Cherishing Every Speck of Goodness

The Gospel today ends on a very frightening note: “wailing and grinding of teeth”. But then we relax because that will be for the wicked at the end of the age”. With a sigh of relief we remember that the net collects all manner of fish, regardless of quality, it even includes the clam which, though ugly in appearance is the source of the “fine pearl”.

An interesting correlation can be made between the catch of fish and the coveted pearl. Unlike other precious stones, the pearl is (or once was) a living thing, a speck of foreign matter that found its way into the embryo. Instead of the intruder being rejected, it was wrapped by the mother in ‘swaddling clothes’, nurtured and, in the end, became precious beyond our wildest dreams.

With Solomon today we pray for the wisdom to recognize the potential for goodness in everyone, regardless of qualifications.

We pray for the wisdom that opens us to even a speck of goodness, not only in the marginalized but also in the terrorist and the hardened criminal.

We pray for the faith to believe that grace will envelop and nourish that speck of goodness into something precious to the Lord.

In Paul’s words, those who are marginalized are also called and justified, and they are also on a journey that by grace will end not in damnation but in glorification.

Fred Sherrer