Finding Treasure in the Lord - Matthew 13 (Ordinary 16B)

 

     Growing up as a kid, I thought hidden things were much more plentiful than I found out. In the movies, there were happened to be resources around for the heroes to finish their task, or the villains to either give up or to be foiled, like in the Goonies where there’s a wacky kid who (happens) to have an inventor as a father and likes to tinker himself. He has gadgets that no average kid would have that helps get the friends continuing on their journey. But once those kids got to the pirates’ treasure - they were overjoyed! They found something that they thought was only a lost story of time. Who knows, maybe had someone gotten there first, it would have been! 

Life isn’t like the movies, though. A team of writers can craft a whole world from a single brainstorming session. Though with the right spark, that’ll light the way to find the treasures. But as the writing goes on, they seek the words to create a story that will outlive them.

OK - well, let’s take a high level view, let’s pull back and look at the bigger picture - Matthew’s gospel was written to connect the Old Testament with the story of Jesus, helping build on what came before to make sure that it could bridge the story of God’s salvation with the Hebrew texts. 

Getting specifically into the 13th chapter, this whole chapter of Matthew is filled with parables - or stories which teaches a moral or spiritual lesson. These are similar to fables, except that fables typically use animals as their main character. They have roots in oral storytelling traditions. Still, fables led the way for poking fun at societal or political natures, and parables have a less complicated nature and are much keener on spiritual truth. In addition to this parable of the hidden treasure, some of the ones in this chapter (which you may or may not be familiar with) are the sower, the mustard seed, yeast, a pearl, and a fishing net. 

But back to our parable that we are dissecting today. There are only two sentences it in, but sometimes the shortest selections can still have deep meaning, especially being the words of Jesus. 

        According to the text this morning, The Kingdom of Heaven is hidden. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Because when the seeker finds the treasure - it creates JOY. Like, transformational joy! The text doesn’t say that the finder was doing anything extraordinary, it didn’t even seem like they may have even been actively searching… but found it nonetheless. God has a place in all of our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not. We can do the opposite and refuse to acknowledge something we know is there! That doesn’t mean that God is loving us or running away - we are the ones who moved. No matter who you are, what you do, God is always only a prayer away! Let me repeat that…  But, once the person realized the treasure was there, they recognized the value immediately! So much so that they wanted to give everything else up to belong. Look at it again, though, from a different perspective - if we lowly sinners are the treasure for God, he remains hidden. God is searching for us, but he can only find us when we are looking to be found! He knows your value to the Kingdom around you and wants to help you see that value too. God gave up everything - his only Son so that we could have salvation and ease the burden of building relationships. 

        God’s Kingdom is more valuable than anything else. The parable says that the kingdom is like this treasure in the field. So - after our finder discovers the hidden kingdom, it TRANSFORMS him, so much so that nothing else matters. He wants to sell ALL of what he has to own the field that contains this treasure. WE ARE THE FIELD! He gave up everything for us… he sees the value in the mission field that we have access to. He wants us to be a part of the kingdom of the field. The kingdom that Jesus speaks of is also what we recited in our Lord’s prayer just a few minutes ago. To bring the Kingdom to earth as it is in Heaven - they are the same, and how else could we do that? God’s will is what Christians desire - and so this would also be another explanation for the field. He will plant his seeds of will into each of his believers - and then how do those seeds grow? It depends. Are they being watered and given the nutrients to promote growth? But the ones that are well fed and in the right conditions will have endless fruit - fruit to last an eternity! The right conditions are those that promote righteousness, justice, love, mercy, and JOY.

         We must be willing to give up everything. Sacrifice is essential, just as the finder of the treasure gave up everything to purchase the field, but make sure we are doing it joyfully. That’s the problematic part - giving away or selling our possessions because they pale in comparison to what is being offered by the Kingdom of God. We have to know the actual value of living in the Kingdom. But don’t be deceived - this almost is saying that there is a price to salvation. Let me be very clear - this is false and bad theology. God offers us salvation because it is in His loving nature to do so, not because of anything we can purchase or work. There is no price on Jesus Christ and the salvation that comes with the relationship.

Here’s the thing - some of us want to be told that Jesus is the treasure… that seeking him and giving everything away to be with him is the right interpretation of this story. But let me flip that around for you. Since Jesus is the one talking and giving us the parable, wouldn’t he be trying to tell the crowd that each one of THEM are the treasure? Jesus IS willing to give up everything for you - he already did that on the cross! He knows that you and I are what fills the kingdom of Heaven, so WE are the most valuable to him! 

        The treasure came free with the field. The treasure in the field was there so that no matter what, whoever owned the land would get the treasure. The role reversal we talked about earlier continues - as much as we want to see ourselves through the eyes of person who finds the treasure… this is the wrong perspective. We are the FIELD - the mission field - which Jesus purchased through his death and resurrection - 

You also may be thinking - Ok, Pastor Dan, this is some good stuff, maybe a little out there, but what if anything does it have to do with pirates?? 

        I’m glad you asked. We think of pirates as just the scum of the sea, floating ne’er-do-wells who just looking out for themselves. Pirates had a golden age lasted about 75 years - from 1650 to 1725, according to the Library of Congress. During this time, it was fashionable to jump aboard a boat and sail into the unknowing life of adventure. Now, talk about a leap of faith - I guess it really must have been better than whatever else was going on in their hometown. Also what we think of most are European pirates, sailing through the Caribbean. Here are five things that I’ve learned this week about pirates: 

1 - Careers were most often pretty short. This is not surprising due to the violent nature of pirates and the lack of healthcare available on a boat in the middle of the ocean during this period. 

        2 - As much as the 1600 & 1700s are the best time to be a pirate, pirates have existed for thousands of years, and even still do - in small amounts. Viking pirates were another good example, who sailed as far as Nova Scotia from Scandinavia. Or Somali pirates capturing freighter boats off the coast in the Persian Gulf. 

        3 - Walking the plank wasn’t much of a practice as our media made it out to be, or at least there’s no evidence for it. There’s much different ways that pirates may have tortured or killed people. 

        4 - Each pirate ship had its own rules and codes. Just because they were thieves and kidnappers doesn’t mean that the hierarchy of the ship wasn’t established so that roles are developed. I’m sure the people who swabbed the deck would have preferred a relatively more prestige than that, but still it was a job to be done! 

        Lastly - #5 - Pirates didn’t always bury their treasure. We think of pirate treasure as gold and jewels or something to that effect. But more of what they would have pillaged either from the ships or from the shore would have had more of a direct impact to the daily lives of the pirates, like clothing, food, weapons, etc. 

 In summary, pirates may have been ruthless and scary, but they traveled everywhere there was gain to be made, and stopped at nothing to get what they wanted. If we are to be pirates of God, we must do the opposite. Go to the places where they can do nothing for us and offer ourselves. We must show EVERYONE that they are loved and worth more than all the riches in the world. Find the “hidden” people and go to them, whether in your neighborhood, your workplace, or wherever God sends you. Be willing to give up everything for them - your pride, your riches, your health. And with that - the kingdom of God will come closer than it ever was before. We need to be like the person who one who finds the treasure, always seeking. 

        But at the same time, please know that you ARE the treasure that Jesus is seeking, and that the rest of the treasures in the field are out there just waiting to be joyously found.