MT 13: 44-58

Matthew in the Margins…8th S. After Pentecost…Revised 2017

The definitive "Yes" the disciples answer to Jesus' "Have you understood all these things?" has to be a whopper, doesn’t it! How much of Jesus & his teachings do any of us completely understand? Like the disciples, we must take Jesus on trust. In faith & hope, & love! Which includes grappling with our misunderstandings; or, at times, apparent contradictions. But if we’re among the ‘religious, but religiously ignorant’, there’s no time like now to act!

The treasure represents, broadly, 'the things of God'. Lying hidden in the fields of everyday life. Not so hidden that people like us can't unearth them serendipitously. If members of our congregation were to share their story, who might tell of coming upon God when they were not particularly looking for Him?

Jesus contrasts the above with the merchant's deliberate searching after treasure in the next mini-parable. Just as God's Rule is wide, so are the means of coming upon it. This time the merchant is a deliberate searcher for the Truth of God. His selling up everything else in order to buy the priceless pearl is an icon for those of us who need to off-load life's baggage if we're to recognise God & appreciate God when we find Him. This will likely include discarding churchy stuff that’s past its use-by date! Until we shed baggage we won’t have enough space for the inexhaustible riches of God in Christ.

Those of us who exercise any level of authority in the church can be tempted to play the role of they who do the netting, & sorting out others as the 'fish of every kind'. Right under our noses the world is swinging to the (self)-righteous Right. To do what’s right in God’s eyes we need the gift of discernment to tell right from wrong. The apocalyptic bit here, where Jesus cedes responsibility for 'sorting' to the angels points to all this taking place in God’s time, not ours. But when is there a time that’s not God’s? I’m inclined to the view that a lot of people-sorting would be carried out more compassionately if we were more conscious of ourselves being angels in human clothing. An unkind joke told of the late Ian Paisley had it that when preaching on this passage, & being told by a mocker that they had no teeth to gnash, told them ‘don’t you worry; teeth will be provided!’ Is it a case of God will meet all our needs, in this world & the next!

The Scribes usually get bad press from Jesus, but here they apparently represent anyone who studies God's Word seriously. The continual renewal of our discipleship depends on us discerning & responding to the ever-new-dynamic that Jesus offers us. Matthew Fox quotes Meister Eckhart as saying, "God is always the newest thing there ever is”.  Genuine renewal like that is always two-way traffic, spiritual & practical!

When Jesus has finished his teaching he leaves wherever he's been & moves on (back to his old territory, as it turns out). Knowing when to move on, move out, move back, or move forward, is in itself a gift of God's grace, even if not a formally listed one.