Matthew 13:44-52
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you O Lord.
Do you remember shopping for your first car? You had an idea what you wanted. Maybe you looked through car magazines or roamed dealer lots. Maybe a particular model caught your eye on the street. I’m not sure about how the young girls pick out the perfect car but for guys you zeroed in on the ultimate macho machine, the perfect chick magnet. When you found that perfect car you had to have it no matter what it would take.
What about house hunting? When you found that perfect house you went through hoops trying to find a mortgage to allow you to purchase it.
Think about the people who go through life knowing that there is something missing in their life something that could make it perfect. No matter how life is going for them there is still an emptiness that just can’t be filled. In their efforts to fill that emptiness they turn to drugs, alcohol, and any number of destructive behaviors to try fill the void. They essentially sell everything in an effort to buy what seemed to be the perfect answer. Yet none of these things they try can fill the void. They realize there has to be something more but they don’t really know what it is or how to find it.
It’s very depressing to think that so many people live such an existence. Even in the wealthiest nation on earth there is despair. That hopelessness is echoed in much of the music young people listen to today.
In our gospel reading Jesus is giving us some analogies to what it is like to find the kingdom. He hands us comparisons to help us understand; heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.
In Old Testament times it was not uncommon to bury valuables in a plowed field when invaders were approaching. The tilled soil was already disturbed so digging in the field was not obvious to the invading armies. Unfortunately for those who tried to preserve their valuables it was not uncommon for the items to forever be lost to the owner. As you can imagine finders-keepers was the rule of the day. If you stumbled upon buried valuables they were yours.
How is finding treasure in a field like finding the kingdom?
The most obvious part of the comparison is the joy at finding something valuable. Is there anyone that wouldn’t be filled with joy at finding something of great value?
In another way we could look at the comparison and say that the buried treasure is hidden or obscured from view. To many the kingdom is obscured, they don’t know about it, or don’t want to accept it. And yet for those who do find it, they immediately see its great value.
Our man in the parable reburied the treasure and sold all of his possessions in order to purchase the field, an odd thing to do if finders-keepers were the law of the day. He was willing to do anything to gain that treasure.
For most of us this parable lays a heavy burden on us. We read it and think that we can’t live up to the calling to follow Jesus. Are we willing to give up everything to follow Jesus? Fortunately we live in a comfortable place where we aren’t faced with that difficult decision. Think of how close to home this parable came for the disciples. They were beginning to see the cost of following Jesus. They gave up possessions; families were torn apart over the new teaching. This parable must have been painful to hear at first.
While you are pondering the burden you may feel from this parable let me give you insight to what Jesus intended. The man in the parable is Jesus. He was so full of joy to find the treasure, his people, that He gave up everything even His mortal life to purchase us. He was willing to endure the most heinous suffering and death so that there was no question of ownership. We are His.
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. Again He uses a comparison but this time the kingdom or the king is like the merchant looking for the perfect pearl and when he finds it he sells everything to purchase the perfect jewel. God sees us as His perfect jewel something He desired from the beginning but sin entered the world and He sold everything to redeem us from the darkness of this world. Look at the Old Testament reading, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Can there be any doubt how much the Lord loves us, not just us, but all people.
We are His treasured possession purchased with the precious blood of Jesus on the cross so there would never be a doubt of ownership. No matter how great our sin we are His. The only thing Jesus asks of us is that we believe in the great gift He has performed for us.
Jesus follows up the hidden treasure and the pearl with the parable of the net. The net is cast to catch all of the fish and pull them from the water. Then the fish will be sorted good from bad. Notice a distinct similarity to the parable of the weeds.
In the parable of the weeds we are the sowers casting seed indiscriminately so that it may land everywhere. Our care is not the harvest. Jesus will command His angels about the harvest.
In the parable of the net you guessed it we are the net cast to pull all the fish from all waters. Jesus, the fisherman, will sort out the good fish from the bad.
As we circle back to the despair in this world it’s troubling that that there is a perfect answer but so many don’t have it. Despite good times and bad there is an answer to fill the void they feel. If only they were in the net so that they may realize they are a beautiful treasure to the Lord. Some of them are in the net the seed is planted but has not taken root. Yet there are so many outside of the net or slipping through the holes and tears.
The holes and tears of discrimination are many. No matter how hard we resist the temptation to judge who is worthy and who is not wears us down. Even John the Baptist was tempted as he sat in prison questioning the work of Jesus. The discouragement of not seeing immediate conversions or rising attendance deters us from our mission. We forget that the harvest, the sorting of the fish, is not our job. The distractions allow the net to fall into disrepair.
The well maintained net has no holes. The believers work together to maximize their efforts and cast the net far and wide. The more fish in the net the better, the kind of fish doesn’t matter.
As we leave today let the Lord make the mesh of the net of Calvary strong and resilient so we can pull as many ashore as possible.
In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
