Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 12) (Year A - Lutheran Service Book readings)
Saturday, July 23, and Sunday, July 24, 2011
Pinch yourself. Pinch yourself, because I want you to realize you’re here. I want you to realize that you’re really here. Pinch yourself, because I want you to realize you’re really here, and here is where the message of God is coming to you today, here is where the message comes into your life, here and now is where the Lord meets you and is working in your life.
Pinch yourself, because you’re going to be tempted, in fact you probably already were tempted to think that you’re not really here, or at least tempted to think that you’re not really meeting God right here. There’s part of you that’s thinking that meeting God is something that will happen up there (point to the sky), something that will happen later, when you die. And you were tempted to think that because of the Gospel reading, because the Gospel reading from the book of Matthew has those parables of Jesus, those stories of Jesus about the kingdom of heaven.
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sold everything and bought a field so that he could have a treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who sold everything and bought a great pearl.
When Jesus says that He’s talking about the kingdom of heaven in these parables, what do you think He’s talking about? What is the kingdom of heaven? Where is in the kingdom of heaven? What does it have to do with us?
I’m gonna guess that if you’re like me, when you hear Jesus use the phrase “kingdom of heaven” you’re thinking about something up there (point to the sky)—that’s where it is. You’re thinking about something that we’ll be a part of when we die. That’s the kingdom of heaven—up there with God when we die.
Of course, does that change if we realize that John the Baptist—the prophet who pointed to Jesus—was preaching, “The kingdom of heaven is near.” He was saying that the kingdom of heaven was coming to the people in the person of Jesus.
Then when Jesus started preaching, He, too, said, “The kingdom of heaven is near.” In other words, the kingdom of heaven is coming to the people through Him.
Then when Jesus sent out the disciples to preach, He told them to say, “The kingdom of heaven is near.” They were to tell people that the kingdom of heaven had come into the world through Jesus.
If the kingdom of heaven is about what Jesus is doing in the world, if the kingdom of heaven came near to us when Jesus began His ministry, well, now it starts to seem less like something that happens up there when we die. It starts to seem like something that might be here. . .now. Pinch yourself. You’re really here, and it just might be that the kingdom of heaven is here, too.
What if I told you that a better translation of the phrase “kingdom of heaven,” a better translation from the Greek might be “reign of heaven,” if that’s a better translation, how does that change your understanding? “Reign of heaven” helps us to realize that Jesus isn’t really talking about a place, He’s not talking about someplace we’re going to go. He’s talking about the ruling of God, the power of God over all things, the gracious working of God in the world, the way God brings about His plan into the world. “Reign of heaven” is the gracious work of salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.
So that means that these parables we heard today, the parable of the treasure in the field and the parable of the great pearl, these parables aren’t about something up there when we die. These parables are about something that might be here. . .now. These parables are about God’s gracious work in the person of Jesus Christ, His gracious work in our lives right now. These parables are about what Jesus is doing in your life from day to day, they’re about God doing things in your life—your heart, mind, soul, and body—doing things in your life right now. The reign of heaven isn’t just something up there for later; the reign of heaven has come to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ and is transforming our lives every day. Pinch yourself. You’re really here. You’re really here where the reign of heaven is working in the world. Pinch yourself, stay awake for this, pinch yourself, because the reign of heaven is here and now.
But why pinch yourself, why make sure you’re here, why make sure you’re awake for this? I mean, frankly, the way I’ve often heard people talk about these parables makes me sleepy, makes me want to slink away. Often people have talked about the parable of treasure in the field and the parable of the great pearl, they’ve talked about them as being about us, our actions, about being disciples, about striving to get the kingdom of heaven, about selling everything we have, give up everything we have in order to get the kingdom of heaven.
And when I hear that, I don’t want to pinch myself, I don’t want to be awake, I don’t want to be here for that, because it sounds like too much, it sounds like something I won’t be able to do, something I won’t be able to achieve. I don’t think I’m the man who bought the field. I don’t think I’m the merchant who bought the pearl. I don’t think I can be those guys. Don’t pinch me if that’s the message, because if that’s the message, I want to go asleep, I want to slink away, I want to sneak out the backdoor and be out of here.
And if that’s what these parables were about, I’d be right there with you, leaving as quickly as I could, done with this whole church thing, done with this whole Christian thing, done with this, because it’d just be another message of doing more, doing more, doing more, and never feeling like I could make it by my actions. It’d just be another message of something I could never achieve, and I don’t need to come to church for that kind of message. There are plenty of reminders in day-to-day life that show me that I’m not good enough, I don’t measure up, I fail. I wouldn’t need church, I wouldn’t need God if the only thing I’m going to learn is that I’ve got to do more to be good, do more to get near God. If that’s the message of the parables, well, frankly, I’m out of here.
But now pinch yourself, pinch yourself, make sure you realize you’re here, make sure you’re awake, make sure you’re paying attention. Pinch yourself, and smile, because there’s actually some better news about the reign of heaven, better news than just pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, there’s some better news than what you might have heard about these parables, some better news than what you might have heard others say about the Christian faith.
Pinch yourself, because here’s the thing: you aren’t the man buying the field. You aren’t the merchant buying the pearl. Jesus is the man buying the field. Jesus is the merchant buying the pearl. Jesus is doing the action in these parables. Jesus is the One going to great lengths, Jesus is the One selling everything He has to buy the field, to buy the pearl, Jesus is the One giving up everything.
There’s no reason to think that we’re the man buying the field or the merchant buying the pearl, because in every other parable like these in Matthew, in every other parable where there’s a central person doing the action, that central person symbolizes God or Jesus. There’s no reason to think we’re the ones doing the action in these parables, because that’s not how any of the other kingdom of heaven parables works in Matthew. No, the way to interpret these parables is to see that Jesus is the man buying the field, Jesus is the merchant buying the pearl, Jesus is doing the action.
And that makes complete sense, that makes complete sense knowing what we know about what Jesus goes on to do. When Jesus tells this parables, He knows that He’s going to eventually be handed over to be killed, He knows that He’s headed for death, He knows that He’s going to die and then rise again, He knows that He’s going to give up everything—including His life. Jesus knows that He’s the man buying the field. Jesus knows that He’s the merchant buying the pearl.
But where does that leave us? Where are we in these parables? Pinch yourself, because it might be hard to believe, it might be hard to believe that you’re really hearing this. Pinch yourself, and make sure you’re awake for this.
Where are we in these parables? (pause for answers) We’re the treasure in the field. We’re the great pearl.
Now that’s a reason to pinch yourself, because maybe you’re not feeling like you’re a treasure, maybe you’re not feeling like a great pearl. But that’s exactly how God sees you. God doesn’t see all of your foibles, all of your faults, all of your imperfections, all of your sins. God doesn’t see that. When God looks at you, He sees His wonderful Creation, He sees His children, He sees a treasure, He sees a great pearl, He sees someone that He’s prepared to do everything and anything necessary in order to buy you back from death, buy you back from sin, buy you back so that you can be with Him forever.
That’s a reason to pinch yourself. That’s a reason to make sure you’re with me here. That’s a reason to be awake. Pinch yourself, because you just heard Jesus tell two parables about how you are an object of great value, an object so valuable that He’s willing to go to the cross and die for you, He’s willing to give up everything including His life for you. You are a treasure. You are a pearl.
There’s an old Steven Curtis Chapman song that gets this right. The song, “Treasure of You,” talks about how we’re all heartsick, trying to disguise how we feel inside, how we feel like we’re worth a very small price, but that actually, “there’s a pearl inside.” We’re “God’s greatest treasure, worth more than the sun and the moon and the stars, God’s greatest treasure is the treasure of you.”
Pinch yourself; you’re God’s greatest treasure. You are the treasure hidden in the field. You are the pearl of great price. Jesus left His place in heaven to come and reign on Earth for you. Jesus lived a holy life on Earth for you. Jesus died on the cross to buy you back. Jesus rose again and conquered death for you. Jesus did all of that for you—His treasure, His pearl. “God’s greatest treasure is the treasure of you.”
Pinch yourself, make sure you heard this today, make sure you are listening: there’s assurance and comfort in these two parables. There’s assurance and comfort knowing that a man bought a whole field to dig you up as a treasure. There’s assurance and comfort knowing that merchant sold everything he had to buy you, a pearl of incredible value. There’s assurance and comfort knowing that Jesus has brought the reign of heaven to work in the world, brought gracious working of God into the world now. . .here, brought the reign of heaven into your life. There’s assurance and comfort knowing that no matter how heartsick you are, no matter how you feel about yourself, no matter how you feel deep down, that you are God’s greatest treasure. There’s assurance and comfort knowing that you aren’t being called to be the man or the merchant, you’re not being called upon to try to get the kingdom of heaven by your actions, there’s assurance and comfort knowing that Jesus is the One who sold everything He had in order to buy you.
You are God’s greatest treasure. You are the pearl of great price. You are God’s by the gracious work of His reign in the world through Jesus Christ.
I am indebted to Dr. Jeff Gibbs and his commentary, Matthew 11:2-20:34 (Concordia) for the insights into the “reign of heaven” and the interpretation of the parables.