Matthew 13:45-46
Have you seen this slogan: “Keep Calm and Carry On?” It’s from a poster distributed in Britain in
1939 as the British anticipated an invasion by Nazi Germany. It was one of three posters designed to keep
up morale during very stressful times.
At the time, it appears to have been the least popular.
When no invasion took place the poster was quickly forgotten
until one was found in a bookstore a few years ago. Since then the phrase has been placed on
teapots, tee-shirts, mugs, and just about anything else you can imagine. Some enterprising folks have parodied the
saying as in, Keep Calm and Buy Shoes.
The bookstore copy was thought to be the only one until earlier
this year when several originals of the poster turned up in Scotland. They belonged to Moragh Turnbull, daughter of
a former member of the British signal corps.
Her father had brought them home and was going to post them in his community
but didn’t because the threat of invasion was past.
In February, Turnbull took her posters to the UK version of
Antiques Roadshow—actually what we watch is the US version of Antiques
Roadshow. The show appeared in the UK
twenty years before it began here.
Anyway the appraiser looked at the posters and thought they were worth
some £15,000. In US dollars, that’s a
lot of money.
Antiques Roadshow, Storage Wars, and other such programs
have turned many people into treasure hunters.
Jesus once told about a treasure hunter who was obsessed
with pearls. It’s not surprising he
searched for these gems. One writer
says:
“In the ancient world pearls had a very
special place in men's hearts. People desired to possess a lovely pearl, not
only for its money value, but for its beauty. They found a pleasure in simply
handling it and contemplating it. They found an aesthetic joy simply in
possessing and looking at a pearl. … a
merchant would scour the markets of the world to find a pearl which was of
surpassing beauty.”
The Bible mentions women wearing pearls as jewelry and often
uses pearls to denote great beauty and value.
So, when Jesus wanted to describe something of great value,
it makes sense he would have seized upon the pearl.
In this little story, Jesus’ purpose, in part, seems to have
been to invite his listeners to consider the wisdom of participating in the
Kingdom of God. He was calling them to
be on God’s side.
When Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God, he was speaking
of the rule of God in the hearts and lives of individuals. He began his ministry by inviting people to
pledge their allegiance to God’s rule, particularly to what God was doing in
the world at that time and place. They
would do this by reassessing their lives and dealing with whatever kept them
from being completely committed to God’s agenda. This was not always easy but it was worth
making the commitment.
The Gospels make it clear that the degree to which we are in
tune with God’s rule is determined by the degree to which we are committed to
Jesus. Jesus, you see, was the focal
point of what God was doing in the world.
Faith in Christ was the first step into the Kingdom.
Now, let’s get back to the story of that pearl
merchant. What I’m about to say is a
spoiler: In case you haven’t guessed
already, in this story, Jesus is the Pearl. If you find this prize, this treasure, your
life will change.
In this brief story, Jesus speaks of a merchant who
diligently searched for the best pearls.
The word Jesus used refers to a specialized dealer in pearls. He was no casual collector.
We can imagine this man going from market to market in
nation after nation seeking the very best pearls. Then he came across one which excelled all
the others. He had to have it. So, he sold all he had and took that pearl
home.
The implications of this story are—
If you want to find such a treasure, it
would help to be searching for it.
Remember back before the internet, back when you couldn’t
get online to check if some special item you wanted was on e-bay or some other
auction site? Before the internet you
had to pour over ads in newspapers and magazines or pay an agent to be on the
look-out for what you wanted. Well
before that you had to search for yourself;
after all, you alone knew exactly what you were looking for. This merchant would not relinquish the search
to anyone else. Despite the difficulties
of travel, he would pursue the best pearls on his own.
Many people wish for spiritual peace and satisfaction but somehow
imagine these things will find them. The
merchant knew it was unlikely anyone would be knocking on his door offering to
sell him the best pearl. This is not to
say there won’t be anyone knocking at your door claiming to be offering the way
to spiritual peace and satisfaction, but our merchant would remind you of a
saying reported to be prominently displayed in the Roman markets of his day, caveat emptor, “let the buyer
beware.” You need to consider who is
offering this way to a new life.
In our day, there are some who like to say that in the
search for spiritual truth and meaning it is the journey not the destination
that is important. Some even go as far
as to say, whatever you find on the journey is your truth and one truth is as
good as another. I’m not sure our
merchant would agree. If he had ended
his lifelong search for beautiful pearls with an empty bag, I doubt he’d feel
satisfied with just the “stamps” in his passport. At the same time, I doubt he would believe a
piece of quartz to be as valuable as a pearl, especially if he had sold all he
had to obtain it.
So, if you should search for that treasure which will change
your life, you should search intently and carefully. But, search where?
As a Christian, I don’t mind being somewhat prejudiced and
suggesting a searcher begin at the church, within the Christian community. Of course, today’s searcher may not be so
narrowly focused. With that mind, I’d suggest
the searcher be sure to ask a few questions.
If we were comparing religions, I’d suggest asking what has
validated the Founder’s claims for himself and his teachings. I’d also suggest the searcher ask: Did the founder live in line with his own
teachings? Were the first followers
individuals of integrity? Would it be
good if everyone lived as the founder lived?
I’d suggest the searcher ask: Which of the competing worldviews most
squares with what we know of how the world works?
There might be other questions I’d suggest the searcher ask,
but above all I’d encourage the searcher to keep searching.
As you search for such a treasure, keep in mind that it is of great
value.
The pearl in Jesus’ story is no ordinary pearl. We’re not told its exact value, just that the
merchant sold all he had to get that pearl.
Keep in mind what this means. He
didn’t buy the pearl to add it to his collection. He had no collection because he sold it to
get that pearl. It’s unlikely any of
Jesus’ listeners that day would have been able to afford the pearl even if they
had sold all they had.
Jesus was underscoring the value of finding him. Finding Christ—trusting him--opens the way to
wholeness, community, and purpose.
When we find Christ, we find wholeness.
This is behind the biblical notion of “salvation.” We’ve all seen those signs which proclaim
“Jesus Saves.” When we try to explain we
mean Jesus saves us from our sins, we’re right but only partly right. It means so much more. The root idea of the word translated
“salvation” in the Bible suggest wholeness, as if we have at last become what
we were intended to be. This involves
deliverance, as in the case of someone set free from a confining space. It involves healing, as when we are cured
from a deadly disease. It involves
liberation from guilt, shame, and dread, particularly the dread of death. The twentieth century writer Paul Tillich was
correct when he said, “Salvation is healing in the ultimate sense; it is final,
cosmic, and individual healing.”
Salvation is, as some of our neighbors might say, “good for what ails
you.”
When we find Christ, we find community.
The Bible tells us that we humans suffer a sense of alienation. We are estranged. Poets and psychologists, alike, speak of our
aloneness. We are desperate for a sense
of belonging, for community. “I’m so
lonesome I could cry,” comes from a country song, but you find the thought in
every type of music.
Because of Christ, the barrier between God and us has been
broken down. One of the most remarkable
things Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God was that the King in God’s Kingdom
is a Father. We may have a new
relationship with God.
Because of Christ, the barrier between us and others has
been broken down. If you were to have
walked into a first century church, you would have seen a remarkable
sight. There would have been rich and
poor Christians. Christians from all
classes would have worshipped side by side.
The reality of this is seen in the image early Christians had of
themselves as a family.
When we find Christ, we find purpose.
On one occasion, Jesus sent out some of his followers to the invite
people to become part of what God was doing—he still calls on his followers to
do the same, through their words and through their lives. It gives us purpose; it makes us part of
something big. Remember in The Graduate when Mr. McGuire, an older
man, tells Dustin Hoffman’s character Benjamin what to build his future
on. He says, “Just one word ‘Plastics’.”
What Jesus can do for our world is
bigger than plastics; telling the world
about him can give you a great purpose.
All of these are things men and women the world over spend
their lives searching for.
When you find this treasure, remember that, despite its great value,
each of us can afford it.
The merchant in Jesus’ story sold all he had to buy the
pearl of unsurpassed beauty. We’re not
told how much money that was. Even today
pearls can be costly. A few years ago, a
double strand of 68 matched pearls sold at Christie’s auction house for seven
million dollars. Some of you might, but
I don’t have that kind of money.
If we can’t afford such real pearls, can we “afford” the
spiritual pearl Jesus spoke of? Some
believe Jesus was saying we have to give all our earthly possessions in order
to attain the new life he offered. The
very suggestion we have to “buy” our salvation runs contrary to everything in
the New Testament. So, how are we to
obtain this rare prize?
Like the merchant, we must give what is most precious to us.
For most of us, nothing is more precious than our pride, our
sense of self-sufficiency. We like to
believe we can deal with any problem we face, even the gravest spiritual
problem.
The truth is sin sullies our every effort to win God’s
favor. Yet, God shows us his favor, not
because we have merited it, but because he is a God of grace. The “price” we must pay to receive the prize
of salvation is to fully and honestly admit there is nothing we can give to
purchase the gift of salvation. We can
only rely on the favor of God, his unearned and unmerited favor.
There were those among Jesus’ listeners who would have to
surrender their confidence in their birthright, their religious heritage, and
their rule-keeping. Years later, Paul
would speak of his new attitude toward what he once considered his spiritual
wealth. He wrote to the Philippians,
… I was circumcised when I was eight days old,
having been born into a pure-blooded Jewish family that is a branch of the
tribe of Benjamin. So I am a real Jew if
there ever was one! What's more, I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand
the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.
…. And I obeyed the Jewish law so carefully
that I was never accused of any fault.
I once thought all these things were so
very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has
done.
Yes, everything else is worthless when
compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Today, a person wanting that prize might need to say, “I
don’t have all the answers. I won’t care
what others may say. I admit I can’t fix
my greatest problem. My wealth, my
education can’t bring me closer to God.”
Someone has said that grace is a doctrine we love to
hate. There have always been those who
would dig deeply into their bank accounts to gain a right relationship with
God, but feel asking them to admit a need for God’s mercy is asking too much.
We need to ask such people to take another look at that Pearl.
While it might surprise you that those WWII morale-building
posters are valued at just over $23000, many see their value in the appeal the poster’s
message has today. Although our
circumstances are very different from those faced by the British in 1939, the
call to Keep Calm and Carry On speaks to us.
Many are seeking some source of inner tranquility, stability, calmness
that will allow them to face the challenges life throws their way.
Anything that would give us that kind of peace would be a
real treasure.
We find that treasure in Jesus Christ.
