Treasured Treasures (Proper 12A, Pentecost 9 2023)

Text: “44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:44-46).

These parables are quite straightforward. More than a few stories have been written that involved someone selling everything they have (and possibly borrowing as much as they can on top of it) and traveling back in time— to the year 1984, for example—and betting it all on the Tigers to win the world series. News articles occasionally point out how much money you would have now if you had bought shares of the Apple corporation when they were first issued. We occasionally hear about optimistic entrepreneurs who strike it rich because they put every penny they have into a business that they believe in. Unlike some of Jesus’ parables, we can understand the economics of these parables.

Or do we?

Matthew sums up Jesus’ message, from the very beginning, as “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus had come to point to the treasure hidden in the field; He had come pointing people to the pearl of great value. And, not only did many in His own day reject it, but even today, with the benefit of hindsight, many don’t have time for His message. Coming to church to participate in that kingdom is something that they do when they’re not too busy with other things. Hearing and studying the message of His Kingdom in Bible study is less important Sunday brunch. Living as citizens of His Kingdom is a priority, but it’s not like it’s who they are.

Based on your actions, it would seem that you disagree with Jesus’ assessment of how precious the Kingdom of Heaven is.

Jesus describes a man going and selling all that he has to buy the field containing the treasure/to buy the pearl of great price. But that’s not the way you treat the Kingdom of Heaven. When it comes to this transaction, you’re a bargain hunter. How much do I have to give? I don’t have to give my whole life, do I? Can I get by with just an hour a week? That seems to be enough for you to feel like you have an inheritance there, isn’t it? It’s not like you have to give your whole life— everything you are and everything you have— is it?

Or perhaps you look at the Kingdom of Heaven as a sort of retirement property that you’ve purchased. You reason that you have given enough to own it and you’ll take possession of it when you retire— some day, off in the future.

Except scripture warns against that. “[See to it],” the author of the book of Hebrews writes, “16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:16-17). Haven’t you sold off your inheritance a thousand times over with your sexual immorality? Haven’t you sold it off by the many different kinds of unholiness in your life? By your actions, you’ve looked at the Kingdom of Heaven and treated it, not like an investment that is worth everything you are and that you have, but like a bad timeshare.

No, it’s worse than that. You’e treated it like the Brooklyn Bridge. You’ve sold it over, and over, and over again.

These parables are very straightforward. So do you disagree with the value Jesus places on the Kingdom of Heaven or do you not understand the economics, so to speak?

That’s why the pairing of the readings today is so perfect. The Old Testament reading today is a short one. In fact, it only takes one sentence— half a sentence, really; 15 words— to turn these parables on their heads.

Please take out your bulletins. Turn with me to the back cover. I’d like to do something with you that I do in confirmation class all the time. There, I have them take out their catechisms and underline or circle the really important pieces of information. Well, please take out your bulletins and try to find a pen or pencil near you. There should be one at both ends of each pew.

Now look a the Old Testament reading. In the very first verse, please underline the second sentence: “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession...” (Deut. 7:6b). You can stop underlining right there.

Those 15 words— I’ll give some of you a second to count them because I know you will— those 15 words are the key to both parables.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field that a man went and sold all that He had and bought that field. But you’re not the man in the parable. You’re the treasure.

You’re the treasure. And the one telling the parable is assuring you that He had come to give all that He had in order to purchase you for Himself. He has purchased and won you, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that you may be His own and live under Him in His Kingdom and serve Him in everlasting innocence, righteousness, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

Let’s be honest. What could you have possibly given to purchase the Kingdom of Heaven for yourself? Even if you weren’t trying to bargain God down and see how little you could do, how little you could give, and still feel like you have a place there; even if you genuinely tried to give all that you had and all that you are, what would that purchase for you? What you could never have purchased has been given to you as a gift.

Repent. Repent of your sexual immorality. Repent of every form of unholiness in your life. Repent and receive the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s yours. No strings attached. No conditions. No trick. Purchased for you by the blood of Christ.

When you stand before the throne at the Last Judgment, waiting to hear what you have earned with your life, do not be anxious that you have fallen, again and again and again. His grace is always greater than your sin. Death is no longer the proper wages of your life. He has buried you with Him into death and raised you, with Him, from the tomb. The full price for you has been paid on the cross of Jesus Christ. The full debt you owed has been paid in full. Forgiveness has risen from His grave. Do not be anxious on that day.

And do not be bashful. He does not care a bit for what is ‘fair’. “Everything that I have is yours,” your Father says to you (Luke 15:31). You would be more than satisfied with the wages of a servant in His household, but He insists on bestowing on you the inheritance of a Son. He does not want to give you what is ‘fair’. He wants to give you everything. All of the riches of heaven are yours.

Do not sell your birthright, like Esau. Instead, “store up for yourself treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Store up treasure for yourself in heaven, first and foremost, by striving to live a holy life. It’s true, “you have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to [you]” (2 Corinthians 4:7). You will be attacked by temptation, troubled by sin both within and without, from now until the day your body is laid in the grave. But, you are “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in [your body]” (2 Cor. 4:10).

And adorn that holy life with the precious jewels of humility, patience, kindness, gentleness, by showing mercy, by making peace, by living in the love that binds all of these precious jewels together into the most beautiful garment— the only one that is fitting for a child of God and an heir of His Kingdom. “It [has been] granted [you] to clothe yourself with fine linen, bright and pure’— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints”(Revelation 19:8).

That is the blessed economics of God’s Kingdom. Did your grandfathers and great-grandfathers start a Lutheran school here in this town because it would make them a lot of money? Absolutely not. It’s actually the opposite. A school is a huge commitment for a congregation.

You make a tremendous profit through your school, but not a financial one. That’s part of the joy of celebrating milestones like the one we recognize today—Cindy Engelhard’s 40 years as a Lutheran teacher. This is a chance to remember and celebrate the profit that a Lutheran school pays. It’s measured not in dollars, but in lives. Any good teacher is a tremendous blessing to his or her students. He or she equips our children, not just for productive lives in this world, but for meaningful lives. But a Lutheran school teacher is able to do more. Because he or she is not only equipped with textbooks full of knowledge and wisdom, but with God’s Word. Our Lord said that “every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” (Matthew 13:52). Our Lutheran school teachers are our scribes. They give the children they teach the new treasure of our growing knowledge of this amazing creation that God has blessed us with and the tools to build lives for themselves in it. And they also give out ancient and eternal treasure of God’s Word, training our children for service in God’s Kingdom as disciples of Jesus Christ, living lives that are adorned with that most beautiful garment of the children of God.

“44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:44-46). These two, short parables are beautifully straightforward. Especially since they both point to the treasure God has given you in and through Jesus Christ.