July 24, 2005
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Mindekirken, July 24, 2005 I found, I found! A Norwegian fairytale tells about Per, Pål and Askeladden who went to the king’s farm to silence "the princess who no one could silence". On the way, Askeladden cried out: I found, I found. What did you find now, his brothers asked. A dead magpie. Oh, throw it away, his brothers said. But Askeladden kept all the strange things that he found, and when they came to the princess, Per and Pål failed, but Askeladden managed to silence the princess by funny answers where he showed her all the things he had gathered on his way. He got married to the princess and received half of the kingdom as a reward. In the parable about the treasure and the pearl, we meet people like Askeladden. A man found a hidden treasure in a field. Maybe he shouted to himself: I found, I found. At least he saw the treasure where other people could only see grass and earth. He had an eye for the hidden value. To many people, Christianity is simply something you walk over. It’s like a field. Maybe they see some nice flowers, they recognize the moral values of Christianity. That’s important enough, but Christianity is far more than that. The treasure is Jesus Christ himself. Have you found him? Maybe the field is your own life. You didn’t expect to find a treasure there. But Christ is nearby in our everyday life. Maybe hidden in some way, but still he is not far from any of us. When you grieved over the loss of someone who was dear to you, when life became a mess, when relationships didn’t work out, when crises hit, even then, Christ is near. You might have gotten a strength you couldn’t explain to go on with your life. God’s helping hand may be reached out to us through other people. We might find the treasure of the gospel and be overwhelmed by God’s grace. We live in a world where we encounter a lot of demands. There are so many expectations which may be a burden. Jesus loves us with an unconditional love. We long for a face who can look upon us with mercy. Jesus sees us with forgiveness, acceptance and care. When a father and a mother give unconditional love to their son or daughter, it gives a base of self esteem and confidence. When the love of Christ touches us, it renews our lives. Christ’s love is not based on our performance. We are loved for who we are, not for whom we think we ought to be. In the parable, the man sold everything and bought the field. He did it with joy because he was so overwhelmed by what he had found. It reminds me of Luther’s words in A mighty fortress is our God: If they take our house, Goods, fame, child, or spouse, Wrench our life away, They cannot win the day. The Kingdom’s ours forever! I really hope we don’t have to experience persecution in the way Luther talks about. But whatever it may cost a lot to follow Jesus, it’s worth it. The man in the parable had to sell everything he had in order to get the kingdom of God. We are also called to leave everything behind. We die with Christ in baptism, and we are raised with him to a new life. We are a new creation in him. That means that we are no longer supposed to live for ourselves, but for him. Finding Jesus changes everything. We focus on two parables today, and they are often referred to as the parable of the treasure and the parable of the pearl. But by using that headline, we miss an important aspect of the interpretation. We may exchange the expression the kingdom of God with Jesus. He is the kingdom in person. And he compares himself with a treasure in the first parable. But in the second, he is not the pearl, but the merchant. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. And who is the pearl? That’s us, every human on the earth. The headlines should have been: The parable of the treasure and the parable of the merchant. In the first case, the kingdom of God is passive, waiting for us. In the other case, the kingdom of God is the person who is actively seeking, Jesus Christ himself. This ties in with the main theme of the Bible. God is searching for his lost creation. He’s like a shepherd looking for the one sheep who was lost. Or as Jesus proclaimed: I have come not to call the righteous but sinners. Mark 2.17. Jesus is eager to find the ones who are lost. And the great thing about Jesus is that he values people to the extent that he was willing to give even his own life for us. We are regarded as valuable pearls in his eyes. There are many people who are disregarded by others. I think of the people who are deprived of their basic human rights, those who are economically suppressed, all the people who for some reason are overseen or despised. Jesus was radical by the way he ate together with tax collectors and sinners. He cared for the poor and sick. He gave attention to people who none cared for. We could even go on to talk about how we value unborn life in our society. The Bible teaches us respect for life, from its beginning all the way to its end. The merchant sold all he had to buy the pearl. Isn’t that almost like a prediction of Jesus on the Cross. He gave all, even his life. In the explanation to the second article Luther says: At great cost he has saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. He has freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil- not with silver or gold, but with his holy and precious blood and his innocent suffering and death. No one is a hopeless case for Jesus. Every human being is highly regarded by him. Are we able to see ourselves in the light of Jesus' love? To be found by him is really the greatest thing in life. That is for us like finding the hidden treasure. Glory be to God, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and for ever. Amen. |
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