The Serendipity of Buried Treasure
- davidwperk
- Nov 7, 2023
- 5 min read
Devotional Reflection, Tuesday, November 7, 2023
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.
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.
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.)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Willkibrord. (See below.)
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 hidden 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., hidden in the bread, 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. The presence of Jesus, hidden in bread, connects in a flash to that same treasure hidden within you.
Mircea Eliade, the great scholar of comparative religions, tells this story.
“This pious rabbi, Eisik of Cracow, had a dream which told him to travel to Prague; there, under the great bridge leading to the royal castle, he was to find a hidden treasure. The dream was repeated three times, and the rabbi decided to go. Upon arrival in Prague He found the bridge; but, as it was guarded day and night by sentinels, Eisik dared not dig. But, as he continued to loiter in the vicinity, he attracted the attention of the captain of the guard, who asked him, kindly, if he had lost something. The rabbi then innocently narrated his dream; and the officer burst into laughter. 'Really, poor man,' he said, 'have you worn out your shoes coming all this way simply because of a dream?' The officer, too, had heard a voice in a dream: 'It spoke to me about Cracow, ordered me to go over there and look for a great treasure in the house of a rabbi named Eisik Fisik son of Jekel The treasure was to be found in a dusty old corner where it had been buried behind the stove.' But the officer put no trust whatever in voices heard in dreams; the officer was a reasonable person., The rabbi , with a deep bow, thanked him and made haste to, return to Cracow; there he dug in the neglected corner of his house and discovered the treasure, which put an end to his poverty."
+Mircea Eliade, Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries: The Encounter between Contemporary Faiths and Archaic Realities, Trans. Philip Mairet (New York: Harper, 1960), pp. 244-245.
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 Willkibrord, archbishop and missionary (died 7 Nov 739 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Willibrord
Pour out your Holy Spirit, O God, upon your church in every land, that like your servant Willibrord we might proclaim the Gospel to all nations, that your kingdom might be enlarged and that your holy Name might be glorified in all the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, for ever 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)
Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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