Matthew 13:44-46; July 26, 2026; Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
“…on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” – Matthew 13:46
My friends, what is that one pearl of great value that you would like to find, that you would sell anything else in your life in order to have?
Or is it too hard to name just one? Are your pearls then found in the material: to live in a bigger house; a better town; to go on that dream vacation? I wonder.
Or is your pearl more like being young again, discovering that fountain of youth; finding that special someone from your past again in your present? I wonder.
Or are your pearls more like experiencing better health; greater job satisfaction; more lasting marital bliss? I wonder and I pray.
Or maybe…your pearls are less about yourself and your life and more about life in general such as encountering world peace; a more stable climate; and an infinite supply of shared global resources? Amen, and amen!
Friends, would we today sell the bundle of our riches for these things that are of greater value to all? Would we sell what we have to eradicate hunger and homelessness; to live in a world that is more affordable, and more equal, so that everyone might have the same opportunities to achieve success and happiness? I hope.
I mean, the kingdom of heaven, as Jesus Christ preaches it, seems to be all about relinquishing the things that we have, that we think we own, so that everyone might inherit something more significant and more powerful in the end. And, not just in the end, at the end of life, but in the here and now, for as Christ says, the kingdom is at hand; it is near.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. – Matthew 13:44
Now personally, I don’t really care for this particular verse and analogy. For it seems, on the surface, as if the man hides the treasure from everyone else by burying it and then hoards it all for himself by buying the whole darn field. Seems too venture capitalist, doesn’t it? Private equity, at its worst.
But I don’t think that’s the point of this parable (it can’t be), and Jesus clarifies as much in the very next verses and begins to do so in his very next word, when he says: “again.”
The next word out of Jesus’ mouth is “again.”
My wife says that my most used word is: “again” because I’m always trying to state and restate my opinions, again and again… And she says that I do this because I feel the need to reclarify points that at first are incomplete, that leave her confused.
Again, Anya, what I meant to say was this… Again, I’m not saying that you have to clean right now, but how about sometime in the next day or two?
Again.
And I wonder if that’s what happening here, where Jesus is again trying to perfect his parable to an audience who at first wasn’t drawing the right conclusions; who at first was confused; who were about to look for treasure to keep and hoard for themselves, for their own personal gain, rather than for that of the kingdom’s.
And so, Jesus says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; and on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” -Matthew 13:45-46
As we’ve already spent time discussing at the beginning of this sermon, this analogy I think makes more sense within the larger framework of Jesus’ ministry and teachings about what the Kingdom of Heaven is and can be; about how even from the tiniest little mustard seed it can spread, and grow limbs, and provide shade and security for all people and nations.
Amen!
In the great apocryphal work, The Gospel of Thomas, Jesus is seen presenting a similar parable about pearls (about 60% of Thomas can be found in the four canonical gospels). And in Thomas’ version, it goes like this:
Jesus says: “The Kingdom of the Father is like a merchant, who has a burden and found a pearl. This merchant is a wise man: he sold the bundle and bought the pearl alone. You also seek his treasure which does not perish, which lasts, into which the moth does not enter to consume and the worm does not destroy.” (The Gospel of Thomas; saying 76)
And boy, do I like that!
In Thomas’ account, all that the man/this merchant has is called a burden (which, truthfully, our stuff so often is), and recognizing that this bundle is burdensome, he sells it all for the pearl alone. A pearl, which Thomas adds, that won’t perish. That lasts. That even the moth cannot consume and the worm does not destroy!
My friends, just think of all the worms in our greater life who consume and destroy our peace of mind; who seemingly are doing everything they can to hoard all the treasures of this world for themselves to the detriment of the climate, at the cost of world peace, not to mention widening the affordability gaps and divisions within our society.
Imagine then finding something that even they could not touch, own, and destroy? That would have incredible value, wouldn’t it?
Some remarks in the various commentaries on Thomas’ saying suggest that: “the merchandise of the merchant is the repressed self, and the pearl is the true self. So, seek the pearl!” // “Be not of the world but instead seek the one indestructible thing that will gain you salvation. Knowledge!” // “The pearl is knowledge! Seek knowledge, which no moth or worm can destroy.” Amen!
Seek knowledge, my friends! And whose knowledge? That of Jesus Christ, of course! For who was and is this Jesus Christ? None other than the Savior and Redeemer of our world who thought not of himself but sacrificed everything for everyone else!
That’s right: Jesus, our good shepherd, leaves the 99 in the field to go chasing after the 1 who is lost, who has no treasure; and he, Jesus, lays down his life so that all of his children, even the Prodigals, can receive the riches of God’s tenderness, mercy, and grace.
Amen, and amen!
Now, Thomas was not alone in painting this lovely imagery of moths and worms, and treasures that do not perish. No, in fact, we see it in Luke’s gospel as well, who records the words of Jesus to say this:
“Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Luke 12:32-34
Again, Jesus says, sell your possessions and give alms, for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.
And my friends, if your heart beats like this, Jesus says that it will never perish! No thief will steal it, no moth can eat away at it, and no worm will ever destroy it!
For again, if it beats like this, yours would be like the very heart of God; and would resemble the way and rule of God’s kingdom, of which there is no end!
For in God’s kingdom, all of our bundles, all of our burdens, are sold for something much more significant. A pearl that is never buried, hidden, or hoarded, but that is seen, shared, and celebrated, by everyone equally, again, and again, and again…onward and forever in the unearthed fields of Heaven.
So let it be down here, as it is up there.
Amen.
