This passage of scripture got a whole lot more interesting for me when I found out that the Latin word for pearl is “margarita”!  Who knew?  The Greek word for pearl is “margaritas”.  Even better!  More than one margarita!  So maybe we could give our parable a new name—instead of the pearl of great price, we could call it the margarita of great price!  Truth be told, that might be a better description for some of the things we are tempted to sell out for.  Both of our parables today describe a person who used all their resources to purchase one special item.  To buy a field that contained a hidden treasure.  To buy a pearl.  Anyone who devotes all their resources to owning one thing of value better make sure it’s worth it!

So it’s not going to work to say, “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine margaritas!”  But of course, we know these parables aren’t really about margaritas or pearls.  Our parables today are about the Kingdom of heaven.  When Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”, he’s giving us a word picture, a description, to get us thinking.  Hmm…what do we know about the kingdom of heaven?  And how is the kingdom of heaven like a merchant, who is in search of fine pearls, and upon finding the rarest and most exquisite of them all, sells everything he has to purchase the one pearl?  How is the kingdom of heaven like a treasure buried in a field, that when discovered is purchased at great expense?

It would be much easier to answer those questions if we could schedule a field trip to the kingdom of heaven.  Wouldn’t that be nice?  Like going to visit the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.  All we’d have to do is book our flights, or make a reservation on the Auto Train, and we could see all the Magic Kingdom has to offer in no time.  But how can explore what Jesus means when he talks about the kingdom of heaven?  How can we be sure we’re experiencing all it has to offer?  It’s not a place we can visit.  It’s not shown on any map.  Getting to know the kingdom of Heaven requires imagination, but it’s not an imagined reality.  Jesus spoke about it 32 times in the gospel of Matthew!  Apparently, the kingdom of Heaven is important for us to know about, but it can’t be explained with facts.  It must be visualized and experienced.

I like how, in our passage today, Jesus says the kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, and it’s also like a man, a merchant, who goes searching.  The kingdom of Heaven is both a person and a possession.  It’s who we are, and what we have.  It’s not a place.  It’s a presence.  Lutheran pastor and author Daniel Erlander describes it this way:

The kingdom of heaven is nothing less than, “a new society, a renewed Israel that is open to all…a realm of God’s extravagant grace, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion…a place where those labeled unworthy or impure are received unconditionally…a world of abundant manna shared by all…a reality worth dropping all other commitments to joyfully receive.”[i]

A reality worth dropping all other commitments to joyfully receive.  That certainly describes what happened in our parables today—the man who discovered the treasure in the field and uses all he has to purchase the field; the merchant who searches for pearls and, upon finding the greatest of all time, sells all he has to buy it.  Having this ONE thing—that is the focus in these two parables.  This idea is not a new one for Jesus’ original audience.  The foundational prayer in Judaism is the Shema, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your might.”  Putting all your energy into one thing of value, your relationship with the one true God, that was the religious distinctive for Jesus’ disciples who first heard these parables.  Earlier in Matthew the disciples heard Jesus say, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)  The idea of being singularly dedicated to God was not news to the disciples.

The bigger stretch for them was understanding the kingdom Jesus was talking about.  The disciples were still hoping for an earthly kingdom, an Israel that was restored to its former glory.  The disciples had in mind a kingdom with military and political clout.  But Jesus came to establish a much larger and significant kingdom:  the kingdom of heaven.  A spiritual realm where God’s will is done; not a physical place but a counter culture within our society where Jesus is honored as King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords.

Last Sunday afternoon, Phil and I took our dog Jenkins to the Governor Printz park in Essington.  We always go on a special Sunday walk, and this park along the Delaware River is one of my favorites.  It’s got boats on the water, planes overhead, the sound of trains in the background, birds, waves, sunshine—just a nice place to spend some time on a Sunday afternoon.

But last week when we went, right away we could smell cigar smoke. It was fairly cold and there weren’t many people out, and we didn’t see anyone with a cigar.  I was really surprised and wondered where the smoke was coming from because it was so strong.  It wasn’t until we were half-way around the loop that we finally saw the man smoking.  He had gone down the steps and was standing at the water’s edge.  Because it was windy, the smell from that one cigar carried throughout the whole park!  And I wondered, if Jesus had been with us on that walk, would he have turned it into a parable?  The kingdom of heaven is like the smell of cigar smoke on a breezy day.  It starts with one person, it cannot be contained, it is pleasing to some and offensive to others.  That would be a parable that we could easily understand!

But Jesus didn’t give us that parable to wrestle with.  Instead he gave us many others to help us understand and experience the spiritual realm over which Christ is King.  How do you help people see this invisible reality?  When our kids were little, I remember our pastor saying, “Anyplace God’s will is being done, that is the kingdom of heaven.”  I think that is true and helpful.  Anyplace God’s will is being done, that is the kingdom of heaven.  Let’s try substituting those words into our parables today.  Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure in a field.”  What if we said, “God’s will being done is like a treasure in a field.  When a person finds it, they sell all they have to buy the field and claim the treasure for themselves.”  Does that fit with “Seek first the kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you?”  I think so!

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.”  What if we said, “God’s will being done is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”  Does that mesh with, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your might”?

Based on our two parables this morning, I think Jesus was trying to tell us that God’s will being done looks like commitment.  It looks like investment.  I looks like making deliberate choices.  It looks like getting our priorities straight.  It looks like being willing to align ourselves with one singular thing, so that in the end, we might be a blessing to many.  Jesus went on to ask his disciples, “Have you understood all these things?”, meaning all these parables.  The disciples assured them that they had.  Jesus said, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”  Boy, that is something I would love for people to be able to say about me.  That I bring out of my storeroom—out of my heart, out of my relationship with God—new treasures as well as old.  I know you want that, too.  That is why we are trying to practice “slowing down for loving union” during Lent, and beyond.  So that we can better align ourselves with one singular thing, and from that alignment, have God’s will be done in and through us.

But just a word of caution: people who do that are sometimes seen as peculiar.  They are so connected to the kingdom of heaven that they don’t always fit in well in kingdoms on earth.  Let me give you an example.  Robert Benson tells the story of meeting a monk who spent a year alone in a cave in the Middle East[ii].  He was a member of a religious order that sent him to the cave to learn to pray.  He took with him two books, a crucifix, and some candles.  Once a week, someone from his community would deliver food, water, and a change of clothing to a pre-set spot at the foot of the mountain.  The next day he would go down to pick up his things and leave his other clothes to be washed and brought back again.  He did not see or speak to another human being for that entire year.  He spoke to and listened only for God.  And in the course of that year, he learned to pray.  He learned to see the divine in everyone.  He learned to be at attention for God.

Robert Benson met the man fifteen years after his cave experience, and he was immediately struck by the monk’s countenance.  He was able to look at strangers with a loving intimacy that Robert had never seen before.  The monk spent a year learning to pray, and in the years after that, was able to bless countless souls with his loving and prayerful care.  The monk had a peculiar way about him—he didn’t exactly fit in.  But in his presence Robert Benson knew he was in the kingdom of heaven.  The monk brought out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.

Based on our two parables this morning, I think Jesus was trying to tell us that God’s will being done looks like commitment.  It looks like investment.  I looks like making deliberate choices.  It looks like getting our priorities straight.  It looks like being willing to align ourselves with one singular thing, so that in the end, we might be a blessing to many.  And when we choose to live like that, we may strike others as peculiar.  I mean, who sells all they have to buy a pearl?  Does that make sense?  Who discovers a hidden treasure, buys the field, and then just sits on it?  Kingdom of heaven living doesn’t always jive with common sense.  But looking peculiar is small price to pay for being able to participate in the kingdom of heaven, “a realm of God’s extravagant grace, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion…a place where those labeled unworthy or impure are received unconditionally…a world of abundant manna shared by all…a reality worth dropping all other commitments to joyfully receive.”

As far as I know, Jesus never drank any margaritas or wore pearls or discovered any hidden treasure.  He offers us something far more valuable:  the kingdom of heaven.  He asks us to be singularly focused on one thing, and we have to make sure it’s the right thing.  And he asks us to stop looking for his kingdom in earthly power and dominance.  He asks us instead to appreciate the kingdom of heaven wherever God’s will is being done.  The question is these parables invite us into is, what does the kingdom of heaven look like in YOU?  What does God’s will being done look like in your life, in mine?  What does doing the will of God look like as we happen upon treasures hidden in our fields, and as we set off in search of fine pearls?  There is no one right answer.  There are as many right answers as there are disciples.  The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure.  The kingdom of heaven might even be like a man who lights a cigar in the park on a sunny but windy day, determined to enjoy the gift of a quiet Sunday afternoon despite the other claims for his attention.  Amen.

 

Benediction:  May we find the road that leads to life;

may we take the turns that bring right relationships;

may we pause to accompany others on the way;

and may we journey with God through Lent,

slowing down for Loving Union.  Amen.

 

 

[i] Manna and Mercy, written by Daniel Erlander, published by Augsburg Fortress 1992, page 45

[ii] Between the Dreaming and the Coming True, written by Robert Benson, published by Tarcher/Putnam, 1996, page115