Both Old and New Treasures

Matthew 13:44-50In the midst of a world of subtle differences these parables beg our attention. Is thedifference between Coke and Pepsi, Ford and Chevy big enough to warrant the type of rivalries that emerge? Then we have we the sub-groups within a given product.Wikipedia lists over 60 different versions of Pepsi that have been marketed around theworld in the history of the company. The flavours range from Pepsi Cappuccino sold inEurope and South America to Pepsi Max Punch, a Christmas blend of cinnamon andginger sold in England. Then there was the limited Japanese edition of Pepsi IceCucumber. Before we make too much fun of such a situation this is often depressinglylike church denominations. Even within the Mennonite church I found lists of over 20different denominations and I am sure those lists were not exhaustive. In Bible College I joked about my suspicion of the all-to-worldly Evangelical Mennonite Church incomparison to the Evangelical Mennonite

Mission

Church that I was baptized in. Nowmany of the differences have validity in their concerns and also add variety to the overallcolour and expression of the global church. But is it all just a marketing scam? Are theworld religions just trying to create their own unique brand campaign even though theyknow that their product is essentially the same? Do we know any longer what enduringtreasure is or are we too easily satisfied with imitations?Listen to the first parable,

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

The Kingdom is like a completely unexpected surprise. In Jesus’s time, as now, Israel isthe site for numerous wars and conflicts and it is believed that out of fear of being looted

2 people hid their valuables in the ground. And so in the parable a poor or middle-classworker is likely working the field when he comes across some old treasure left in theground. After covering the treasure back up he joyfully sells everything he has and buysthe field. There is no need for discernment or comparisons, he has found a treasure.Where he thought there was nothing suddenly there is all he could ever ask for.Listen to the second parable,

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a businessperson looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

The Kingdom is like finding the best of what you prize most in life. It is the feeling of being completely overtaken by something so that you lose all inhibitions. The businessperson was discerning, patient and selective and found the finest example of what he was searching for.In both parables there is no ambiguity about what the people find. They see instantly itsworth. It stands out beyond comparison. Though we tend not to use this language muchany more these parables are about conversion and transformation. In the first parable wehear the conversion of someone who has hit bottom whose life consists of dirt and beingdirty. Then one day as clear as the contrast between mud and gold the person gives upeverything for their deliverance out of the filth they had been living in.This parable reminded me of the story of Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky’s

Crime and Punishment

. Raskolnikov was in prison where he was mentally and physicallydeteriorating. One day we read that “a feeling of great desolation came over him.” Then

3in next paragraph it says that “suddenly Sonia was beside him.” Sonia was a frequentvisitor who cared for Raskolnikov but whom Raskolnikov always treated poorly.However, this particular encounter was different. We read that,

suddenly something seemed to seize him and throw him at her feet. He embraced her knees and wept. . . . Her eyes shone with intense happiness; she understood, and she had no doubts at all about it, that he loved her, loved her infinitely. . . . They wanted to speak,but could not; tears stood in their eyes. They were both pale and thin; but in those sick and pale faces the dawn of a new future, of a full resurrection to a new life, was already shining. It was love that brought them back to life: the heart of one held inexhaustible sources of life for the heart of the other.

And what impact did this treasure have on Raskolnikov? We read further,

And what did all,

all

the torments of the past amount to now? Everything, even his crime,even his sentence and punishment appeared to him now, in the first transport of feeling, a strange extraneous event that did not seem even to have happened to him. . . . Life had [had filled him], and something quite different had to work itself out in his mind.

The treasure uncovered in the midst of his filth had taken hold of him, transformed him.Everything was now seen in the consuming light of this treasure. As we read in the parable, “for joy he sold everything.” Raskolnikov had nothing tangible to sell butinstinctively began to give himself over fully to it.The second parable is a little different. It is a pearl-hunter finding a pearl of tremendousvalue. It is the story of another conversion. This conversion flows from search anddiscernment. This parable may be a little bit like the story of the author C. S. Lewis.Lewis was a committed atheist by the age of 13. In this time Lewis is said to havenurtured a longing and desire for literature and myth.His seeking led him through extensive studying and later teaching at Cambridge andOxford. In his search for meaningful and moving literature the author GeorgeMacDonald began to have greater and greater impact on him. It was through