The Kingdom is Like
This is the message I preached on Sunday July 30 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.
So… I have to admit that when I first read this gospel passage, I thought, what in the world am I supposed to do with this? I did a bit in the e-ministry, yet found that I could not morph that into a sermon. We’re not going to do a flyover of all five of these parables, but are taking two that are similar, yet have differences as well, the treasure in a field and the precious pearl.
The purpose of parables is to shake people up with the unexpected. They are to afflict the comfortable; being thorny and disturbing. We are not to walk away from parables saying, “Oh, what a nice story.”
How are these two parables similar, how are they different and what does that mean for us?
Professor Amy-Jill Levine writes:
The parables share common ideas, characterizations, and results. Both depict a person who sells all that he has to purchase something desired. Both also present a gap between the desire and the fulfillmentThe man in the first parable has to sell his goods in order to purchase the field where the treasure is hid. The merchant is seeking pearls; upon finding one special pearl, he liquidates his assets to purchase it. (Amy-Jill Levine, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi)
There are differences between the parables as well. All we know in the first parable is that the subject was “someone”—an unnamed person; whereas in the second, we know the person is a merchant.
Merchants did not have a good reputation in Jesus’ time. They were socially suspect. They were seen as dealing in what was not of true value, since their trade is not in land or family or truth. Rather, they are of a nature of being freely exchangeable or replaceable. In biblical tradition, such work of high-end trade is treated negatively. Jill-Amy Levine again writes, “‘The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant…’ Funny business at best, bad marketing for a parable. Jesus has caught my attention, but I’m not sure I’m going to like the product he is selling.” The kingdom is not compared to the priceless pearl, but to the merchant who sells all he has for that one fabulous pearl. At that time, the value of pearls was literally above rubies. Pearls were only for the aristocrats, the wealthy. “But for a shepherd or a carpenter, or the population of Nazareth—no pearls” (Levine)
In the first parable, by chance, buried treasure has been unearthed and then re-buried for safe keeping. The second centers on a very valuable pearl—so valuable that the merchant gave up everything in order to possess it. The merchant was actively searching for fine pearls. He was content with that until he found this wonderful pearl. Unlike the fellow in the field, the merchant is dissatisfied with the status quo. But he is seeking pearls, not the kingdom.
New Testament scholar, R. T. France explains, “Unlike the man in the previous parable, who could presumably live off his treasure once he had secured it, this dealer, though initially a man of some substance, is apparently impoverishing himself to acquire something supremely valuable which he could admire and display but could not live off unless he sold it again.” What a predicament!
And yet, this experience changes the merchant. In the gaining of the pearl, he has revolutionized his identity. By finding that one pearl of worth, the merchant stops being a merchant. He redefines himself. We have to look at him differently. What does a former merchant “do” with a pearl? How do we identify with this parable?
“The kingdom is not the pearl, and it is not the merchant.” It is what comes after “it is like.” “The merchant has reconceptualized both his past values and his future plans, the ‘magnitude of the life change’ is paramount; he is no longer what he was” (Levine).
Can you imagine anything that you would give up everything for? What is your pearl? One with a Master’s degree may desire a doctorate. For some, to be the first person in their family to go to college is what they most crave. If you’ve grown up poor and have constantly had to struggle to make ends meet, maybe you wouldn’t mind having some riches. These things are all very earthy, earthly, but they are what some people want.
Others might say peace on earth, ending childhood hunger, seeing God’s kingdom tangibly active in our world. Seeing more people in church.
I like the way a former seminary professor describes these parables. He writes, “[They are] demonstrating different aspects of the Reign of God, which is at the center of Jesus’ preaching” (Mark Oldenburg). This makes me think of a multi-faceted jewel and how one needs to look at it from various angles to fully appreciate it. Our life in Christ is that treasure, that pearl, that jewel. Thanks be to God.
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