocation, They embraced it…
And I compare this to my own experience of conversion, which occurred through Grace and no merit of my own when I was praying for my little niece who was so sick some years ago. You see, Christ was always there – beside me, behind me, before me, inside me – but I could not see Him. And little by little, over time – for a sinful soul like mine requires time to discern the Holy Will of God – I came to see Him there, in ALL THINGS in my life. And He is unchanged and unchanging. He was always there. It is I who have changed – through Grace – as though the speck has come out of my eye or the dust has settled. Christ was there, despite the speck and within the dust – I just did not have the Grace to understand that or see Him then…
In Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican City, there is a colonnade, which is comprised of two hundred and eighty-four columns that appear to be randomly positioned and constructed by chance. However, if you are to stand on one of the two spots marked in the square, all of the columns will align into one column to symbolise the order that is restored when we fulfil our vocation – our purpose – for God…
And so, as I reflect upon the spot upon which I am now standing it occurs to me – that though it has taken me all the years of my life – I can finally see the two columns… Now, I can finally see…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.