Buried Treasure

Jesu Juva

St. Matthew 13:44-52                                                           

July 26, 2020

Proper 12A                                                                 

 Dear saints of our Savior~

          If it’s Monday evening, at around seven o’clock, well, you know what that means don’t you?  It’s time to turn on PBS and watch Antiques Roadshow.  That’s the program where people bring in their antiques and heirlooms to see whether they have trash or treasure—something that’s worthless or worth a lot.

          For people like me, with an untrained eye, it can be really difficult to tell whether an item is trash or treasure.  What may look like a beautiful vase dating from the “Mingh Dynasty” might actually have been made in New Jersey.  And what looks like a painting of a desert landscape done “by the numbers” might actually turn out to be a one-of-a-kind masterpiece valued at over six figures.  It’s exciting to think that something you own—something boxed-up in your basement or sitting in your attic—might actually be an extremely valuable treasure.

          Jesus knew that this kind of hunt for treasure is hardwired into most human beings; and perhaps that’s why He told two quick parables that build on the basic instinct to search for and seek out things of great value:  The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.  Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  In a day before there were 

banks and safety deposit boxes, it was quite common for people to bury things of great value.  Especially if an invading army was on the way, or if you were about to embark on a long journey, burying your treasured possessions was often the most effective way to protect them.

          The next parable concerns a pearl—but not just any pearl:  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  In First Century Palestine pearls were just as valuable as gold.  If you were lucky enough to find one of great price, you would do all you could to acquire it.

          So, now that we know the earthly stories, what’s the “heavenly meaning” of these parables?  The prevailing interpretation of these parables down through the centuries has been that they are about discipleship—that the buried treasure and the priceless pearl correspond to the truth of the Gospel—that we are saved from the power of sin and death through faith in the crucified and risen Christ—that He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.  And, yes, this is pure gold!  This is a priceless treasure!  Just as the people in the parables sold all they had to acquire that treasure and that pearl, so should we spare no expense in following Jesus and acquiring the gold of the gospel.  Nothing in this world—not family, not money, not career—should compare with our regular reception of Christ’s gifts to us in Word and Sacrament.  Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.  When it comes to Jesus and His gifts, we should bear any burden, make any sacrifice, and pay any price to have that treasure as our own.

          There’s only one problem.  Our sinful natures prefer trash to treasure.  God’s Word tells us in a multitude of different ways that our salvation in Jesus Christ is our most treasured possession.  It says in 1 Peter that your faith is “of greater worth than gold.”  The First Commandment proclaims our priorities perfectly:  You shall have no other gods.  We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.  We “fear” a lot of things.  We fear the disapproval of others.  We fear the virus.  We fear losing our jobs and incomes.  But we do not fear God as we should.  We do not love Him or trust Him as we should.  We do not treasure Him above all else.  We are certainly not like the treasure hunters in the parable who gave up everything—all that they had—to acquire the treasure.  Have you given up everything for the faith?  Would you give up everything?

          If we take this interpretation to its logical conclusion, it’s not very satisfying.  If our faith and discipleship hinge entirely on our pursuit of heavenly treasure—if it’s all about our quest for holiness—then all we are left with is our sin and our failure and our disobedience.  We are left with all trash and no treasure.

          But there is another interpretation of these parables—one that centers on Jesus, and not on us.  For the thing that the treasure hunter and the pearl merchant have in common is that they “sold everything” in order to “buy” their desired treasure.  There was an exchange.  There was a purchase made. There was a quid pro quo, a this-for-that.  Only one man actually gave up everything—including His very life—to acquire the object of His desire.  That man was Jesus.  He alone came to give His life as a ransom payment for the many (Matt. 20:28).

          In this Christ-centered approach to the parables, Jesus is the treasure hunter and you—you are the treasure.  You are holy to the Lord your God.  He has chosen you as His treasured possession.  You, dear baptized believer, are priceless and precious in the eyes of Jesus, who purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death, that you might be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness.  You aren’t trash; you are treasure!  You aren’t worthless; but worthy to be called a child of God though faith in Jesus.

          Without Jesus and without faith, we are lost.  When sin is the center of our lives, then we are not only lost, but dead.  We are, in fact, dead and buried, just like the treasure in the parable.  But we who once were lost have now been found.  Our sin has been answered for.  A loving Lord has rescued us from the trash heap and claimed us as His own.  You are not your own; you were bought at a price (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

          Jesus sought you and bought you.  You are precious and paid-for—blood-bought, baptized, and beautiful.  In fact, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us so.  Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

          On this side of heaven, however, God’s treasure remains somewhat hidden.  We are the Lord’s treasured possession, but we often feel like “buried” treasure.  We are buried beneath the world’s hatred—buried beneath the weight of our own struggles against sin—buried beneath the load of crosses that our Lord would have us carry.  But you belong to Jesus.  You are precious to Him.  And that changes everything.

          Most of the Lord’s treasured possessions are no longer with us.  We knew them once and loved them—parents and grandparents, spouses and children.  We treasured them for a time, but now they have gone to be with the Lord—with the One who treasures them so much more than we ever could.  Their earthly remains now lie at rest, buried in the earth.  But on the Day of Resurrection we know what will happen.  Those resting places—those cemeteries—will be like fields of buried treasure from which the Lord with all His angels will raise up all the dead and will claim all that is rightfully His.  You are rightfully His.  You together with all the saints are the Lord’s precious, priceless treasure.  You are safe in His keeping until that blessed day.

          In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.