Buried Treasure, a Pearl and a Bugatti Sportscar

This post is an excerpt from a talk I gave in August 2022, at my local church.

Jesus told two short parables, recorded in the gospel of Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV).

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven 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.

It’s not hard to see parallels between the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl. Yes, the high value of the Kingdom of Heaven, through the treasure and the pearl stands out. Another similarity is that the person who finds the valuable item, whether by chance or by diligent search, sells everything to possess it.

As we ponder these parables, letting them roll around in our minds, and earnestly seeking their meaning, we realize that the value of the Kingdom and the willingness to sell everything to obtain it really go hand in hand. 

Have you ever held and examined a pearl? It’s one thing to store up some facts about pearls in our minds and then have a logical understanding of what Jesus said, and it’s another to ponder a pearl, roll it around in our palm, and earnestly seek its meaning and its beauty. 

A Syrian theologian who served as a deacon did this very thing in around the year 360 AD. Based on his hands-on experience with a single pearl and his thoughtful reflections about it, Ephrem the Syrian wrote seven hymns. 

Among other things, he observed that the pearl speaks with “silent mouth” of the trophies, victories and crowns of Jesus Christ. The bright and luminous gem was for him a reflection of Jesus, the “Light of the world.”[1]

If buried treasure and a lustrous and valuable pearl feel too distant from our everyday experiences, let’s reimagine the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl using a more current example of something out of reach for most people.  

It was suggested as a modern equivalent by a Grade 8 student during class devotions, when asked, “What is something today that somebody might sell everything to get?” 

Consider with me: The Kingdom of Heaven is like the case of a collector of classic cars, who scours websites and advertisement and travels to dealerships and auto shows every weekend for months. He is seeking for the one car that meets all his criteria for design, speed, and luxury. One day, he spots a one-off Bugatti sportscar and knows he doesn’t need to see any others. 

He smiles broadly and sells all the other cars in his collection and everything else he owns to get that sportscar. 

The man who sold everything to buy the field, and the merchant who sold everything to buy the pearl, and the car enthusiast of our modern example did not feel they were making a sacrifice. It was a calculated decision; they knew the supreme value of the item they were seeking. Therefore, I also hesitate to use the word “sacrifice” to describe what citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven choose to give up in their loyalty to Jesus. 

After all, what else has lasting value? Through Christ and his Kingdom, in the words of the hymn writer, we have “pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, [Christ’s] own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all [ours] with ten thousand beside.”[2]

JOY is the motivation for a Kingdom citizen to give up things of minor value so that they become more and more centered on their King and Lord. Committing every part of oneself to serving the Lord is a joyful process, and it will take a different form in your life than it does in mine. 

[1] http://www.voskrese.info/spl/pearl.html

[2] Lyrics from the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923. 

Good Things Come In Threes- Reposted for Easter 2024

  How much validity does the expression "Good things come in threes" have?  I've also heard the opposite: "Bad things come in threes," such that a person who has had two things go wrong in her day was still expecting a third to make it complete.  I would venture that such statements are based on a type of superstition that stops counting after three.  Each day or event, depending on our outlook, can have numerous good or bad aspects to it.

   That being said, there is something special about the number three that goes beyond the formula for fairy tales (three wishes, three characters, three incidents) and the rules of baseball.
   Since it is Easter weekend, I'd like to share about the "three days" between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Jesus predicted more than once that, similar to Jonah's sojourn in the belly of the fish, he would be "three days and three nights" in the heart of the earth (Mark 12:40).  After that, he would rise again.
   The modern, Western reader may be perplexed, as I used to be, about how this timing exactly works. When we think of three days and three nights, we think in terms of 72 hours.  However, when you look at the Gospel accounts, Jesus' time in the tomb was much less than this.  Could Jesus have made a mistake? Was he exaggerating just so we'd see a parallel between his experience and Jonah's?
   Then I read about Jewish reckoning of time.  When we approach any text, we should be aware of the historical and cultural context in which it was written.  So, when a Jewish person speaks of "a day," it can mean 24 hours or any part thereof.  A part of a day is considered a whole in the way time is measured.
   There's one more thing.  While we often measure a day from midnight to midnight, the Jews still consider the day beginning at sundown.  When we look again at the account of Jesus' death we see the following:

• He was crucified on Friday, during which there were three hours of darkness in the middle of the day. Jesus dies in late afternoon, and his friends take his body to the tomb before sunset.  There is concern to do this quickly because the Sabbath is approaching. Friday counts as "Day 1."
• It states in Luke 23:56b, "they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment."  This is "Day 2."
• The Sabbath ended at sunset, but no activity would have been undertaken in the dark.  Thus the women got up "very early in the morning" on the first day of the week (Sunday) to bring spices to the tomb.  When they arrive the tomb is already empty. Some time during the night Jesus overpowered death.  That makes "Day 3."

The words of a Puerto Rican folk hymn, translated into English, refer to "good" and "three":

Oh how good is Christ the Lord!

On the cross he died for me.

He has pardoned all my sin,

Glory be to Jesus.

Glory be to Jesus!

Glory be to Jesus!

In three days he rose again.

Glory be to Jesus.

In Jewish reckoning, sunset marked the start of a new day

Dare to be an Ebed-Melech

This post owes something to two individuals, who should be acknowledged at the outset. The first is the hymn writer Philip Bliss, who wrote the simple song "Dare to be a Daniel." The second is a Rev. John Suk, who preached a sermon 20+ years ago entitled "Dare to be an Epaphroditus," in which he highlighted a lesser known New Testament character with a 5-syllable name.

Jeremiah is a long book of prophecy in the Old Testament. It also contains some narrative parts (storylines), such as chapter 38. Here we read that Jeremiah's prophecies were not appreciated by the king's officials, and they want to put a stop to his words. They approach King Zedekiah with plans to put Jeremiah to death, and the king puts up no resistance.

That is how Jeremiah is lowered into a mucky cistern, a deep well used to collect rain water. Ebed-Melech, a Cushite [1] and official in the royal palace hears what has been done to Jeremiah and plucks up his courage to see King Zedekiah about it. He must know that the king had been indifferent before, but Ebed-Melech advocates for the life of Jeremiah and is ready to get personally involved.

Not only that, Ebed-Melech is an example of kindness. He understands about rope burn and takes the time to gather rags and worn out clothes to cushion the ropes that would be placed under Jeremiah's arms to lift him out of the pit. Along with 30 men the king sent with him, they go to the cistern and perform their rescue. Because of Ebed-Melech's kindness, Jeremiah is safely restored and can continue his ministry.

So, I'd like to add a stanza to Philip Bliss's song written in the 1800's. Because it's a four-syllable name, it may not have the same ring to it:

Dare to be an Ebed-Melech,

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose kind

And dare to make it known.

[1] Cushite is an ethnic reference. Ebed-Melech or his ancestors were from the "Upper Nile Region", or what is today called Sudan. Hence Ebed-Melech is someone we can celebrate as an African in the Bible.