The idea of discovering buried treasure has sparked the imagination of countless men and women, boys and girls for many generations. The thrill and adventure of hunting for buried treasure is present in many stories and movies. It is present in the movie Goonies, Treasure Island, the Count of Monte Cristo, and even in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
Why would anyone bury their valuables? How common was that? Well the hiding of valuables by burying them was actually rather practical. Things that are buried outside the home in a less than obvious spot are less likely to be seen and stolen by thieves and robbers than that which is left in the open. In a time of war, the side that is getting ready to flee hides their belongings hoping to keep them safe until they are able to return.
In 1987, three families inspired by tales of sunken steam boats, looked for and found the remains of a steam boat named the Arabia. It had sunk in the Missouri river in 1856 loaded with enough goods and supplies to outfit several general stores in the Kansas Territory to help open the west to settlement. They found the steamship in a corn field half a mile from the current course of the Missouri river and 45 feet down under the water line. The families pooled their resources, took out massive loans and began to excavate the boat and its treasures. What they found was a time capsule of how people lived in 1856, because many of the artifacts were perfectly preserved in the oxygen depleted mud. After millions of dollars spent to dig up the Steamship Arabia, instead of selling off the very valuable treasure, they set up a museum in Kansas City so that other could people come and see the priceless treasure and learn from its historical value.
In our Gospel text for today we heard of a similar account of a treasure hidden in a field. We also heard two other parables as Jesus concluded the last of His seven parables describing the Kingdom of heaven.
The last few Sundays we heard parables that compared the kingdom of heaven to agricultural models. Today, Jesus turns our attention to another aspect of the Kingdom of God which is God’s ruling and working of salvation.
The first parable says the kingdom is like treasure. It is valuable and wonderful, like treasure buried in a field. Why would it be buried in a field? It is buried in a field because the treasure of God, His Grace, His Mercy, His Love and forgiveness is a precious mystery that can only be revealed to the world by faith through the revelation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ. This profound love of God is revealed in what seems to be the most unlikely of places therefore it seems hidden. It is hidden to the eyes of reason, the eyes of pride, the eyes of those driven by earthly lusts, because the mystery of God’s priceless treasure of love, mercy, forgiveness and salvation are made known through the humble suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. That which seems like non-sense to many in the world is actually the greatest treasure as well as the most precious pearl, the pearl of great value. Therefore, the world walks by it or lives around it without taking notice, but there it is in an open field which represents the Church with its teachings and sacraments. It is available to all, but only some are drawn to its richness and understand by faith its value. Therefore, the man in this parable and the parable of the pearl are like anyone who comes to faith; who comes to an understanding and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior from their sins. They go by the Spirit and sell all that they have, that is they go and get rid of all of the valuables of this world forsaking their previous sinful ways and the priorities and so-called wise philosophies of this world in order to possess an even greater treasure. It may seem as though the man or men in these parables are redeeming the field and the pearl by the sale of their earthly possessions, but in reality, they are the ones being redeemed. It is they who now belong to the treasure and the field which houses such a treasure. Now they and all who come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Savior live a life of repentance and faith as they wait and hope upon the Lord.
But none of that is possible unless we understand the primary way to understand this parable. The men in the treasure and pearl seeking parables actually represent God. God who sees you, me, and other believers, He even sees unbelievers as precious treasures buried under sin, unable to free ourselves, buried like dead bodies. God then redeems the world by selling all He has. He sends His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the redemption price through His suffering and death, so that you, me, and all sinners could be redeemed and delivered from the cold earth of our burial chambers. So that He could glorify us as His children and possession through the salvation of His Son.
In our Old Testament reading God says to Israel and His New Testament Church: “You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession…It is because the Lord loves you, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery.” In Romans, we hear, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
We have been called to repent of our sin and come to the cross of Jesus Christ as our greatest treasure for salvation, but it is God who first did the treasure hunting. God saw us and all the people throughout history and had mercy upon us. For whatever reason, despite our sins, our warts, our filth, the wormy mud and gook of our sin caked upon us and our decomposed dead in sin flesh. God still saw us as a treasure worthy to be redeemed, worthy to be loved and valued. Therefore, God did send forth His own Son to be humbled and born in human flesh. He did what we could not, He lived the perfect life of obedience so that He could receive in His own flesh the complete and total punishment for the sins of the world as He suffered and died upon the cross to make atonement or payment for the price of sin. In this way, the sins of the whole world were paid for. Jesus then was raised from the dead to show the hope of life everlasting for those who believe. He ascended to prepare a place for believers, but also to send us His Holy Spirit in His Word and so that by His God-head He would be with us in His sacraments. We are brought forth, excavated from the grave, and washed of sin in holy Baptism and by the Holy Spirit, we shine and are clean because we have Christ and His righteousness put upon us. Now we are accounted by faith in Jesus as God’s treasure even as Jesus was and is our treasure. Now we receive more richness of His Love as He continues to shine and polish us through our lives, leading us through each difficulty, teaching us in His Word and receiving forgiveness when we are brought back to repentance and here to receive the very body and blood of Christ. Now we shine out and declare the glory and mercy and love of God to each other and our community as God uses us to call out to our neighbors to come see the treasure that we have in Jesus by the love lived out in us, the treasure into which we have been made through faith in Him.
We are given the promise then, that if it is God who has redeemed us and brought us to this saving knowledge, who has called us, justified us, and keeps us in the true faith by His gifts, then nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. He will sustain us in faith to the last that when the great dragnet comes at the end of the age, when the harvest time comes, we may be found to be of the good grain and the good fish and be saved and not cast among those to be destroyed. Thanks be to God, we are saved and seen as valuable in God’s eyes, not because we were worthy or good in and of ourselves, but because God in His goodness and great mercy loved us and redeemed us, to be His treasure, His bride and pearl of great beauty for the sake of Jesus Christ, who is now our treasure. He has forgiven you all your sins. May God keep us in that faith through Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Amen
Pr. Aaron Kangas