Those of you who have been involved in finance and banking or have had contact with such in planning superannuation or other investments, may well bristle at the first two parables this morning. I’m pretty sure the financial advice I have received over the years has been all about diversifying portfolios, managing risks so that if one asset falls in value it is compensated by the others. “Don’t put all your eggs in the one basket” might well sum it up.
But the characters in the first two parables clearly have not heard such advice. Not just eggs, but seemingly the chickens as well all go into the one investment- everything they have – a recipe for potential financial disaster!
At first glance, there might seem to be little difference between the first two parables- the treasure in the field and the pearl. Both are talking about someone finding something priceless, valuable beyond measure. Perhaps the only difference between them is the possibly unethical behaviour of the first person – what was he doing hunting in other people’s fields and hiding what he finds- did he pay a fair price for the field or did he not tell the owner about the treasure? Perhaps that serves to heighten the desperation- not only is the treasure finder ready to sell everything he has, he is also willing to do anything to get the treasure. The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God is so precious that the finder is desperate to obtain it.
Yet there is a subtle, perhaps important distinction and possible interaction between the two parables. In the first parable the kingdom of heaven is the object of the search, the valuable treasure in the field. But the second parable describes the kingdom of heaven, not as the pearl as we might expect if it were to match the first parable, but the merchant.
That puts a bit of a different twist on the parable. If the kingdom of heaven is the merchant, what does that make the pearl? Could the pearl in fact be us, be humanity, be the world? Could this parable describe a God willing to give up everything because God sees us as precious in his sight? What depth of love, what depth of compassion that shows of God. This fits with the image of God and of Christ we see on Calvary- a self-emptying love that knows no limit.
That then harmonises with the first parable- our discovery, our realisation that God sees us as infinitely precious in God’s sight, that insight, that recognition of God’s true nature becomes a kingdom that is beyond value, that is worth giving up everything and doing whatever it takes to obtain. We live in a world, in a culture, where everything is transactional and our worth is measured by what we do, what we make, rather than who we are. And it can be difficult to overcome that culture, and so our view of ourselves can be measured the same way. To glimpse a God that overturns that culture, that sees us as infinitely precious, no matter what we have done, no matter how we see ourselves, becomes something so very desirable. How can we not love a God who sees us that way? How can we not believe in that love and desire to respond to that love in a way that reflects it in our own lives, in our lives together?
It is possible to respond negatively, we see it at the end of the Gospel, in Jesus’ home town. The teaching is too new, too radical. The people of Jesus’ hometown are unable to accept, they take offence and will not believe – and God is unable to work in a powerful way in that place.
But to those who are able to embrace this idea of a God who regards humanity as a priceless pearl, this changes everything. Our relationships with one another, the rules we live by, are imbued with this insight that gives everyone dignity. This new insight changes the way that we view everything, we become like the scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven, taking what is old, our texts, our traditions our habits, and revisit them in the light of God’s regard for us and others as precious in His sight. Our disputes and disagreements, our thoughts, speech and action are no longer focused on raising our dignity relative to others, because God gives all the dignity we could possibly need. Perhaps this is a God for whom it is worth casting aside thoughts of diversifying portfolios. This may be a God for whom it is worth putting all our eggs, even our chickens too into the basket of that infinite love and grace, a God who treat us and all humanity with more dignity we can ever need. This may truly be a God whose kingdom is a treasure in the field.