Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.
We must not be overly casual with that which is meant to be sacred. Dogs and pigs aren't in a position to show due reverence to what is holy or to have any kind of appreciate for the value of pearls. In such a condition it places both them and ourselves at risk to try too aggressively to share the treasure we have found. Much better to progress by degrees and let the grace of the mystery gradually make dogs and swine more and more human and capable of understanding. No wonder that the Church reserves reception of the Eucharist her members, to those who ought to be less likely to profane it. No wonder the early Church kept the entire liturgy of the Eucharist as reserved for the baptized and had the catechumens leave the worship space after the liturgy of the Word. We do want the world to join us around the altar of the Lord. But we don't want to place sacred things in the hands of those who will most likely scoff at them.
There is a certain sense in which the pearl of great price must be found be each individual. It is somehow a part of this process of discovery that the value becomes truly evident. This does not mean that we conceal everything from outsiders. We are meant to share what we have been given precisely to the degree that others seem ready to value and treasure it. If they are not receptive we can remain at the level they understand, and try to engage them with aspects of the faith that they recognize as valuable, for instance, by leading with beauty. After all, there is still some degree to which we ourselves are like dogs and swine before the pearl of great price, still a vast degree to which we underestimate the value of the treasure we have found. We would not wish ourselves to be left in this condition. And God will continue to draw us. So too must we draw one another as we are able, and as they are able to respond.
Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.
The golden rule contains within it all possible spiritual and corporeal works of mercy. We are meant to address ourselves to all the needs and hungers of the world especially in the ways we have been uniquely gifted to do so. Chief among these priorities is finding a way to communicate the deep value of the pearl of great price to the world. It is important precisely because it is not obvious and the opposite path appears so natural and easy.
Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.
The gate is not narrow primarily because of the effort required, for in the truest sense, Jesus already paid our price of admission. It is rather as narrow as Jesus himself, in the sense that Jesus himself is the gate for the sheep (see John 10:9). It is as narrow as the historical specificity of Jesus himself, and what he did and taught. Which is the same as to say that there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved (see Acts 4:12). It means that we don't get to set the terms and conditions ourselves. We are not to append or subtract anything from the core Gospel of Jesus himself. The gate cannot be Jesus plus that one sin which we are reluctant to release. It must finally be his will entirely or nothing at all. What we need to keep in our minds is the value of what is on the far side of that gate. The pearl of great price is worth selling all that we have and more. And it will finally cost nothing less. If we find ourselves still more fixated on the things on this world, the muck and mire of swine and of dogs, let us look to the pearl that can illuminate our hearts and humanize us. Let us listen to the word of God calling us home.
Let us pray that the Lord would fortify his Church to be a place where the glory of his name can be made known. Let us beg him to raise up a remnant from Mount Zion dedicated to his praise. The world values the Church so little that they would come against it with arrow and shield and siege-works. We who know the value of it must plead with the Lord to give it the help which he himself desires to give so that it may eventually reach even those now hostile to it with the Gospel of peace
I will shield and save this city for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.
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