I’d like to start this morning’s message with a question. I want all of you to first listen to the question: How many believers are present today? Now, all those who are believers, raise your right hand.
Why did you raise your hand?
How did you know what I meant when I said ‘believer’?
Do you think it possible that what I meant by the word, ‘believer’, did not refer to believing in God?
In actuality, the word ‘believer’ in my question did not refer to believing in God. In fact, it had no reference point at all. But because of where we are, and what we are doing here, those who raised their hands must have assumed that was what I did mean, however. Or else you just didn’t want anyone to think that you weren’t a believer. But that is another topic for another time.
Jesus was talking with some of his followers. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,” he told them, "which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” He went on: “The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
A while later he speaks again. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” He continued: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”b>
Finally, he told the parable of the net. “Once again,” he says to his followers, “the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Though many commentators would prefer that readers find just seven parables in this chapter of Matthew, there is one more parable, one that I have no recollection of having recognized before, or having heard a sermon preach about it. The seven acknowledged parables include, in addition to the five I have already mentioned, the parable of the sower that we read two weeks ago, and the parable of the weeds. With the exception of the first parable about the sower, all of these recognized parables begin with, “The kingdom of heaven is like. . . .” Each of these parables has is own meaning and lends itself to at least one sermon.
But there is an eighth parable in this passage. I read it, and you heard it this morning. Let me repeat it again. “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
That’s it. And you can believe me when I say to you that I struggled to understand what this parable meant. It took me most of the week to determine its meaning. And once I understood what it meant, it seemed way too simple. It is not really a parable by Jesus, but one which Matthew has constructed out of the meaning of all the other parables. Matthew affirms both the old and the new. Like a skilled scribe, he brings out of his storehouse the treasures of his Jewish past as well as older Christian tradition. But it is not just a matter of repeating the past: alongside of the old he introduces the new, presenting the old in a new light, reclaiming it for the new situation in which he finds himself. He sees all things now in the light of the Christ-event and the coming of the kingdom. It is suggested that even the order of “new and old” may be important. It is the new that provides the key to the acquisition of the meaning of the old, and not the other way around. It is what happens later that gives greater understanding to that which happened before. While the disciples observed Jesus’ crucifixion from the sidelines, they did not comprehend the importance of this final human event; but later on, after Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit had come into their lives, their knowledge of the meaning and purpose of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection became clear.
“Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven. . .” – this statement is first a reference to the disciples, Jesus’ followers. As Jews, the law was their concern; as followers of Jesus, the law became more clearly understood. But it also refers to the other followers of Jesus, and to the scribes and pharisees, who were the primary “teachers of the law” to the Jewish people of Jesus’ day. Jesus told them the parables as much as he told them to everyone else. They were instructed about the kingdom just as well as were the disciples.
It is of this group that Matthew says “. . . is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” Anyone who owns a home wants it to be decorated with treasures of his or her own liking. Yet, those treasures are not just “old treasures”, some keepsakes from years past. We gather new treasures as time passes, and these treasures are just as much a part of what decorates our homes as some of the good old items from our past. In fact, some newer items may very well complete some item form the past, making it even more treasured than before.
Remember, though, that Matthew is not speaking about a “physical” home. He is not referring to a place with four walls and a roof overhead. He is speaking of the spiritual home, the inner person. He is making more than a statement that causes the hearers to assume a higher meaning. He is telling in his own way of the truth that he has learned about the love which God has for all humanity.
You see, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, is the kingdom of love. The kingdom of heaven is the desire of the heart. The kingdom of heaven is not out there, something to be acquired in the future. The kingdom of heaven is already here, waiting. Waiting to be accepted; waiting to be lived; waiting to make us alive with a joy that we have not known fully. When we, like the home owner, add the new to our home, we then become aware of the significance of the old.
What Jesus taught, what Jesus lived, was not a new faith, or a different belief. What he taught was a comprehensive faith; what he lived was an all-inclusive belief and trust. What he gave to everyone was unconditional love. What he instilled into everyone who was intent upon hearing him was unfailing faith, hope beyond hopelessness, love that was without boundaries.
This is what Matthew caught in this “unrecognized” parable: that those to whom the kingdom has been revealed, have been given the new, that they may receive and live the old most fully. Our faith, our hope, our love, hinges on what God reveals to us each day, not just on what we have already learned, as we face new opportunities to share our faith, our hope, our love. God is not done pouring out his love upon us. He does so continually. The crux of the matter is this: Are we ready, willing, and able to accept that new love so that our understanding from yesterday may be enhanced by his new love of today?
Such Love, What Love. Are you a believer?
Amen.