Rev. Dustin ParkerCould We Really Be
Concordia Lutheran Church and
Redeemer Lutheran (Spanish)
Pentecost 6, July 24, 2011
Could we really be ??
Matthew 13:44-52
† IN JESUS NAME †
A Blessing from Hebrews 13:
20 May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole, Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant, Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead, 21(May He) Now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him, Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. All glory to Jesus forever and always! Oh, yes, yes, yes. Hebrews 13:20-21 (MSG)
The Incredible Treasure
How much does it cost
If you have to ask…
A little below the surface it lay, a treasure of epic proportions, covered by dirt and filth. Who knows how many people and animals walked over it, unaware of what lay beneath their feet.
The beauty alone of the treasure was stunning, as it glittered and shined, reflecting light into the eyes of the One who came across it, and took a moment to clean away that which hid it, and marred it to the point where others simply overlooked it. The joy that would be known, when the treasure finally and officially was paid for and taken possession of, was beyond comprehension. Indeed, the treasure hunter broke into a smile, and his feet almost perceptively danced with as He covered back up the magnificent treasure. How much more joy would there be, when He uncovers the treasure, knowing the price has been paid, and nothing can separate that treasure from the One who valued it more than anything else?
If you found such a treasure, what would you sell to make the treasure yours?
What would be of enough value, that the owner of the field would sell it to you?
There is a old saying that bears on this passage – “if you have to ask what it costs, you cannot afford it”.
It isn’t Us
Yes the Kingdom is priceless
But what do YOU have to offer?
Therein lies the problem… can we afford the treasure?
The majority of the church, throughout the ages, considered the treasure that is found to be the good news, that God would open the doors of heaven. Millions of sermons, by pastors and evangelists have been done, asking people to give up all they have, to commit themselves to God’s plan.
In regards to heaven, and a relationship with God being priceless, there is no question, no doubt. It’s beauty and awe, on its own is worth any price of admission, never mind a relationship with the Creator of all. That on its own is incredible, without a thought that the only other location for eternity is in a place described as the lake of fire, the place of torment, the fiery furnace, the place where the stench makes a 1000 year old burning trash dump seem pleasant.
The problem is, what exactly can you give up, that would be enough compensation to free you from the grip of sin, and the realm of eternal death? What do you have that you could sell off, that would even begin to be the down-payment for entrance to heaven?
What is enough?
Inventory your life – what is worth enough that you could sell it, and gain enough money to buy the treasure of heaven?
It sounds nice, I give my sin-filled, broken life up, and purchase perfection and joy and eternity in paradise. We might even acknowledge that the deal isn’t fair, and somehow think that we pulled over one on God. That we got the best of the deal – like a man who cheats someone out of a treasure, buried in the field.
If we are the treasure hunters, and the treasure is eternal life, face it – we have nothing worth selling, never mind selling to gain enough to purchase heaven.
The Scandal of Christianity
Sinners worth all that much?
In the eyes of the redeemer
Phil,. 2:5, Romans 3, third article
It is unethical that such a deal would gain for us such a treasure. Yet that has been the understanding of most of church history, as it focuses on what the treasure could be. If we take a step back, and consider the context of this chapter of the Bible, and the Bible pattern, another understanding dawns upon us, and is revealed to us. What is revealed is so clear, it is scandalous. It is nearly beyond belief, but it is so clearly true, knowing the God that has revealed Himself in scripture.
We are not the one seeking the treasure, or the merchant looking for the perfect pearl, or the Fisherman casting the net into the ocean. The seeker can only be…
God. (long pause)
It would seem scandalous that God would find us, even covered in all the muck and mud and dirt, to be treasures that would cause Him to sell all, in order to purchase us. How can he see us, how can He see such value in me? How can He see such value, how can He envision our sin-filled, unrighteousness-marred lives as being a treasure?
This isn’t some garage sale, swap meet exchange, where one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. This is God, the creator and sustainer of all, determining that His idea of treasure is us, seeing in us the sparkle and beauty that He created us to be. Through the muck and mud and dirt, He saw His treasure. And buying it, making it his, redeeming us and cleansed us meant giving up everything became a price He would gladly pay to pay for the entire field, that the treasure might become His possession.
In the Greek, the word for “sold” makes this so abundantly clear. It’s primary use was not in regarding selling goods, but rather, selling a living person into slavery. That is what the Father did, sending His own son to become a doulas, a slave. Phil. 2:5-10 describes Jesus giving up heaven, in order to take on that role, even though the enslavement meant death, death on a cross.
Romans 5:10 talks about the books being balanced, our be reconciled to God by Christ’s death, even while we were still His enemies. I love the way Luther wrote about it,
He is my Lord! He redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, bought and won me from all sins, death and the authority of the Devil. It did not cost Him gold or silver, but His holy, precious blood, His innocent body -- His death! Because of this, I am His very own! (Luther's Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.)
It is as if the treasure could rejoice in its being free, from all that kept it hid.
Yet the Father, indeed all of heaven rejoices and dances when even one of the lost sheep are brought home through the Holy Spirit’s work, cutting their hearts with God’s word, cleansing them, quickening them, and granting them faith and repentance.
Could we really be?
Romans – what do you hang onto, with that ferocity
Even in the OT!
All this is the means to His goal…
It is odd for many of us, to consider our very beings as being treasure. Maybe it is because we wonder if anyone treasures us, or anyone beyond those who “have to” treasure us. That is indeed how God sees us, His children.
Consider our reading from Romans, if you look there… on page 7 you see these words
31 If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32 (ESV)
Further it says,
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)
These words describe how someone treats something He treasures, defending it, protecting it, investing everything in purchasing it, that it may be His! This is not new to the scriptures, for even our Old Testament reading testifies,
“The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession!”
A treasured possession that brings much joy, much celebration, for the one who has purchased the treasure, and cleansed it up, and for the treasure itself, no longer abandoned, no longer covered in mud and dirt.
Sometimes I wonder, does we focus so well on the means of grace, and the effects of that grace, that we forget to what they deliver us? The meaning of our existence is not our cleansing of our lives in baptism, or even the wedding supper of Christ, any more than the wedding was/is the center of our lives with our spouses.
They are but the entry point, the relationship that is formed is what is celebrated, what is treasured, what is protected. For God this is so much more true, for He never tires of the people who are His treasured possession, He never gives up living with them, caring for them, comforting them. Listening to our prayers, the Spirit teaching us through the word, even chastising us, that we would not try to dive back into the ground. Pouring our His love and mercy and peace, on His treasure, His people. Us.
AMEN!
Redeemer Lutheran (Spanish)
Pentecost 6, July 24, 2011
Could we really be ??
Matthew 13:44-52
† IN JESUS NAME †
A Blessing from Hebrews 13:
20 May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole, Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant, Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead, 21(May He) Now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him, Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. All glory to Jesus forever and always! Oh, yes, yes, yes. Hebrews 13:20-21 (MSG)
The Incredible Treasure
How much does it cost
If you have to ask…
A little below the surface it lay, a treasure of epic proportions, covered by dirt and filth. Who knows how many people and animals walked over it, unaware of what lay beneath their feet.
The beauty alone of the treasure was stunning, as it glittered and shined, reflecting light into the eyes of the One who came across it, and took a moment to clean away that which hid it, and marred it to the point where others simply overlooked it. The joy that would be known, when the treasure finally and officially was paid for and taken possession of, was beyond comprehension. Indeed, the treasure hunter broke into a smile, and his feet almost perceptively danced with as He covered back up the magnificent treasure. How much more joy would there be, when He uncovers the treasure, knowing the price has been paid, and nothing can separate that treasure from the One who valued it more than anything else?
If you found such a treasure, what would you sell to make the treasure yours?
What would be of enough value, that the owner of the field would sell it to you?
There is a old saying that bears on this passage – “if you have to ask what it costs, you cannot afford it”.
It isn’t Us
Yes the Kingdom is priceless
But what do YOU have to offer?
Therein lies the problem… can we afford the treasure?
The majority of the church, throughout the ages, considered the treasure that is found to be the good news, that God would open the doors of heaven. Millions of sermons, by pastors and evangelists have been done, asking people to give up all they have, to commit themselves to God’s plan.
In regards to heaven, and a relationship with God being priceless, there is no question, no doubt. It’s beauty and awe, on its own is worth any price of admission, never mind a relationship with the Creator of all. That on its own is incredible, without a thought that the only other location for eternity is in a place described as the lake of fire, the place of torment, the fiery furnace, the place where the stench makes a 1000 year old burning trash dump seem pleasant.
The problem is, what exactly can you give up, that would be enough compensation to free you from the grip of sin, and the realm of eternal death? What do you have that you could sell off, that would even begin to be the down-payment for entrance to heaven?
What is enough?
Inventory your life – what is worth enough that you could sell it, and gain enough money to buy the treasure of heaven?
It sounds nice, I give my sin-filled, broken life up, and purchase perfection and joy and eternity in paradise. We might even acknowledge that the deal isn’t fair, and somehow think that we pulled over one on God. That we got the best of the deal – like a man who cheats someone out of a treasure, buried in the field.
If we are the treasure hunters, and the treasure is eternal life, face it – we have nothing worth selling, never mind selling to gain enough to purchase heaven.
The Scandal of Christianity
Sinners worth all that much?
In the eyes of the redeemer
Phil,. 2:5, Romans 3, third article
It is unethical that such a deal would gain for us such a treasure. Yet that has been the understanding of most of church history, as it focuses on what the treasure could be. If we take a step back, and consider the context of this chapter of the Bible, and the Bible pattern, another understanding dawns upon us, and is revealed to us. What is revealed is so clear, it is scandalous. It is nearly beyond belief, but it is so clearly true, knowing the God that has revealed Himself in scripture.
We are not the one seeking the treasure, or the merchant looking for the perfect pearl, or the Fisherman casting the net into the ocean. The seeker can only be…
God. (long pause)
It would seem scandalous that God would find us, even covered in all the muck and mud and dirt, to be treasures that would cause Him to sell all, in order to purchase us. How can he see us, how can He see such value in me? How can He see such value, how can He envision our sin-filled, unrighteousness-marred lives as being a treasure?
This isn’t some garage sale, swap meet exchange, where one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. This is God, the creator and sustainer of all, determining that His idea of treasure is us, seeing in us the sparkle and beauty that He created us to be. Through the muck and mud and dirt, He saw His treasure. And buying it, making it his, redeeming us and cleansed us meant giving up everything became a price He would gladly pay to pay for the entire field, that the treasure might become His possession.
In the Greek, the word for “sold” makes this so abundantly clear. It’s primary use was not in regarding selling goods, but rather, selling a living person into slavery. That is what the Father did, sending His own son to become a doulas, a slave. Phil. 2:5-10 describes Jesus giving up heaven, in order to take on that role, even though the enslavement meant death, death on a cross.
Romans 5:10 talks about the books being balanced, our be reconciled to God by Christ’s death, even while we were still His enemies. I love the way Luther wrote about it,
He is my Lord! He redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, bought and won me from all sins, death and the authority of the Devil. It did not cost Him gold or silver, but His holy, precious blood, His innocent body -- His death! Because of this, I am His very own! (Luther's Small Catechism: Developed and Explained.)
It is as if the treasure could rejoice in its being free, from all that kept it hid.
Yet the Father, indeed all of heaven rejoices and dances when even one of the lost sheep are brought home through the Holy Spirit’s work, cutting their hearts with God’s word, cleansing them, quickening them, and granting them faith and repentance.
Could we really be?
Romans – what do you hang onto, with that ferocity
Even in the OT!
All this is the means to His goal…
It is odd for many of us, to consider our very beings as being treasure. Maybe it is because we wonder if anyone treasures us, or anyone beyond those who “have to” treasure us. That is indeed how God sees us, His children.
Consider our reading from Romans, if you look there… on page 7 you see these words
31 If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32 (ESV)
Further it says,
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)
These words describe how someone treats something He treasures, defending it, protecting it, investing everything in purchasing it, that it may be His! This is not new to the scriptures, for even our Old Testament reading testifies,
“The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession!”
A treasured possession that brings much joy, much celebration, for the one who has purchased the treasure, and cleansed it up, and for the treasure itself, no longer abandoned, no longer covered in mud and dirt.
Sometimes I wonder, does we focus so well on the means of grace, and the effects of that grace, that we forget to what they deliver us? The meaning of our existence is not our cleansing of our lives in baptism, or even the wedding supper of Christ, any more than the wedding was/is the center of our lives with our spouses.
They are but the entry point, the relationship that is formed is what is celebrated, what is treasured, what is protected. For God this is so much more true, for He never tires of the people who are His treasured possession, He never gives up living with them, caring for them, comforting them. Listening to our prayers, the Spirit teaching us through the word, even chastising us, that we would not try to dive back into the ground. Pouring our His love and mercy and peace, on His treasure, His people. Us.
AMEN!
