8th Sunday after Pentecost
July 30, 2017
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
I went to college in St. Louis and I had a friend who was
from there, and is now a fellow United Methodist pastor, and back in the day, we’d
occasionally have theological discussions. We’re both baseball fans, and he
once told me that he thought the kingdom of heaven was like Busch Stadium, home
of the St. Louis Cardinals. This was the old Busch Stadium, the one they tore
down to build the current one, and I have not been to the new one. The old
Busch Stadium had a crown of arches for its roof, echoing the city’s Gateway
Arch, and so the stadium looked like a complete circle.
My friend thought that
complete circle echoed the completeness of the kingdom of heaven. Plus, there’s
baseball! Doesn’t your vision of
heaven include baseball?! Alas, baseball was about 1,800 years too late to be
included in the analogies Jesus used to describe the kingdom of heaven.
Instead, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a
mustard seed, an itty bitty seed that can grow into a bush 20 feet tall! Jesus
said it’s like yeast, that you mix in with 60 pounds of flour and it causes all
that dough to rise into bread. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a hidden
treasure, buried in a field, and when a person found it, he went and sold
everything he had in order to buy that field. Similarly, Jesus said it’s like a
merchant in search of fine pearls and when she found one of great value, she
also sold everything she had in order to buy that pearl. Finally, Jesus said
the kingdom of heaven is like a net that you let down into the lake and it
catches all kinds of fish. Once the fishermen get back to shore, then the fish
are sorted, just like the angels will sort people at the end of the age.
There are lots of conclusions we can draw from these
analogies and there is lots we can learn about the kingdom from those five
objects. Yet when Jesus asks the disciples, “Have you understood all this?” and
they say, “Yes,” which is a curious answer, then Jesus says, “Therefore every
teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like
the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as
old.”[1]
Wait, what? Everyone who is trained in
the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of storage new
treasures and old treasures. Beloved, I love to look up and compare
different translations of the Bible. I believe the words we use are important
and I always find it interesting to compare different Bible translations. For
that verse, the one about disciples being like homeowners who bring new and old
treasures out of storage, it was not until the seventh translation I looked up
before I found one that used the same phrasing of that verse![2]
Jesus addressed teachers of the law, legal experts, scribes, students, teachers
of religious law, and one translation said both scribes and teachers of the law. Jesus addressed those who are disciples in
the kingdom of heaven, who have been trained as disciples for the kingdom of
heaven, who are well-trained in God’s kingdom, who are instructed concerning
the kingdom of heaven, and who are students of the ways of the Kingdom. Jesus
said they are like the owner of a house, the head of a household, the master of
a household, the owner of a general store, a homeowner, and a householder. These
homeowners bring out of their storeroom new treasures as well as old, bring old
and new things out of their treasure chest, brings out of their treasure what
is new and what is old, can put their hands on anything you need, old or new,
exactly when you need it, bring from their storeroom new gems of truth as well
as old, bring out of their treasure things new and old, and take new and old
things out of their storage room. To repeat what Jesus asked, have you
understood all this? There’s not a lot of difference, and yet it’s unusual for
so many translations to have their own phrasing that’s not exactly the same as any
other.
So, here’s the take-away: we are those who have been trained, well-trained, as disciples in the
kingdom of heaven. That’s part of why we read and study the bible. It’s not
just to get something out of it for us or something to apply to our life
situation; it’s training and education in the kingdom of heaven. And because we
learn about the kingdom and we pray for the kingdom to come here on earth as it
is in heaven, then we are like these homeowners, householders, and masters. We have these treasures, too. Three
things about these treasures:
First, these
treasures are things of worth; they have value. Most of the translations
actually use the word ‘treasure,’ either calling the things themselves
‘treasure’ or saying that they come from a ‘treasure chest.’ One that was
different was the one that called them gems of truth, which is also something
valuable, a gem. And the other ones talked about bringing things out of
storage, remaining rather neutral on whether these things are valuable or not.
Except, that if you’re bringing them out of storage, then they were valuable
enough to store in the first place and
they are valuable enough to bring out of storage and use now. This isn’t
treasure that’s decayed or rotted over time; it is still good. As Jesus’
disciples, as those trained in the ways of the kingdom of heaven, we have
treasure! If I could do a better pirate imitation, I would. We have access to
these store rooms, these treasure rooms, that have things that are not put in
there just to be thrown away later, because they’re really just trash, but
things worthy to be used now. Two of
those comparisons Jesus made for the kingdom of heaven were things that people
had to sell everything they owned in order to be able to buy. The pearl of
great price was worth it to the merchant to sell everything else she owned so
that she could buy that one pearl. Likewise, the field with the buried treasure
cost everything the man had. This is what the kingdom of heaven is worth:
everything. The kingdom of heaven is full of treasure, of things to be valued. Just
in case you’re still thinking like a pirate, this isn’t value that can be
monetized, like gold or coins. Everything is everything, regardless of whether
it’s a little or a lot. One of my favorite quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a
German pastor who stood up to Hitler, is when he wrote that “when Christ bids a
man come, he bids him come and die.” When Christ calls you, as he has called
each one of us, as he has called each disciple, he calls us to die to
ourselves. He calls us to be willing to sacrifice everything, whether
everything is a little or a lot. That’s the cost of the kingdom of heaven: to
sell everything for the pearl of great price, to give up everything for the
field with the buried treasure. Bonhoeffer also wrote about costly grace: “It
is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a
man the only true life.” True life is only found in Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “Those
who lose their life for my sake will find it.”[3]
I know a little bit about this. When I went to Nicaragua, I sold my car, left
my students, and lived off support, losing my financial independence. And I
loved Nicaragua! I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life there. Then,
God called me back, to seminary. I had enrolled but not started when I started
dating my husband. We were married after my first year in seminary, and y’all know
where we are now. Losing your life to find it. That is the treasure buried in
the field; that is why it is treasure that you can’t put a dollar amount on.
Furthermore,
these treasures are valuable enough to be used now. How many of us have special
jewelry that you only wear for extremely special occasions? I have a few
pieces, too. Or maybe a special item of clothing that you only wear once or
twice a year? These items cost more, we tend to take better care of them than
our everyday clothing and jewelry, and yet we wear them less. And when we do
wear them, we usually have to pull them out from the back of the closet or a
different jewelry box than the one we use on a daily basis. I wore one of my
special pieces this morning. The last time I wore it was to a friend’s wedding
and my son broke the chain. I got it fixed, and then put it away. Today is the
first time I’ve worn it since then. Special clothing and special jewelry are
not too different from these treasures. Did you notice Jesus said they all have
to be brought out? That means they are
all hidden or stored. They have to be taken out, they have to be found. The
merchant had to go seek and find the
pearl. The man had to dig to find the
treasure buried in the field. These are not things that are always obvious or
just lying around in plain sight. This is treasure that has been stored away,
just waiting to be pulled out. The kingdom of heaven is not readily apparent to
everyone, but only for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, as Jesus says. The
apostle Paul even talked about treasure being stored in jars of clay, something
completely ordinary and mundane.[4]
Who would expect great treasure to be stored in clay jars? Who would look for
it there? Only Indiana Jones, who had to remember that Jesus was a carpenter,
not a fancy nobleman. Paul says putting treasure in clay jars is to show that
the power, the treasure, is from God and not from us. The kingdom of heaven,
hidden in a field, stored in a clay jar, is a treasure just waiting to be
brought out and used. It’s waiting for someone to look for it and find it and
appreciate its value.
Finally, what every translation makes sure to use to
describe these treasures is that they include
old treasures and new treasures. Some treasure is old; some treasure is
new. Both are valuable. Both are needed. Old ideas. New ideas. Old ways of
doing things. New ways of doing things. Both belong in the kingdom of heaven.
Both can work together. Putting new words to old songs and old words to new
music. My engagement ring is from the 1920’s, it was my great-grandmother’s. The
wedding band we bought in 2008 when we got married, yet we had to find a style
that matched the engagement ring. Old and new can work together very well, as
long as they complement each other. A new frame for an old painting, or moving
the painting to a different room in the house. Jesus does not say, “Out with
the old and in with the new.” Jesus says the kingdom of heaven has old
treasures and new treasures. Both are important. Both are part of the kingdom.
When both John the Baptist and Jesus began their
preaching careers, the first thing they said was “Repent, for the kingdom of
God has come near.”[5]
That was the good news they each had to share. Repent, change your life, turn
back to God, because the kingdom of God has come near. The kingdom of God has
come near. I don’t know whether your idea of the kingdom includes baseball or a
different sport or no sports. The cool thing about the kingdom is that we get
to catch glimpses of it here on earth as it is in heaven. We catch glimpses. One church member voluntarily went out and
worked on those weeds in the playground. Another church member, the 2nd
Sunday we were here, voluntarily took my children and her grandchildren to go
play during the second half of the service. I don’t know where the idea
originated, but someone thought to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with
the crusts cut off at the reception because they knew there were going to be
picky kids there. I know I’ve accidentally stepped on some toes in the month
I’ve been here, but no one has taken offense and all have allowed me grace. The
kingdom of God is here, if we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. That’s
the true treasure that we have, if we can find the key to the storeroom, or
maybe remember where the storeroom is. We have this treasure room, full of old
and new treasures that are just waiting to be taken out, just waiting to be
seen and used. The kingdom of heaven is like buried treasure, just waiting to
be found. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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