First Friends Meeting
Matthew 13:44-45
‘Everything’
Doug Gwyn

It’s such a pleasure to have the Chanticleer Quartet with us this morning. We already have a rich musical experience regularly at First Friends, with the leadership of Lisa Ginn. But you have added something very rich, very special to our worship experience this morning. The Scripture reading Tim just read was chosen with this particular morning in mind. Musicians know something of what Jesus teaches here. To devote your life to music is to give over everything you are, everything you possess to that thing of great beauty, that source of so much joy you've found. As the years go on, it costs you more than you dreamed when you were young and chose that path. But that’s true of all the really important, long-term commitments of our lives.

I recall in elementary school, my music teacher told of a friend who traveled in Italy one summer. In Rome he found the double-bass of his dreams. Not everyone dreams of double-basses, of course. If you’re a double-bass player, you might. If you’re not a musician, you may want to seek counseling. But as Freud said about interpreting dreams, sometimes a double-bass is just a double-bass. And this man was a double-bass player. In his joy, he put money down to hold the instrument, came back to the US, and put a second mortgage on his house in order to buy that double-bass. That story approximates these two parables that Jesus tells, particularly the one about the pearl.

Jesus tells of a merchant apparently in the pearl business. He was “in search of fine pearls.” One day he found such an amazing pearl, he went and sold everything he had to buy that one pearl. One great thing about these parables of Jesus is that suddenly, they’re over, and you’re left wondering. OK, he sold everything he had to buy this one pearl. But what does that mean? Is he a shrewd businessman? Does he figure he can sell this pearl for more than he paid for it? It would have to gain a lot more to be worth the trouble of selling everything he has, and to justify the enormous gamble he’s taking. Or has he lost his business senses? Has the pearl business always been about more than money for him? Has this pearl so enthralled him that he sells everything just to hold this one astonishing object in his hand?

Jesus doesn’t explain. But it’s interesting how much Jesus suggests in this this brief, one-sentence parable. For one thing, notice that it moves from pearls to pearl, from fine pearls to one pearl of exceeding value. Probably each of us knows something of this parable in our lives. One way it happens for us is when we move into a committed relationship, perhaps a marriage. There’s a lot of fine pearls out there, attractive men and women, with a variety of admirable traits. And it’s not only exciting but wise to ‘shop around’. But at some point, you may find that pearl who makes you forget about those pearls. You want to give yourself over to that one person who holds so much beauty and mystery for you, like the lustrous depth we see in a pearl. That’s what drives us into these daring plunges into marriage and other commitments. In a marriage contract, you’re buying exclusive rights on that one pearl. Of course, you don’t really know just how much it’s going to cost you. Time reveals that. Over time, it takes all you have, and more than you thought you had. And in that sense, it’s more than a contract, it’s a covenant. It’s a sacred bond the two of you can maintain only with the help of a higher power. It's a love that survives by the power of God’s love.

It’s often true of a vocational path too. You don’t really know how much your work will take out of you. When you’re young, you think we’re going to have this exciting job, raise a large family, pursue several hobbies, travel a lot, write poetry and eventually win a Nobel Prize. Over time, you begin to think, Whew! I’ll be fortunate just to sustain two or three of those things. And as the years go on, it becomes mainly about going the distance.

The parable of the treasure hidden in a field is another one-sentence wonder. It's made me wonder a lot this week. For one thing, why is this man doing digging in someone else’s field? Is he a day-laborer working for the field’s owner? He discovers treasure buried in the field, then covers it back up. Then he sells everything he owns so he can buy that field. If he’s a day-laborer, he doesn’t own enough to buy a field. More troubling, there are rabbinic laws that govern this kind of situation. In some cases, treasure discovered in a field belongs to the owner of the field. In other cases, it belongs to the finder. Jesus doesn’t offer enough details here to tell us which law applies. But if the treasure were rightfully his, wouldn’t he just claim it? One New Testament scholar paraphrased this parable, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who left his family and his job for the joy of pursuing a beautiful woman. Oh? I’m not sure the parable is that amoral. But in one sentence, Jesus leaves us with a lot of questions.

In any case, with these two parables, Jesus seems to emphasize the joy of finding – finding love, finding a vocation, finding faith, a spiritual path. It’s a powerful thing. But it’s only a beginning. The pearl merchant can’t just sit there and gaze in private wonder at his one possession. He’ll either have to cash it in to live, or…what? Charge admission to see it? And the man who bought the field with its buried treasure – what will he do? If he digs up the treasure and cashes it in, it will arouse suspicions in his village. If he doesn’t, all he has in the world is this field with its hidden treasure, his little secret. In both of these cases, finding and obtaining are very self-centered acts, at least where Jesus leaves them. But in both cases, finders can’t really remain keepers. They will have to share their discovery with the community in some way.

It reminds me of another gospel story about selling off everything. You know it. A wealthy young man asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus gave a simple answer – do the right things, follow the commandments, love your neighbor as yourself – you’ll be fine. But the young man already kept the commandments. He wanted to go further. Then Jesus answered, well then, go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. Then come, follow me (Mt. 19:21). I guess Jesus is saying, you won’t have anything anymore, but you’ll have a lot of friends after you’ve given it all to the poor. And you can follow me, along with the other disciples. I’ll teach you the ways of the kingdom. And we get invited to dinner all the time – you can come too! You can sleep on the floor.

Jesus had a remarkable way of relating to each individual with great directness, love, and helpfulness. But he kept pulling people together into groups that could help one another. And it's still that way for us today. There's something absolutely unique and precious in the way God touches each of us personally. Yet, to keep that treasure, we have to be involved -- not only helping others, but letting them help us. We need each other's insights, experience, and advice in making the big decisions in our lives. That's why Quakers often form a clearness committee when we're considering marriage, or a big career move. Pooling our understanding of God's guidance helps us both keep the treasure and keep sharing it.

The kingdom of heaven, God in our lives, starts as a wonderful discovery of something just for me. But one way or another, it leads me back into community, into sharing with others, depending on others. That implication is left hanging in the air with these two parables. But we know it from our own lives – our committed relationships, our vocational lives, our spiritual paths. It has led us here into this community, First Friends, and to other ways of being involved, helping others, sharing the treasure we have found. The kingdom of heaven is a wonderful find. But in one way or another, it costs us everything we have, everything we are. Everything.