The pearls at the metaphoric level could indicate the teachings of the wise or the interpretation of the Torah.

The pearl is the image of the kingdom of God.

There are no “short-cuts” to a genuine living of the faith,

there can be no “cutting corners” to a truly deep and meaningful spiritual life.

There are two roads that are in counter-position, that of death and that of life.

Anyone who chooses the narrow road, that of life, should know that it is full of afflictions;

narrow means tried by suffering for the sake of faith.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36*

Again Sennacherib sent messengers to

Hezekiah with these words, "Say to Hezekiah, king of Judah that his God in whom he trusts may be deceiving him in saying that Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands they have destroyed! And will you be spared?

 

Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, and when he had read it he went to the house of Yahweh; where he unrolled the letter and prayed saying, "O Yahweh, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made the heavens and the earth. (...) O Yahweh our God, save us from his hand and let all the kingdoms of the earth know that you alone, Yahweh, are God."

 

Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent word to Hezekiah: "You have called upon Yahweh and he has heard your prayer regarding Sennacherib, king of Assyria. (...)

That is why Yahweh has said this concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not enter this city nor shoot his arrows. He shall not raise a shield to oppose it nor build a siege ramp against it. (...) It happened that the angel of Yahweh went out that night and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.

 

So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, returned home and lived in Nineveh. While he was worshiping in the temple of his god, Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer slew him with the sword and then escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, succeeded him as king.

 

Ps 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11 God upholds his city forever.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls before pigs. They might trample on them, and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.

So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you: there, you have the law and the prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the road, that leads to destruction, and many go that way. How narrow is the gate that leads to life; and how rough the road; few there are who find it.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The narrow gate."

The Gospel for today contains three parts: the pearls before the pigs (Mt. 7:6), the golden rule (Mt. 7:12) and the narrow gate (Mt. 7:13-14). Jesus challenges us to enter the narrow gate. Should we want to enter into life, the way is through the narrow gate. We may now reflect how this metaphor of the narrow gate is related to the imagery of pearls before the swine and to the golden rule?

 

The golden rule is clearly stated: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." The golden rule gives a clear lesson that the self is only secondary. Jesus summons us, his followers, to become other-oriented. Moreover, with regard to the parable of the pearls, it indicates that the pigs are too preoccupied with themselves that they would fail to see the true value of the pearls before them.

 

Hence, to become more and more other-oriented is akin to entering a narrow gate. It is never an easy process but it is the way to live up to the challenge posed by the golden rule and to be less preoccupied by our own selves.