Text: Matthew 13:44-52
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What is the most valuable thing that you possess? That is the question that is answered by the first two short parables that Jesus tells in our reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel this evening. The kingdom of heaven is the treasure hidden in the field. The kingdom of heaven is that pearl of great price. Nothing in this world can even come close to comparing to it in value. No other treasure can match it in beauty. And this is a treasure that you possess. You possess it right now. It is yours because you have been baptized in the triune name of God. You have been marked with the sign of the cross on your forehead and on your heart. You have been redeemed by Christ the crucified one. You have been given this hidden treasure of the kingdom of God. It is hidden from the eyes of the world today that do not see it because they do not believe. To the unbelieving world, you look like a fool because you value this thing that nobody can see more than anything in creation. You look like a fool because you’re willing to sell all that you have just to have this pearl of great price.
If anyone looked like a fool to the world, it was St. Lucia. St. Lucia could have been married to a wealthy man. Her mother was unaware of the fact that Lucia had decided that she did not wish to marry because she wanted to use her dowry to benefit the poor. Had Lucia chosen to marry the man whom her mother had arranged for her to marry, she would have lived a comfortable life. However, she convinced her mother, who had been ill but later had her health restored, to allow her to do with her dowry as she wished. The money was distributed to the poor after all.
This, of course, did not please the man who was to marry Lucia. While he was already a wealthy man, he would have ended up with even more to his name had Lucia consented to marry him. In a rage, he outed Lucia as a Christian to the governor. This was all taking place during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. Under this emperor, it was against the law to be Christian. It was punishable by death, in fact. Lucia was ultimately executed for her faith. Not only was she executed, but before her execution, her eyes were gouged out as punishment for prophesying the end of the Roman persecution and the death of Diocletian.
Such accounts of Christian martyrs are common. All of them show just how far Satan will go to try and dissuade people from fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. Additionally, though, they serve as inspiration for all Christians. To the world, Lucia and those like her are fools. They are fools because they could have lived long, sometimes very comfortable lives had they simply either kept their mouths shut or denied Christ. The martyrs, though, don’t care about the treasures of this world. Lucia and the others knew that treasures of this world are worthless in the life of the world to come. This is why Lucia desired to be so generous to the poor. She knew that the Lord had blessed her with the opportunity to use the gifts he had to the benefit of others. This is why Lucia didn’t desire to marry a wealthy pagan. She knew that marrying outside the faith in this case would make her life on this earth comfortable, but she also knew that marrying outside the faith could lead her into temptation to leave the faith altogether. Lucia knew that all the treasure in the world was not worth what the kingdom of God was worth. She had been given that treasure in her baptism. She her greatest earthly treasure to the poor. Diocletian took her life. But the kingdom of heaven can’t be taken away.
The day will come when God will cast his net into the sea and will gather everyone on the earth up into it. He will then separate the good from the bad. That is, he will raise the faithful to everlasting life and the rest he will cast away into the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. There is only one treasure that you possess that will keep out of the place of torment. It is the treasure of God’s kingdom. All of the goods that you possess in this life ultimately amount to nothing when it comes to the return of Christ. They’re like having a wallet full of confederate currency. It may have been worth something at one time, but not anymore.
Invest, then, in the treasure that cannot be taken away. The Holy Spirit comes to you wherever the Word of God is at work and the sacraments are being administered. These gifts of the Holy Spirit that have enlightened you and brought you into the true faith continue to strengthen your faith that it may stand in the time of temptation. In this way, you are prepared for Jesus to come. May you seek this treasure hidden in the field, this pearl of great price, as the day of his return grows nearer and nearer.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Preaching Dutchman 