44 ‘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. 45 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
We have a store in the local mall, where a person can buy, sell, or trade movies, video games, comic books and many other things. You can purchase a new DVD, yes, they still make and sell those. You can trade in a well-played and finished game for another. You can sell your old comic books for cash, yes, they still deal with cash. But in this store, one can find just about anything and for the right price take it home.
Perhaps then, we can understand what is transpiring in our two parables about the Kingdom of heaven. Both parables contain a person finding something of great value, a treasure, or a pearl, and in their desire to “have” the item, they sell everything they have in order to buy the item. These parables describe a trading, the treasure for the money, just like buying a new movie, or trading in an old game, or selling your old Gameboy. One person gives up something, the money or the property and gains the treasure or pearl. The other person gives up the treasure or pearl to gain the prize. But both parables describe a transaction or trading and paying a high price, they sold everything to gain the treasure because it was worth it.
Perhaps one of the main ideas for disciples to learn from these parables is the breaking from the old to obtain the new. Everything is sold to gain the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, this does not mean that it can be bought or sold, we know faith is how we enter and obtain the Kingdom of Heaven. But the point is instead that to gain the Kingdom of Heaven, by faith, one must make a complete break with the old: everything old for the Kingdom of Heaven. We break from the previous life and the previous lifestyles and the previous attitudes, and the previous goals to receive the new life, the new lifestyle, the new attitude, and the new goals. Everything goes because the Kingdom of Heaven now comes. God breaks the old life, to give us, by faith, the Kingdom of Heaven.
But when the Kingdom of Heaven breaks into our world and God breaks us from the old, many great conflicts begin over and within us. The first is the desire for possessions. We just simply want more stuff and someone in our community is selling it to us. Advertisements are in every aspect of our line of sight. Buy this coffee. Buy this car. Buy this phone. And we become ensnared by the race with our neighbors over who can have more and have it before someone else gets it. To make a break with this desire, God replaces the desire for more stuff with the desire to let go of our earthly possessions and share them in love. God makes this great break in our lives, which is quite simply giving sacrificially, instead of taking greedily; and we struggle daily to do it.
The second great struggle within us, when God breaks-in our lives is our desire for fame and admiration. We want to be known and to be admired. Whether on stage as a performer, or on TV as an actor or actress, or having the highest gamer score or the most followers on social media, Human beings have an endless thirst to be known and to be admired by as many others as possible. But what we see in the Kingdom of Heaven is Jesus leaving the throne to ascend a cross, and this Crucified Jesus breaks-into our worlds. Instead of seeking honor and glory, we can take the least dignified places and be content with the less reputable situations. Instead of wanting a throne, we can carry our cross. God makes this break in our lives, which is quite simply seeking the Glory of God instead of the glory of “me;” and we struggle daily to do it.
But I find to be the greatest struggle of all is when God breaks-into our families. We must remember first that we are to love and to love even our enemies, this includes our families. But when God takes hold of us, our families lose their hold over us. God becomes the priority not the advancement of the family name, reputation, and success. This also means that we are free from the difficult and unchosen relationships that families bring: failing parents, special needs children, broken marriages. We can still love them, but not because we “have to”, but because we “can” and the freely given love will always be greater and more complete than a forced love. But God makes this break in our lives, which is quite simply the Family of God instead of the family of “____;” and we struggle daily to do it.
Friends, not one of us is without these and more great conflicts as disciples of Jesus Christ. We all struggle with loving God and each other instead of possessions, fame, and family. But the point of the parables of the treasure and pearls is that God is the one who makes the break between the old and the new. The Kingdom of Heaven comes, the kingdoms of sinful people go. The Gospel is that through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we can trade one for the other because God has assaulted those kingdoms and overcome them. The daily challenge then becomes living into this break. As if the hold on us of our possessions, our fame and our families is broken, and the Kingdom of Heaven has invaded. The challenge of discipleship is trading in the old life for Jesus’ new one. Buy, sell, or Trade? Faith and obedience say Trade! Amen.
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