17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026

 Bishop Mark O’Connell found his bishop’s ring at the bottom of a bag of Utz potato chips. (photo: Courtesy photo / The Evangelist )

A few weeks ago, our neighbor to the south, Bishop Mark O'Connell of Albany, experienced every bishop's nightmare. He lost his episcopal ring.

Now, if you've ever misplaced your wedding ring, a family heirloom, or some other treasured possession, you know the feeling. You retrace your steps. You look in every drawer. You check the car, the house, and every pocket. You become convinced that it has vanished forever.

That's exactly what happened. They searched the rectory. They searched everywhere. Weeks went by. Eventually Bishop O'Connell even borrowed an old bishop's ring from the diocesan archives because he assumed his was gone for good.

Then one day another priest reached into an open bag of Utz potato chips in the rectory pantry—and there it was. The bishop's ring had somehow ended up at the bottom of a bag of chips.

It's a funny story, but what struck me wasn't where the ring was found. It was why everyone kept looking for it.

To most people, it was just a ring.

To Bishop O'Connell, it represented his call from God, his ordination as a bishop, and his ministry to the people entrusted to his care. Its value had very little to do with gold and everything to do with what it meant.

That is exactly what Jesus is talking about in today's Gospel.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field."

"The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls."

In both parables, someone discovers something so valuable that everything else suddenly becomes secondary. They gladly sell everything they have because they have found something worth far more.

The question is not whether the treasure is valuable.

The question is whether we recognize it.

Notice that everyone else walked past that field. Nobody else saw the treasure. Many people probably looked at that pearl and saw nothing extraordinary.

Only one person recognized what was there.

The same thing is true in our spiritual lives.

God's greatest treasures are often hidden in ordinary places.

The world looks at Sunday Mass and sees an hour in church.

We see an encounter with Christ.

The world looks at the Eucharist and sees ordinary bread.

We see the Body of Christ.

The world looks at prayer and sees wasted time.

We see a conversation with the God who created us.

The world looks at forgiveness and sees weakness.

We see freedom.

The world looks at a faithful marriage, a priestly vocation, or a life of service and sacrifice and asks, "Why would anyone give up so much?"

Because when you discover the treasure, the sacrifice no longer feels like a loss.

You have found something greater.

That brings us to Solomon in the first reading.

God appears to Solomon and essentially gives him a blank check.

"Ask something of me and I will give it to you."

Imagine hearing those words.

What would you ask for?

A longer life?

Better health?

Financial security?

Success for your children and grandchildren?

A winning lottery ticket?

Solomon could have asked for any of those things. Instead, he asks for wisdom—an understanding heart.

Why?

Because Solomon recognized the true treasure.

He understood that wisdom, knowing God's will and living according to it, was worth more than wealth, power, or prestige.

At least at this point in his life, Solomon knew what really mattered.

And that is the question these readings place before us today:

What is your treasure?

What do you value most?

If someone watched how you spend your time, your energy, your money, and your attention, what would they conclude is your pearl of great price?

Because Jesus teaches that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.

Today also happens to be the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, and the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

One of the gifts older people often give us is perspective.

After a lifetime of living, most grandparents have learned that many of the things we chase after don't matter nearly as much as we think they do.

Careers end.

Possessions wear out.

Achievements fade.

But faith remains.

Love remains.

Family remains.

God remains.

Many grandparents have spent a lifetime discovering what Jesus is teaching us today: that the greatest treasures are not the ones we can buy, but the ones that lead us closer to God.

As we gather around this altar today, we come before the greatest treasure of all.

To the world it may look ordinary.

But by faith we recognize what is hidden here.

Like the treasure in the field.

Like the pearl of great price.

Like Bishop O'Connell's ring at the bottom of a bag of potato chips.

The treasure is there.

The question is whether we have eyes to recognize it.