Compelled by a Surprising Find

Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, November 2, 2021

Proper 26, the Twenty-third week after Pentecost

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

44 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 990)

AM Psalm 61, 62; PM Psalm 68:1-20(21-23) 24-36

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Souls (All Faithful Departed). (See below.)

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 13:44-52

44 ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ 52And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’

David's Reflections

Jesus gives his hearers two brief anecdotal remarks, brief but full of energy. Two different men make startling discoveries that forever alter their lives. Ordinary days become extraordinary. One person finds buried treasure while plowing another's field. Another finds the most exquisite pearl lying among the less exquisite and ordinary. Both people respond to the challenge with daring and risk, they sell everything to possess the new treasure they've found.

Think of God's kingdom preached and lived by Jesus as the treasure. Or, to reframe that, think of a personal friendship with Jesus that brings forgiveness, release, transformation, and meaning and purpose to life.

Imagine someone attending worship in your faith community, an unbaptized person with no history of faith. That person finds herself standing in the communion line and extending her hands. Suddenly, she finds herself turning loose of her fear, her resentments, her accomplishments, her entire past. Nothing seems important except her heart hunger for God's love and forgiveness. She extends her heart and opens it to receive the presence of Jesus for the first time.

Now, imagine yourself, a Christian, perhaps baptized as an infant, yet with that same heart hunger for a renewed faith, a renewed experience of Jesus love and forgiveness, a renewed desire for a life recentered and reframed in God. You've already found the treasure and the pearl, you've already known forgiveness, love, transformation, release, but the experience of those realities feels distant and unfamiliar.

You are standing in the communion line. Suddenly, it seems entirely clear that you must "stand by your find" (as Jack Dean Kingsbury put it in his commentary on this text). You must come home to that basic risky faith that turns loose of everything, that lets go of all that you are and have, that releases your past. You must turn toward Jesus, letting go of all that has tortured your memories and all that has seduced your heart into dullness. You extend your hands to receive Christ's body, but you find yourself extending your heart and opening up to the presence of Jesus with a depth of intensity that you've never known. You have "stood by your find," you have come home to reaffirm that placing faith in Jesus was the turning point of your life and will be again in this moment.

Mircea Eliade, the great scholar of comparative religions, tells this story. "Once upon a time there was a Polish rabbi from Cracow named Eisik. He had a dream. In the dream he was told to travel to Prague. Under the great bridge leading to the royal castle he would find a hidden treasure. The dream was repeated three times, and he decided to go. He found the bridge, but it was guarded by soldiers, so he did not dig. As he loitered in the vicinity, one of the soldiers asked him what he had lost. The rabbi told his dream and the soldier burst into laughter. 'Really, poor man,' the soldier said, have you worn out your shoes coming all this way simply because of a dream?' . . . 'I, too, once had a dream,' said the soldier. 'It spoke to me of Cracow, ordered me to go there and look for a treasure in the house of a rabbi named Eisik. The treasure was to be found in a dusty old corner behind the stove.' . . . . 'But,' said the soldier, 'being a reasonable man and not trusting in dreams, I decided not to go.' The rabbi thanked the soldier, returned to Cracow, dug behind his stove, found the treasure, and put an end to his poverty.” +

+Mircea Eliade, cited by John H. Tietjen, "Hebrews 11:8-12," Interpretation 42 (Oct 88):407.

Collect of the Day, Proper 26, the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 235)

Today we celebrate the Feast of All Souls (All Faithful Departed).

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/AllSouls.htm

Collect of the Feast of All Souls

O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever. Amen

A Collect for Peace

Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments, and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen. (BCP, 123)

For those who suffer for the sake of Conscience

O God our Father, whose Son forgave his enemies while he was suffering shame and death: Strengthen those who suffer for the sake of conscience; when they are accused, save them from speaking in hate; when they are rejected, save them

from bitterness; when they are imprisoned, save them from despair; and to us your servants, give grace to respect their witness and to discern the truth, that our society may be cleansed and strengthened. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ, our merciful and righteous Judge. Amen. (BCP, 823)

In the Order of Worship for Evening

Almighty, everlasting God, let our prayer in your sight be as incense, the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice. Give us grace to behold you, present in your Word and Sacraments, and to recognize you in the lives of those around us. Stir up in us the flame of that love which burned in the heart of your Son as he bore his passion, and let it burn in us to eternal life and to the ages of ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)

A Collect for Mission

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 100)