Due to technical issues this week the service recording failed, below please find the sermon text.
Investment for joy
This week I have encountered several things that have made me reflect on what it means to invest and sacrifice for the experience and reality of real joy. Often with things that are worth it, time and effort is needed.
I had the pleasure this week to take a wedding. We normally have a rehearsal the night before and on Tuesday the bride asked if it was possible to get in the church a bit earlier in order to decorate for the next day. Decorating it took a fair bit of time. Setting up the church for the wedding involves packing away the screen, the projector, the mics etc. The bride and Groom had made decorations, packs for the children, hand made biodegradable confetti. At the end of the hour – the church looked even more beautiful and was a culmination of a lot of work. The couple also attended marriage prep, attended church for banns. I can only estimate the financial cost too. Time, energy money were sacrificed / given in order to celebrate this commitment to each other.
Another thing that happened on Wednesday and is unfolding today is the lionesses in the world cup final. when the bridesmaids arrived at the church the first thing I heard was – ‘we’ve won 3-0, we’re in the final!’ It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and commitment to be a sport professional. There are times they’ll be away from family. Strict training regimes, exercise and food are finally balanced. Physically and mentally professional athletes are pushed to their limits. It can take years of effort and all of it leading to these big moments of competition and spotlight – the victory and success make all of the sacrifice worth it.
The third thing this week was the release of A-Level results – not always joyful for everyone, but they do come after a lot of effort.
Our parables today focus on the sacrifice and effort associated with the kingdom of God, sacrifice can sometimes seem to be a negative word, something has to be given up. I think it’s a beautiful word. Jesus sacrificed himself for us and there is nothing more beautiful than that.
As we’ve been going through these parables in Matthew 13 we’ve been unpacking insights that Jesus is giving into what the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, is like. We’ve explored how we can know about gods kingdom when we know about Jesus and have his spirit within us. We explored how it’s hidden from those who do not accept the truth of who Jesus is. That part of being in God’s kingdom means there will be final judgement and we’ve explored how God is active in his kingdom. It is spreading and growing, whether we input or not, but it actually is part of God’s kingdom that We are called to be involved too.
And today’s parables build on that, showing the kingdom of God has incalculable value that is worth any sacrifice. But there is a massive cost everything we are and have.
Jesus tells these two parables, the parable of the hidden treasure, and the parable of the Pearl and they’re both pointing to the same outcome, but look at it in two different ways
Hidden treasure
In the parable of the hidden treasure we have a man going about his ordinary business. He seems to just stumble across this hidden treasure. And so he buries it and sells everything he has to buy the field knowing the worth of the treasure far outweighs what he will spend on it.
The fact that he goes and buys, the field strongly suggest that he probably was just a labourer working in it. It wasn’t necessarily an uncommon thing to do – bury your wealth. Later in Matthews gospel, we come across the parable of talents, and that parable one of the servants buries what he’s been given. Some of the commentary suggest that maybe the owner of the treasure may have died, and therefore no one knew you about it. It’s a parable, a story. And, although in some ways, it might seem ethically dubious to find treasure, bury it and then purchase the field. There was actually Jewish teaching about this: if a man finds scattered money and belongs to the Finder.
So, in this parable, the poor man, the laborourer – stumbles across this immense treasure sells all he has because he knows what he’s found is so much greater than what he’s invested in it.
Pearl
In the second parable we have a mansion and he’s actually searching for pearls. He doesn’t discover the treasure by accident. He’s actually gone out and investigated looking at different pounds maybe even purchasing some in the process, but then he discovers one of great value far superior to any others he seen or owns he sells everything maybe even other pearls that he already has just for this one pearl of great value
Both these parables involve an immediate response to the findings of this immense treasure – the characters may have found the treasure in different ways but their response is overwhelmingly all in.
Examples of people discovering Gods kingdom
One of the big privileges of being an ordained minister is that are you often get to hear people stories of faith. I think actually, we should share more with each other about what God is doing in our lives, how he’s bringing out his kingdom in and through of us. Because I think then that would fuel the joy within all of us because it’s exciting to see how people discovering the kingdom of God can be life transforming, causing them to be all in which sometimes if we’ve had faith for a long time we can sadly forget.
When I was children’s youth and family worker back in Folkestone I had the joy of doing Bible studies with a lady who had finally committed all in for, Jesus. She had explored, different spiritualities, different faiths. But finally, had discovered Jesus fully for her self. In some ways her story was a bit like the parable of the Pearl.
Other people whose stories I’ve heard and this was fairly common in the Islamic world discover Jesus almost by accident through a powerful encounter like a dream or vision. The apostle Paul had just such an encounter. It wasn’t an encounter that was being sought. But he met Jesus and his life changed. There was sacrifice and cost
In the Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church he lies out there, the cost and sacrifice by following Jesus, and he’s not saying it for pity it’s not a sense that he regrets the cost. He just shows the reality.
He writes this: five times I received from the Jews, the 40 lashes -13 times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times of a shipwrecked, I spent a night in the day in open saying I’ve been constantly on the move. I’ve been in danger from rivers in danger from bandits in danger from my fellow Gs in danger from gentiles in danger in the city in danger in the country in danger and say I’m danger force believers I have laboured and toiled, and I’ve often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst outside, I’ve been cold and naked besides everything else I faced daily pressure of my concern for all the churches.
This was the cost for Paul to be part of the kingdom of God, my senses that he would not have changed it. He was all in because the treasure he found was far greater than the cost experienced.
Jesus, told his disciples, of the cost of following him, we read in Luke’s gospel chapter 9
Whoever wants to be, my disciple, must deny themselves, take up the cross daily and follow me.
That can be a real challenge. We can be quite comfortable in our lives in the parable show that the real treasure of knowing God of being part of his kingdom does come with a cost, but oh how that cost is worth it – to live the life we were made for knowing the beauty of who Jesus is.
When we did the series in Proverbs, we looked at how godly Wisdom doesn’t make sense if we look at it with worldly eyes. Proverb says my son, if you accept my words and struck my commands within you, turning your ear to Wisdom, and applying your heart understanding indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it, as for silver and search for it as hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
To the writer of this proverb, that there seems to be nothing more beautiful than understanding the fear of the Lord, and finding their knowledge of God
Maybe sometimes we switch off kingdom glasses for worldly glasses and say, sacrifice seem negative.
These parables of the hidden treasure in the pool show us at the kingdom of God can be found in many different ways. If there was time, it would be great to stop, and maybe share with each other: How you discovered who Jesus was in your life? Maybe it’s a search that is still ongoing. There is no doubt to my mind that from these parables, it shows that the kingdom of God is a gift waiting to be found, and discovered for being part of the kingdom of God wholeheartedly is immensely worthwhile and worth any sacrifice because the gains are so much bigger, not in worldly eyes. And really there is only one response when the secrets of the kingdom are found, which is all in investment.
One commentator wrote those his eyes have been open to see what God is doing in Jesus must commit themselves wholeheartedly in faith and obedience.
Being part of the kingdom of God requires enthusiastic, wholehearted commitment, making at the top priority, and not letting worldly, wisdom, interfere, or other ideologies, compete.
We live in this world there are realities in this world that might distract and put it away from wholehearted commitment and enthusiasm and making following Jesus our top priority. I totally can relate. I went to a new wine United recently – I really felt challenged again by God to keep him as number 1, to almost recommit again. Not that I wasn’t. One of the risks of being in church leadership is that it can be about the doing, I’m not about being with Jesus being committed wholeheartedly to him which leads to commitment to the church and the body of believers.
As we looked at the beginning in life, the things that are worthwhile often require effort and input and sacrifice. We might by now know if the lionesses effort has produced the ultimate joy of winning the World Cup, as hot as it seems that pales in comparison to the joy from knowing God, praise to Church and Philip, I rejoice in the lord always I’ll say it again, rejoice. We do have a great treasure. No wonder sometimes whether we’ve lost sight of that, and therefore lost the joy that comes from knowing I’m being wholeheartedly committed to finding and following jesus, so let’s invest in a relationship with God, with Jesus. Let’s once again discover the joy of having him in our lives and express that joy day by day. Yes it might result in animosity from some, it can bring challenges but the joy of knowing God far outweighs that so let’s grab hold of it as we live as children of the kingdom of God.
St. George's Church Ramsgate 