Lenten Devotion – Day 13

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Today’s Scripture: Matthew 13:36-53

"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.” (Matt. 13:44)

“Consider these questions: Did Jesus ever suggest by word of example that we should aspire to acquire, let alone take over, the power of Caesar? Did Jesus spend any time and energy trying to improve, let alone dominate, the reigning government of his day? Did he ever work to pass laws against the sinners he hunted for and ministered to? Did he worry at all about ensuring that his rights and the religious rights of his followers were protected? Does any author in the New Testament remotely hint that engaging in this sort of activity has anything to do with the kingdom of God? The answer to all these questions is, of course, no.” ― Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

  We have all at one time or the other heard stories of people who have been cleaning and sorting through possessions of the home of some relative who had recently died. During the process of cleaning closets, they discover in one or many places where their relative had hidden small or large amounts of money. Some of these discoveries have included millions of dollars. These relatives generally were individuals who did not trust banks, so they hid their money, “under their mattress”. Jesus uses a setting similar to this example to tell this short parable.

  Individuals in Jesus time did not have secure places to protect their treasures so they buried their treasures. They buried their treasures to protect them from thieves or from invading armies. The setting here presupposes that someone has buried a treasure and later died. The current owner of the field is unaware of its existence. The finder, perhaps a farm laborer, is entitled to it, but is unable to conveniently extract it unless he buys the field. For a peasant, such a discovery of treasure represented the "ultimate dream."

  Jesus in this parable is illustrating the great value of the Kingdom and is similar in theme to the parable of the pearl. The good fortune of the finder of the treasure reflects a special privilege and a source of joy, but also reflects a challenge, just as the man in the parable gives up all that he has, in order to lay claim to the greater treasure he has found.

  The hidden nature of the treasure may indicate that the Kingdom of Heaven is not yet revealed to everyone. Jesus is all about the joy that comes from discovering something priceless while perusing the ordinary. In fact, for Jesus, the greatest of such joys is the discovery of something unexpected. We might find the most magnificent treasure at a flea market, a yard sale, or browsing through eBay items. Treasure we can take to PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” and discover we have a treasure worth thousands.

  In the parables of Matthew 13, Jesus tells us that the kingdom and reign of God, the loving and life-changing activity of God in heaven, has broken into our world and is available to us now. Even though it is available, we still need to take the time and effort to discover and embrace it. We take the time to sort through some old box of keepsakes bought at some garage sale and make the discovery that a mint condition, Honus Wagner baseball card sitting at the bottom. The kingdom is found in unassuming places and encountered in unlikely ways. And whatever it costs you to "get" it is well worth it.

  So the big question then is this: In what unlikely places do we find God's power and presence? Some think the key to discovering God is in getting mystical and otherworldly. They might espouse some process of escaping the trappings of flesh and world and ascending to some higher plane where God abides. Yet, that doesn't seem to compare with Jesus' idea of the kingdom's being uncovered in the ordinary.

  Others might argue that the key to connecting with the kingdom is being good enough to gain admittance. You know, help enough old ladies across the street, donate enough money to charity, make a lot of people smile, make very few people cry and when your days are done boom - you're in the kingdom. But that seems at odds with Jesus' own description of the kingdom as treasure being stumbled upon in a field as if it's something freely given. Encountering God, experiencing God's power and being caught up in God's love is discovered most often in the ordinary, simple moments where we take the time to strive for it.

  The man discovered the treasure not so much by chance, but as he was going about his daily business. He must have been digging deep, and not just merely scraping the surface. Is this the place where we encounter the kingdom? The great treasure of the kingdom has been through the years discovered by many disciples of Jesus in simple acts of ministry and mission. The kingdom is discovered during a mission trip to repair homes, volunteering at the food pantry or soup kitchen, teaching children, attending Bible study, helping someone find a job, or helping a neighbor through a difficult time in the lives. There are places where we can discover the kingdom and experience something of great value. Are we willing to dig, seek and find and then pay the cost of having it for ourselves?

Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning: Psalms 5; 147:1–11
Evening: Psalms 27; 51
Jeremiah 3:6–18
Romans 1:26––2:11
John 5:1–18