Text: Matthew 13:44-52                                                            10^th Sunday after Pentecost

Treasures New and Old

            In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ:  I wonder how many of you have ever seen an episode of The Antique Roadshow on PBS?  It’s kind of interesting, isn’t it?  For those who aren’t familiar with the show, it’s a team of expert antique appraisers and a filming crew that goes around from city to city.  In each place they set up for a couple of days in large building like a convention center.  And then people from the area bring their family heirlooms, and antiques they’ve acquired through various means, and junk they can’t identify that they found lying around in their great grandparents attics, and who-knows-what else for a free appraisal by a genuine expert.  At the convention center, they find the floor divided into different areas: furniture in one place, paintings in another, rare books and documents over here, porcelain plates and knickknacks over there, another spot for items made of glass, coins and jewelry, and so on. And so you’ll see hundreds and hundreds of people standing in long lines carrying their goods for evaluation. They’ve come to learn more about what they’ve got in their hands.  They want to know about the history, about the artist or maker, about the use of the item, what special features they weren’t aware of; but most of all they want the bottom line:  they want to know what it’s worth.  Deep down inside, everyone is hoping that what they’ve brought is something of a hidden treasure, worth a small fortune – or at least a lot more than they paid for it.

The show itself consists of select interviews and assessments of some of the more interesting items that people have brought for appraisal.  Now, a lot of what most people bring is just junk. The expert looks at it, says, “So how much did you pay for this?”  And when the person responds, “Oh, about fifty bucks”, (usually understating what they really paid, but still proudly thinking they’ve made a great purchase), and then the expert says, “Oh, that’s too bad.  These are everywhere.  You can usually find them at garage sales for five dollars or less.”  Of course, they don’t show many appraisals like that – even though that’s probably how most of them go.  Instead, they show ones that will be entertaining or educational for the home viewing audience.

Some items have great stories that go with them – some true and some false. I can recall one where a person brought in some kind of clay pottery with a definite pre-Columbian – Mayan kind of look about it.  The person who brought it said that according to the family tradition, there was an eccentric great uncle who had been an explorer and archeologist over a hundred years ago in Central America.  He had discovered cities, unearthed pyramids and temples, and opened ancient tombs – a very “Indiana Jones” sort of character.  The pottery was something he found during one of his fantastic journeys of exploration.  Well, that was the story anyway; and it was a pretty good one.  But the truth was that the item was a crude copy of a pre-Columbian artifact – specifically, the expert said, it was one of the imitations that were sold by the thousands in Mexican tourist shops in the 1930s.  So much for the great explorer.  Makes you wonder, though, who in the family had first come up with the story, and how it might have been embellished and changed over the years by different people.

But lest you think that’s it’s always bad news on The Antiques Roadshow, very often they do tell people what they’ve brought is worth far more than they thought – though it’s not always for the reasons or items that they were principally interested in.  One lady brought in a pair of violins.  One was pretty sharp looking and obviously well maintained.  It was, according to a label, a Stradivarius – one of the magnificent instruments created in the workshop of Antonio Stradivari about three hundred years ago.  They have an exquisite sound that has not been duplicated even today.  They are extremely rare and are literally worth millions of dollars.  Unfortunately, this violin was an obvious fake – but still a very nice instrument. It was the other one that was a surprise.  It was black, kind of rough looking, and noticeably suffering from neglect.  The lady figured it was worthless, but brought it in because she had inherited them as a pair and it was clearly quite old.  Over five hundred years old, as she discovered. It was a German instrument made in the era before violins had standard shapes and sizes.  It’s value lay more in its unique place in history than in the quality of its sound – but still, she was told, a collector might pay somewhere between thirty and fifty thousand dollars for it.

And this is the appeal of the show for most viewers.  First, that a lot of the stuff people think is precious really isn’t.  It’s good to have those bubbles popped.  But even more appealing is the idea that there are people out there who are sitting on treasures and they do not know it; but with a little input from an expert, the treasure they already have can be revealed—and people think, hey, if it can happen for these people on TV, who knows?  Maybe I have something of great value hidden away in the attic, and I just don’t know how much it’s really worth.  And you’ve got to admit, that’s an attractive idea.  Wouldn’t you like to find out something you’ve got is worth a fortune?

And if indeed you do find the idea attractive, then I’ve got great news for you today:  because you do have in your possession a vast treasure the value of which you cannot possibly begin to fully appreciate.  And in light of this morning’s Gospel reading, I’m guessing that some of you are way ahead of me already; but it needs to be said anyway.  The treasure of which I speak is one that belongs to every person in the Church of Jesus Christ, and that is the Holy Scriptures, which is God’s own Word.  It’s a treasure richer and more precious than any of us can imagine.

Now, I’m not saying that we don’t recognize that it’s worth a great deal. Of course we do.  We know full well that it contains God’s revelation to us, and that it reveals Jesus Christ his Son as our Lord and Savior.  We know that it in it we find his words of eternal life.  And we all have favorite passages that stand out to us like particularly bright, polished gems: passages like the 23^rd Psalm, the Beatitudes, and John 3:16 to name just a few.  To those we might add certain favorite stories, like the Christmas narrative, the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection, and some of the parables, like the ones about a Prodigal Son and a Good Samaritan.  We all have certain other favorites, sure; but after we identify and sift them out, we tend to treat the rest of the Scriptures like the byproducts of a mining operation.  We pick out what we think of as the gems, and consign the rest to a sort of biblical slagheap.  “Nothing in there to interest me or to help me along in my walk of faith.”

This is truly unfortunate, because in so doing, we keep hidden from ourselves incredible spiritual wealth and vast faith-building power.  No matter how well you know the Scriptures now, it’s certain that there are immense riches and breathtaking visions waiting to be discovered.  Would that our attitude toward the Scriptures were more like those folks who show up at the Antiques Roadshow carrying items they desperately hope might have hidden value. Because if we were, unlike most of them who will go home disappointed, we would discover that those who long to know what new treasures can be found in very old Scriptures are always rewarded.

The key to finding those new treasures, Jesus tells us, is receiving his instruction in the Kingdom of Heaven.  And the Kingdom of Heaven is different than any kingdom or empire on earth. The basic rules and way of thinking are simply not the same as what we’re used to.  You see, all earthly kingdoms are built by people.  These kingdoms rise up and rest on human achievement:  through the struggle and hard labor of the citizens, through military might and sacrifice, and through the wisdom and leadership of their best human minds.  And this world has seen many marvelous nations arise and achieve great things in the arts, in law, in building and architecture, in science and technology, and in other areas.  We live in such a nation.  But, Jesus tells us, the glory of these kingdoms is like the flowers of the field: they have their day of blossoming in the sun, and then they wither and are gone.  They are doomed to fail because their builders are flawed and sinful and can make nothing of lasting value.  Even their highest accomplishments are corrupt and as subject to decay as the citizens themselves.  In the end, their greatest treasures will be revealed as what they are:  a lot of worthless junk.

The Kingdom of Heaven is different.  It is not built on human achievement, but upon God’s grace.  He is the active agent; and the citizens of his Kingdom are the recipients of his gracious actions.  And because he is perfect and righteous and eternal, so are the things he does.  So to helpless people trapped in the earthly cycle of sin and decay, he sends his Son to establish the Kingdom of Heaven by taking upon himself the damnation that we by our sins deserved.  Then he raises his Son to life to give life to those who will believe on his name and what he did to redeem them.  And because their minds are so darkened by sin they can’t even believe in him, he sends them his Spirit to create faith in their hearts when they hear the message of salvation.  All is accomplished and provided by the Lord God.  The only things he requires of us are the things that he himself first gives us – because anything we have to offer on our own has no lasting value.

This is what instruction in the Kingdom of God is all about – and it’s the key to revealing and understanding the treasures that God gives us in the Holy Scriptures.

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So to show how it works, let’s apply the key to the two brief parables Jesus tells at the beginning of this morning’s Gospel reading.  They are The Parables of the Treasure Hidden in a Field, and the Pearl of Great Price.  In both cases, you have someone who finds something of immense value, who then sells all that he has to buy it.  The message and intent of both stories seems to be the same.  And it makes sense to take both the treasure and the pearl as representations of God’s great gift to us in Jesus Christ, or maybe as Jesus himself, or perhaps even as the salvation and eternal life that we inherit through him – it all amounts to the same thing as far as we are concerned; and after all, what treasure could be greater than Jesus?  And so, the thrust of the parables is to say that since this treasure is what will satisfy the true desires of our hearts, we must surrender all that we have to possess it.  You can’t hold anything back.  If you want to own the prize, you must first give yourself and everything you own completely to him – but it’s still a good deal, because in the end, you get far more than you paid for.

Now, I have to tell you that from a lot of pulpits all around the world today, wherever preachers are waxing eloquent on this same Gospel text, that’s pretty much what people are hearing.  They are being told what great sacrifices they have to make if they ever hope to see eternal glory.  But having been instructed in the Kingdom, we recognize that there are some real problems with this understanding.  First, it sets forth a huge obligation on your part as a price you must pay to get the treasure, be it Jesus, or the gift of eternal life, or salvation; namely, that you must first give up all that you have in order to get it.  Only after you do that can you have the treasure.  And while that may make some sense on the surface, it’s absolutely contrary to what instruction in the Kingdom is all about. It makes your salvation completely dependent upon what you do first—it’s based on your achievement.  But the Gospel of God’s grace is all about what he has done for you.  It’s a free gift.  If you put a price tag on salvation, as if you could buy Jesus and his Gospel, then it’s not a gift. It’s not grace.

And there are some other big problems.  For instance, in the parable about the hidden treasure, what’s this guy doing sneaking around in his neighbor’s field with a shovel looking for treasure? That’s a trifle dishonest, don’t you think? – Not to mention illegal.  And after he digs it up, why doesn’t he just take it?  He’s not being very ethical about it anyway.  But that would be too easy, I guess.  Instead he hides it again, sells all his other stuff, and then, under false pretenses, he offers to buy the field.   How much sense does that make?  And what’s it supposed to mean?  After you find the Gospel, you should hide it until you’re ready to come back and get it?  And if the treasure represents Jesus, or faith in the Gospel, how much sense does it make to hide that after finding it?  Where in Scripture does Jesus ever suggest that we should do that?  What happened to “Let your light shine before men” and “Go make disciples of every nation”?  There’s too much here that just doesn’t ring true.

Nor should it because the general approach is wrong – it relies on human action to make it work.  But remember the key to finding the treasure in Scripture is God’s grace.  He’s got to be the active agent, and we must be the recipients of his gracious actions.  So, ask yourself, who in each of these two parables is the main actor?  The answer:  the man looking for treasure and the merchant looking for fine pearls. According to our instruction in the Kingdom of Heaven, they must represent God.  And in both parables, after he finds what he’s looking for, his great joy moves him to sell all that he has to possess it.  Well, does God ever do that?  Does he ever give away all that he values to get something else? Of course he does!  What does he have that’s more precious to him than his Only Begotten Son?  And yet he gives him over to death and damnation to secure for himself the true treasure and desire of his heart – and that would be people like you and me.  We are the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great price that enthralls him with joy.

Now, there’s one of those precious revelations I was talking about:  that God considers you something of infinite worth and value.  You are his treasure.  You are a hidden treasure, to be sure; a fine pearl concealed, as it were, in an oyster on the bottom of the sea.  Your true worth and value has yet to be revealed.  But though you are now like a diamond in the rough, covered with the black coal dust of sin, and apparently of little consequence, the Lord looks ahead with delight to what you will be when he is finished with you – that is, after he shapes and polishes you to be the reflection and image of the Son he gave to purchase you.

And so, with all this in mind, I’d like to conclude with two closing thoughts for you to reflect upon.  First, what makes an object valuable is what someone is willing to pay to get it. The violin I mentioned before wasn’t much good for what it could do.  What made it worth a lot was its value to a collector.  So it is with us.  Our worth to the Lord is entirely dependent upon the price he paid when he gave his Son to save us.  His love displayed in his sacrificial death upon a cross is what makes us a treasure to the Lord.  But unlike the violin, we are a treasure that can appreciate in value through use.  When he uncovers us and brings us to faith, his Spirit works in us to reflect his Son’s sacrifice when we serve and forgive one another. His investment of love in us grows, as we through him love one another.

Secondly, the way to increase the Lord’s investment in buying this treasure is for we ourselves to discover more of the treasures he has placed before us in Holy Scriptures.  That’s what causes his Spirit to dwell in us more richly, building our faith and moving us greater acts of devotion and love for him.  When we find these treasures, we become treasures of even greater worth. So we make it our goal to appreciate in value for him.  He’s given us his Son, he’s given us his Word, and he’s given us the key.  May we use them all for him.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!