Hidden Treasure
Eighth Sunday in Pentecost-July 30, 2017 Baltic and East Nidaros Parish Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Hidden Treasure - Sermon by Pastor R. J. Questad
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Parables—they are often described as earthly stories with heavenly meanings. That definition seems to fit well with the at least 5 earthly stories describing the kingdom of heaven as recorded by Matthew in the gospel for today. Jesus speaks of a small mustard seed that grows into a tree that provides a shelter for many birds. Then Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to yeast that spreads throughout the flour until every part of it is leavened. The last parable compares the kingdom of heaven to a net that is thrown into the sea and catches fish of every kind and then the good and bad fish are separated on the shore. But today, I am fascinated by the comparison Jesus makes with the kingdom of heaven and hidden treasure. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”. A one sentence parable. An earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But a meaning that we may not expect to hear from Jesus. Often times when we look at the lives of people, we view what they have acquired in at least two different ways. Some people go to school to learn a trade and find a job and spend their lifetime in that vocation until they retire. Also in this same group are career oriented jobs that once you begin, you can just keep working your way up the ladder. The harder you work; the further up the ladder you will be when you retire. In these cases, what you sow, so shall you reap. It’s up to you. But then there is the other group. People who simply seem to stumble into success. These people just seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Often from our vantage point, it doesn’t seem like they have to do anything to get what they have. Maybe they have simply inherited what they have or we say they married into money. Or whatever they touch just seems to turn to gold. These people don’t seem to plan ahead, worry about anything, work hard, or save for rainy days. They tend to be careless with what they have and are care free. And worst of all it seems to us-- they are happy. Today, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like this last group of people. In the parable, Jesus says it’s like someone just walking along and stumbled upon a treasure. Jesus didn’t say that they spent the night planning how to search for buried treasure the next day. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Jesus did not say, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hunt. You would think then after stumbling on this hidden treasure, the logical thing would be to immediately start digging it out and get it home. But instead, the finder makes sure that no one is looking and then covers it up. Wouldn’t Jesus want everyone to have this treasure of the kingdom of heaven? But, the kingdom of heaven is not yours by going on a treasure hunt and hoping to find it. If the finder of this hidden treasure explained to his neighbors how he discovered his treasure they would all be out in that field with their shovels trying to find their pot of gold. Again, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven does not work this way. Instead, it arrives unexpected, unplanned and it is given to everyone in this same way. Then Jesus adds one more crazy detail of the treasure finder. He sells all that he has and buys the field. This too is not like the first group of successful people that I described. You and I most likely would see if the treasure was large enough so that we could keep all that already have accumulated and just add the field and the treasure to what we have stored away or put in the bank. No matter how much you have or you lack, you have treasures. But they are not hidden treasures. You know exactly where they are and you protect them. They are treasures that you find difficult to let go of. You have worked hard to acquire them and you hold tight to them.
Last week, I reluctantly let loose of some of my “treasures”. It wasn’t easy for me to do. My neighbor had her farm sale and now is moving from what was their home for over 20 years after the death of her husband this year. Out of convenience of the location of the sale, I asked the auctioneer about the possibility of adding a few of my treasures to the auction. I was hoping to hear some reservations about selling these treasures from my family members. But they were kind and said that they would be ok letting go of these treasures such as the first tractor that I bought, a couple tractors that have never moved in 15 years and a hay rake that I bought many years ago and never used. I realized what I had thought were treasures were really unimportant anymore and it was time to sell them. But I can’t say that even after realizing this that it wasn’t a little hard to let them go. That isn’t the case of the treasure finder in the parable. He doesn’t put just a few treasured items on the sale. He sells everything that he has and he does so out of JOY. He doesn’t sort through what he thinks is still valuable. His grip on earthly treasurers is completely gone when he stumbles on the kingdom of heaven. Everything that was once a part of this man is gone and replaced with what has been given to him when he stumbled on it. Receiving the kingdom of heaven set him free to sell everything that he previously had treasured.
An earthly story with a heavenly meaning. So what does this earthly story mean for you? Does it just refer to that one day when you leave everything in this world behind and receive the promise of eternal life? If so, most of us can safely just go home and keep working our way up the ladder. Maybe replace some treasured items that we can let go of with new things to treasure in this life. But Jesus delivered this one sentence parable with a meaning for everyone here today. Jesus delivers the hidden treasure of his heavenly kingdom in other ways. Jesus tells us to unload every item we value as treasures, but are nothing compared to the kingdom that he delivers to you in the forgiveness of sins. You can never do this if you think you have found the kingdom of heaven. You will only do this when Jesus places his kingdom in your path and you stumble upon it. Jesus places his word in your path in sermons and sacraments today to free you to let go of what is burdening you. Satan encourages you to hold on to a few of your treasures. He encourages you to even add to what you have. He tells you to work harder. “Climb the ladder to success. The more you have the merrier you will be.” But today, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like winning the lottery. It arrives every time he speaks and promises that your every sin is forgiven. It arrives when he speaks and says “You are mine” even when Satan whispers that he wants a part of you. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; which a man found and covered up, then in joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”. Amen.
Hidden Treasure - Sermon by Pastor R. J. Questad
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Parables—they are often described as earthly stories with heavenly meanings. That definition seems to fit well with the at least 5 earthly stories describing the kingdom of heaven as recorded by Matthew in the gospel for today. Jesus speaks of a small mustard seed that grows into a tree that provides a shelter for many birds. Then Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to yeast that spreads throughout the flour until every part of it is leavened. The last parable compares the kingdom of heaven to a net that is thrown into the sea and catches fish of every kind and then the good and bad fish are separated on the shore. But today, I am fascinated by the comparison Jesus makes with the kingdom of heaven and hidden treasure. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”. A one sentence parable. An earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But a meaning that we may not expect to hear from Jesus. Often times when we look at the lives of people, we view what they have acquired in at least two different ways. Some people go to school to learn a trade and find a job and spend their lifetime in that vocation until they retire. Also in this same group are career oriented jobs that once you begin, you can just keep working your way up the ladder. The harder you work; the further up the ladder you will be when you retire. In these cases, what you sow, so shall you reap. It’s up to you. But then there is the other group. People who simply seem to stumble into success. These people just seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Often from our vantage point, it doesn’t seem like they have to do anything to get what they have. Maybe they have simply inherited what they have or we say they married into money. Or whatever they touch just seems to turn to gold. These people don’t seem to plan ahead, worry about anything, work hard, or save for rainy days. They tend to be careless with what they have and are care free. And worst of all it seems to us-- they are happy. Today, Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like this last group of people. In the parable, Jesus says it’s like someone just walking along and stumbled upon a treasure. Jesus didn’t say that they spent the night planning how to search for buried treasure the next day. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Jesus did not say, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hunt. You would think then after stumbling on this hidden treasure, the logical thing would be to immediately start digging it out and get it home. But instead, the finder makes sure that no one is looking and then covers it up. Wouldn’t Jesus want everyone to have this treasure of the kingdom of heaven? But, the kingdom of heaven is not yours by going on a treasure hunt and hoping to find it. If the finder of this hidden treasure explained to his neighbors how he discovered his treasure they would all be out in that field with their shovels trying to find their pot of gold. Again, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven does not work this way. Instead, it arrives unexpected, unplanned and it is given to everyone in this same way. Then Jesus adds one more crazy detail of the treasure finder. He sells all that he has and buys the field. This too is not like the first group of successful people that I described. You and I most likely would see if the treasure was large enough so that we could keep all that already have accumulated and just add the field and the treasure to what we have stored away or put in the bank. No matter how much you have or you lack, you have treasures. But they are not hidden treasures. You know exactly where they are and you protect them. They are treasures that you find difficult to let go of. You have worked hard to acquire them and you hold tight to them.
Last week, I reluctantly let loose of some of my “treasures”. It wasn’t easy for me to do. My neighbor had her farm sale and now is moving from what was their home for over 20 years after the death of her husband this year. Out of convenience of the location of the sale, I asked the auctioneer about the possibility of adding a few of my treasures to the auction. I was hoping to hear some reservations about selling these treasures from my family members. But they were kind and said that they would be ok letting go of these treasures such as the first tractor that I bought, a couple tractors that have never moved in 15 years and a hay rake that I bought many years ago and never used. I realized what I had thought were treasures were really unimportant anymore and it was time to sell them. But I can’t say that even after realizing this that it wasn’t a little hard to let them go. That isn’t the case of the treasure finder in the parable. He doesn’t put just a few treasured items on the sale. He sells everything that he has and he does so out of JOY. He doesn’t sort through what he thinks is still valuable. His grip on earthly treasurers is completely gone when he stumbles on the kingdom of heaven. Everything that was once a part of this man is gone and replaced with what has been given to him when he stumbled on it. Receiving the kingdom of heaven set him free to sell everything that he previously had treasured.
An earthly story with a heavenly meaning. So what does this earthly story mean for you? Does it just refer to that one day when you leave everything in this world behind and receive the promise of eternal life? If so, most of us can safely just go home and keep working our way up the ladder. Maybe replace some treasured items that we can let go of with new things to treasure in this life. But Jesus delivered this one sentence parable with a meaning for everyone here today. Jesus delivers the hidden treasure of his heavenly kingdom in other ways. Jesus tells us to unload every item we value as treasures, but are nothing compared to the kingdom that he delivers to you in the forgiveness of sins. You can never do this if you think you have found the kingdom of heaven. You will only do this when Jesus places his kingdom in your path and you stumble upon it. Jesus places his word in your path in sermons and sacraments today to free you to let go of what is burdening you. Satan encourages you to hold on to a few of your treasures. He encourages you to even add to what you have. He tells you to work harder. “Climb the ladder to success. The more you have the merrier you will be.” But today, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like winning the lottery. It arrives every time he speaks and promises that your every sin is forgiven. It arrives when he speaks and says “You are mine” even when Satan whispers that he wants a part of you. Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; which a man found and covered up, then in joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field”. Amen.
