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Mark Wheeler
Matthew 13:44-46
08/22/2021
“Kingdom of God … Seek, Discover, Sacrifice!”
Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church
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Welcome everyone! Happy Sunday to you! Did you notice how well the new A/C fans are working today?!
Have you ever accidentally found an unexpected treasure? Maybe you’ve seen the Facebook post about people who were remodeling their homes and discovered – a safe behind a wall, old newspapers lining their basement walls, a money-filled box in a heating vent, a giant Monopoly Board painted on the concrete floor…. All we found in our house was more problems to get fixed….
Or maybe you’re a collector – rare stamps, old books, state quarters, vintage baseball cards – and you have searched Antique stores, garage sales, e-bay – and maybe you have finally found the one elusive item that’s missing from your collection. I am missing Volume 1 of a complete set of Big Little Books – and I found it one day at a flea market in Marin City, CA, but I only had $10 and they wanted $25! I have never seen it again!
Today we explore what such a discovery might look like, and what it might cost …
As a Church, a city, a state, a nation and even as a whole globe, we are searching for a way to beat this dang COVID 19 thing! We’ve obeyed the rules, we’ve debated the vaccines, we’ve washed our hands, we’ve kept our distance, and we are still wearing masks! Searching for the day when we can “go back to the way things used to be”. (Something that will never happen – both for better and for worse.)
With the Delta Variant still as vicious as it is, we are still holding on to some caution.
Here’s our current policy regarding masks and seating:
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Things are so much better than they have been for much of the last year,,, but you may have seen than Spokane is spiking again with new cases,,,, so ,,, while ,,, we have removed the pew-separators for folks who are fully vaccinated – please politely ask before sitting near someone to make sure everyone is as comfortable as we can all be with seating arrangements!
For now we are again asking people to listen to the newest CDC guidelines, which recommend that we:
“Wear a mask while inside the building.”
No one should feel judged, and everyone should feel safe, about their masking or unmasking, so continue to be gentle with each other.
“If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion, make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.” Philippians 2:1-4
We are gathered in our church sanctuary – a holy place – and it’s also a safe place – where the divine and the human connect together. Welcome to this holy sacred and safe place today.
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Let’s take a second to welcome each other, and those in the room, look at the camera and say HI to your friends who are at home. Tell your loved ones, “If you have to ask … you can’t afford it!”
Welcome to this “gathering” in God’s name. We are assembled in NorthEast Spokane, WA, along with people from all over the world. We are very glad you are “here” with us.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.
Join in our Call to Worship led by … Mr. & Mrs. Lary and Sandy O’Neal – from the Book of Revelation, join in the celebration of worship!
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Our opening song of praise and devotion – from that very passage – #116 – Thou Art Worthy
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Through the Written Word,
And the spoken word,
May we know Your Living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today’s parable in this series on Jesus’ stories comes from Matthew 13. This chapter is filled with parables – the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, the yeast, a couple of explanations about why Jesus teaches in parables, and then two very brief parables – our today-stories – these are then followed by another parable about casting a net into the sea, an then a story about Jesus being rejected by the citizens of his hometown of Nazareth.
In the middle of this chapter filled with parables, sits these two very brief, very lively parables. As we read them, I invite you to let your imaginations go free – what was it like when you were looking for something? – what did you accidentally discover? – how did you feel? – what did it smell like? – how did you celebrate?
Ask yourself, “What would I do if I found the impossible?” And then remember that, if we have a living relationship with our favorite Parable Teller, we have already been found!
Listen to the Word of God, from Matthew 13:44-46 —- ….
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Jesus continued His teaching: 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
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Did you think of a time you were searching for something? A lost key, your cell phone, a soy latte double macchiato, six differences between two pictures …. What happens when that search ends with something so outlandishly glorious, so incredibly beyond our dreams?
Because that’s the question that opens the main point of these parables. Thomas Keene, New Testament professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., says, “Though the metaphorical setting is the search and the surprising discovery, the main emphasis actually lies in the cost.”
In the Parable about the treasure accidentally discovered in the field, Jesus doesn’t seem overly concerned about details, the whole parable is only one verse! And the New English Translation does a spectacular job here: “Because of joy he went and sold all he had and bought the field!”
Did you hear that? Did you hear how much he spent to make sure he got the treasure he found? It cost this man – everything! In this one-verse story, the man doesn’t do any math, he doesn’t consult his financial manager, he doesn’t even call his wife or his mom – he acts on pure impulse – moved and motivated by “joy”!
That’s the Kingdom of Heaven. The wonder and glory of God’s Kingdom are such that the one who finds it and knows what he has found reacts out of instinctive joy, sacrificing all and counting nothing as loss to be in God’s presence! Psalm 84:10 says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere”.
And then there’s the two-verse parable about the pearl merchant. At first glance, what is in this story that the first, one-verse, parable didn’t already say? Is it just for emphasis – a second story to drive home the point?
The merchant, like the guy in the treasure-story finds his prize and sells everything he owns. But the difference here is that he was actually collecting pearls. It’s what he did. And he sold everything – including his pearl collection, to buy this one “pearl of great price”! Keene says, “He’s not in the pearl business for the money; he’s in it for the pearls!”
Right? Why would the merchant sell everything he had to become the now-homeless owner of this one particular pearl? For the love of this pearl! Again, “because of joy”!
And that’s the point of these parables– to call us to consider our love for God’s Kingdom! In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us that all our life-concerns don’t measure up to the value of discovering ourselves in God’s kingdom purposes: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things you need will be provided as well.”
With this first parable Jesus asks us to consider what we value; do our priorities lined up properly? Would we sacrifice everything good in order to live in something best?
With the pearl parable Jesus takes that question up a level: is that sacrifice we offer truly for the pure love of God’s Kingdom?
Thomas Keene asks, “The treasure probes our vision and values: Do we see that the Kingdom [of God] is more? But the pearl probes deeper still into our heart and will: Do we see that [God’s] Kingdom is all?”
The only way to ever stand righteous before God is in trusting in God’s righteousness! “Mustard seed faith” is about loving the Kingdom of God – enough to seek it, discover it, and then sacrifice for it so that we might experience all that God offers us through His seeking, finding and sacrificing for us!
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Prayer Page – Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, O Lord, To receive glory, glory and honor, Glory and honor and power;
He is Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, He is Lord of all who live; He is Lord above the universe,
All praise to Him we give.
Come, Holy Spirit, reign. We welcome You!
12-14 We pray this day for … [call out a name or a situation]
15 [Lord’s Prayer] Amen.
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– Offering (4449 N Nevada St, Spokane, 99207 ; or click HERE or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)
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Expedition Song – We Will Glorify – because it doesn’t end when “” “church is over” – the seeking, discovering, and sacrificing is just getting started!
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We close with this benediction: As followers of Jesus, , may we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ,be filled with the power of Holy Spirit Life, , and give glory to God today and every day! Amen.
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22-24 Announcements
Resources:
Keene, Thomas; “The Treasure in the Field and the Pearl of Great Price”; TableTalk; February 2020; Pp. 20-22.
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