Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field

 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

 

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."

 

Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." 

 

- Matthew 13:44-52 

 

On Saturday, in the midst of Jesus' beginning to preach in parables, He sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."  The parable of the treasure hidden in a field, my study Bible notes, is an illustration of those who unintentionally stumble onto Christ and His Church, yet receive Him with great eagerness.  The parable of the pearl of great price illustrates those who have been searching in their hearts for Him and finally find Him and His Church.  The other pearls, it says, represent all the various teachings and philosophies of the world.  These treasures are hidden in that they are neither recognized nor valued by those immersed in worldliness.  In both parables, receiving the treasure requires that everything else must be sold; that is, my study Bible says, a person must surrender all things in order to receive Christ.  

 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  According to my study Bible, the image of the fishing net gathering the good and wicked together is similar to the parable of the wheat and the tares (see Saturday's reading, above).  In this parable, Jesus further emphasizes that even those gathered into the Church are subject to judgment.  

 

 Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."   My study Bible tells us that St. John Chrysostom notes on this passage that Jesus does not exclude the Old Testament.  Instead He praises it as a treasure.  Those who truly write or speak of the kingdom of heaven will draw from the unity of the new and old Testaments, as both are holy, with the New being the fulfillment of the Old.  This is truly how St. Matthew composed his gospel, in which he repeatedly uses the formula, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken," referring to passages from the Old Testament (see Matthew 1:22; 2:15, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17, 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:35).

 

 Jesus submits yet more parables to us illustrating the working and characteristics of this kingdom, what it "is like."  (For the earlier parables of the kingdom of heaven, see Matthew 13:1-43.)   The first two parables in today's reading speak of the precious quality of the kingdom of heaven, and how it exceeds the worth of all else we might have in our lives.   Jesus says that "the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."  Note how this hidden treasure and pearl of great price are not simply worth every effort, but they so supersede the preciousness of everything else that all else is subordinate to it.  That is, whatever must be done to keep this treasure and this pearl, or whatever must be sacrificed, is worth the cost and the effort.  Jesus teaches, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  This parable points to the continuity of spiritual revelation and wisdom; as St. Chrysostom teaches, the New is the fulfillment of the Old.  It teaches us of the great value of all of this treasure.  But also, like the parable of the tares of the field, He is teaching about judgment, and also about discernment.  Notably it is also a warning to us about the importance of where we place our treasure, what we value and seek in life, that which we cling to.  Additionally, we're given an important teaching about angels; that is, the angels of the kingdom, and the important and active role they play in our world, carrying out the wishes of Christ the judge.  Let us pay careful and even joyful attention to all of the things that Jesus teaches us the kingdom of heaven is "like," for in them we find the greatest treasure, the pearl worth any price, the great sea of the just.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old

 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  

 

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered  the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  

 

Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

 

- Matthew 13:44-52 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has begun preaching to the crowds in parables, a new innovation in His ministry.   (See the reading from Tuesday of last week, in which we began reading chapter 13 of St. Matthew's Gospel, and the subsequent readings.)  Yesterday we read that Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.   The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."  My study Bible notes that the parable of the treasure hidden in a field illustrates those who unintentionally stumble onto Christ and His Church, yet receive Him with great eagerness.  It calls the parable of the pearl of great price an illustration of people who've been searching in their hearts for Christ, and finally find Him and His Church.  The other pearls, in this metaphor, represent all the various teachings and philosophies of the world.  Such treasures are hidden, in that they are not recognized nor valued by people immersed in worldliness.  In both parables, in order to receive the treasure it's required that all else must be sold.  That is, a person must surrender all things in order to receive Christ.

 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered  the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."   This image of the fishing net which gathers the good and wicked altogether is similar to the parable of the wheat and the tares (see this reading for the parable, and also yesterday's reading, above, for Christ's explanation of it).  My study Bible comments that this parable of the dragnet further emphasizes that even those who are gathered into the Church are subject to judgment.  

 

Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who importantly notes that Jesus does not exclude the Old Testament, but rather praises it as a treasure.  Those who truly write or speak of the kingdom of heaven will draw from the unity of both new and old Testaments, for both of them are holy, with the New as the fulfillment of the Old.  This is truly the way that St. Matthew composed his gospel, my study Bible adds.  As evidence of this, it notes that St. Matthew repeatedly uses the formula "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken" (see Matthew 2:15, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:35).  My study Bible says that this underscores the intervention of God throughout history, demonstrates the continuity between the Old and New Covenants, and indicates the beginning of the new creation. 

 

Today's reading focuses on treasure.  It invites us to think about what we treasure, what's truly worth treasuring.  Jesus says, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."  He's speaking, of course, of spiritual treasure, and we began this chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel with the parable of the Sower, which Jesus gave us regarding His word as the seed which is sown.  If we look at the whole of the Bible, we know already that Jesus is Lord, and so we can "hear" the same Sower and His valuable seed throughout the Bible.  Thus, the entirety of this spiritual treasure is both old and new, and we must cherish all of it together, for it exists for us as we need it, and will profit by it.   In today's reading, Jesus first gives us two illustrations of the kingdom of heaven.  First, He says, "the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."   So this immensely valuable treasure is characterized by Christ as worthy of all else that we have, that we know, or that we base our lives upon.  It is that precious that it's worth the sacrifice of anything else in order to have it.   Next Jesus gives another illustration to ponder:  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered  the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  As my study Bible says, this illustration augments the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, the understanding of all things being gathered up for sorting at the end of the age. We go back to Christ's illustration of good trees and bad trees, good seed and bad seed, to understand that this dragnet is, in a sense, the Holy Spirit at work in the world.  The angels will come to separate and to gather up, and to cast out the evil and save the righteous.  This dragnet relates also to Christ's word, and to those whom He called to be "fishers of men."  That is, the apostles who would spread Christ's word, His gospel, the seed of the Sower, to all the world.  One thing we can be sure of, that such a net is wide and sweeping, and catching all things that may come into it, extending from the sea floor to its surface.  If this is the picture that Christ has given us of the working of the Kingdom, it is also an affirmation of His teaching that nothing is left out, even every idle word we utter, even the awareness of every hair on our heads (Matthew 10:30).  It's interesting that Jesus' beautiful parables of the Kingdom are punctuated with references to judgment, reminding us that it is what we do with this treasure, and how we will make use of it in our lives, that really counts, that matters in the long scheme of things and the arc of our lives.  Let us then trust to Christ for His good seed, the word He gives us, treasuring it as we should in our hearts, and belonging to His kingdom and the good and precious things He says are worth every price.  For we are each a householder in His kingdom, and we each must value the treasure He gives.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old

 

 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant selling beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  

Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

 

- Matthew 13:44-52 

 

Presently, we are reading in chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, the chapter in which Jesus introduces His style of preaching in parables.  After teaching the parable of the Sower (explaining in private to His disciples), then the parables of the Wheat and the Tares, the Mustard Seed, and the Leaven, Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house.  And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."  He answered and said to them:  "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.  The enemy sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age,  and the reapers are the angels.  Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 

  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant selling beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."   These two parables illustrate the priceless nature of God's Kingdom.  My study Bible explains that the parable of the treasure hidden in a field is an illustration of those who unintentionally stumble onto Christ and His Church, but receive Him nonetheless with great eagerness.  The parable of the pearl of great price is an illustration of people who, on the other hand, have been searching in their hearts for Him, and finally find Him and His Church.  The other pearls, it says, represent all the various teachings and philosophies of the world.  These treasures are hidden in the sense that they are neither recognized nor valued by those immersed in worldliness.  In both parables, my study Bible further notes, to receive the treasure requires that everything else must be sold; that is, a person must surrender all things in order to receive Christ (see also Romans 14:11).

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."   My study Bible describes the image of the fishing net gathering the good and wicked as similar to the parable of the wheat and the tares (in this reading).  But this parable extends the understanding that even those gathered into the Church are subject to judgment.  

Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom on this passage, who notes that Jesus does not exclude the Old Testament, but is praising it as a treasure.  Those who truly write or speak of the kingdom of heaven will draw from the unity of both new and old Testaments, for both are holy, with the New the fulfillment of the Old.  My study Bible further comments that this is indeed how St. Matthew composed his gospel.  In this Gospel, we will frequently read the words "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken" accompanied by Scripture from the Old Testament. 

It is amazing and illuminating to consider all these treasures that Christ describes, stretching from the period of the Old and through the New Testaments.  If we roughly generalize that time period, the revelation to Abraham is thought to have been approximately 2,000 years before the birth of Christ, and now we are 2,000 years after it.  Of course, the Old Testament does not begin with Abraham, but with the creation of all the universe, and the existence of the God without beginning.  (Let us once again ponder the beginning of John's Gospel, which echoes Genesis 1, but teaches us about the One who makes all things new; see John 1:1-5.)  The Bible as a whole teaches us about the continual intervention of God throughout our worldly history, and God's revelation to us -- which is all of a whole.  It is all a part of the treasure that Christ describes, "old and new" to us.  When we go through periods of life where we feel a great instability, either on a personal scale or a larger one, we should consider this consistent spiritual revelation throughout the history of the world as a reminder that God is always with us, no matter what our experience or what we think we see in a worldly sense.  Moreover, in the context of today's reading, it might give us pause to observe the evolution of our spirituality through the Bible Scriptures, and the history of worship indicated therein and through the Church.  Because while we may hear within our own understanding of time, so often the words and teachings we're given indicate something timeless, and outside of time.  Christ's miracles may be immediate, but this is part of the manifestation of the divine Son as Incarnate Jesus, a "sign" that the kingdom is present to us in that immediate and extraordinary form.  But we should not confuse, for example, the pearl of great price as indicating that its discovery is a kind of once-in-a-lifetime action only.  For the pearls that Christ gives us, the great pearl that is our faith, is something we need to understand as part of that timelessness of God also that runs through time and history in our world:  it continues to give as we continue to evolve in our faith.  The parable expresses the idea that we give all that we have for this pearl of great price, and we must not necessarily confuse that with a one-time choice, but with an action that continues throughout our lives.  As we are human beings in time, our capacity for repentance comes not as an all-at-once learning curve.  On the contrary, the learning curve of the disciples throughout the Gospels is there so that we learn how we grow in our faith, coming to discard what needs to be put aside, and to more deeply embrace what this pearl of great price does in us, and how Christ leads us.  So let us not be discouraged by what seems a tall order, or setbacks, or confusion, or things that seem to contradict what we find in our lives.  For this pearl of great price is the one thing that unites all contradictions, and it is and must be to that pearl, to our treasure, that we turn to find resolution and to continue "asking, seeking, and knocking" (Matthew 7:7).  Indeed, if we know where our treasure is, every obstacle, setback, or seeming contradiction must work to spur us to look "upward" to that place where all contradictions are resolved, to go to prayer, to seek guidance, to go forward in this journey of faith -- just as we see that spiritual journey of God's revelation in the Bible.  We await, as Christ has taught, the end of the age, when all things will be revealed (1 Corinthians 13:12).  But through everything we experience, we are taught to cling to this treasure, old and new, to learn it more deeply, to pray with it, to experience its truths which deliver us more of the same, and hope, and faith.  For this is the journey we are on, the priceless pearl we have been given, if we can receive it.