Some of us, who can plan for the future, invest in stocks. I have less than a layman’s understanding of investments and financial portfolios, but it seems that choosing a “promising” investment or stock option can be both risky and beneficial. Sometimes, when all “appearances” point in a very promising and continuing outcome for a stock option, it is “advisable” to sell off other less promising options in order to invest in this one particular option that seems to almost “ensure” the best return. Although a very simplistic description, this sounds a bit familiar to me in relationship to today’s Gospel (MT 13: 44-46):
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”
When I first read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ parable of the treasure buried in the field and the finding of the great pearl, I tended to immediately fall into my standard interpretation of the passage, which is basically that, once we find the “kingdom of heaven,” which is a precious treasure, we get rid of everything else to prize and cherish this blessed treasure. I think that this is part of what is being said here, but it occurs to me that there may be some perhaps deeper elements that could also be here.
It is interesting to me that while the first parable indicates that the kingdom of heaven is like a “treasure buried in the field,” the second parable says that the kingdom of heaven is “like a merchant searching for fine pearls.” In the first case, it appears that the “treasure” found is the kingdom of heaven and in the second case it is not directly the “pearl of great price” that is found, but indeed the “merchant searching for fine pearls” that represents the “kingdom of heaven.”
In the first parable, the person who finds the treasure in the field, “hides” it again and then sells everything in order to buy and perhaps to own the “field,” which contains the “hidden treasure. In the second parable, the merchant who is in the business of seeking and finding fine pearls, after finding the great pearl, also sells all in order to buy it.
John Steinbeck’s classic novel, “The Pearl,” tells the powerful story of how finding a great pearl, seeking to hide it, own it, and then sell it in order to “secure” benefits can have devastating results – ultimately loss of life and community. Likewise, in Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Ring” trilogy, the character of Gollum becomes so all-absorbed in the possession of the one powerful ring that he addresses it as “ my precious,” signifying how this precious ring has indeed overtaken him completely.
What if Jesus is not describing what we should do or what is the right thing to do when we come upon the precious “treasure” that we consider to be the “kingdom of heaven” so much as pointing out how we become aware of that which we consider “precious,” or that which we consider to be the “kingdom of heaven?” It seems that we consider many things to be “precious” in our lives based upon the measure in which these things (or people) serve to increase our “selves.” Could this be the treasure we find in the field and then “bury” and “hide” it away from “others,” so that we can somehow try to own it and manipulate it for ourselves in isolation or with disregard of others? This is the “my precious” characterized by the Gollum character, where preciousness is measured only by individualistic desires and ownership. Could the “great pearl” that we sell all in order to buy actually be an illusion of accomplishment and security that operates solely within a closed off or exclusive environment bolstered by defensive notions of security and myopic vision?
I also find it interesting that we don’t hear what happens to the precious “treasure” or “pearl of great price” once acquired in the Gospel story. This is a challenge for me in that it pushes me to question what it is that I consider to be precious. What if what I consider as precious is illusion, and in fact not even close to the “kingdom of heaven?” How would I realize or know this?
Perhaps Jeremiah can provide another aspect of this question (JER 15: 10, 16-21):
“…When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart…. Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?… Thus the LORD answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you;”
Perhaps the precious treasure is not some “thing” that we look for or seek, but it is in fact the very process of “seeking” the “kingdom of heaven” at all times. Could it be the very “relatedness” and more importantly our awareness of this relatedness that we have to our world? As we walk through our daily lives, what is it that drives us forward…with what type of eyes are we seeing the world? Are we seeing the world, or just “my world…..my precious?” Do we clutch and grasp, and hide and bury, and trade and sell off for only personal and private accomplishment and success?
What or Who do I see as I walk through my daily life? Simply my tasks and efforts? What is it that is “precious” about this day this moment? Is it right here before me and I just cannot see it? Can I re-imagine the fear and even anger of that which and THOSE WHO SEEM so different than me and see the treasure shining forth and, indeed, in NEED of me. Is this what God is telling Jeremiah when he says,
“If you bring forth the precious…then it shall be they who turn to you.”
Can our vision be transformed such that “others” “turn to” us, or be transformed in our sight, meaning that we meet each other for the first time perhaps in a common space that is precious and rich in mercy. The seeming incurable wound of isolation and indifference can begin healing. We can begin to see the “precious other” suddenly in a mirror, and recognize the relatedness that we all have. When this happens, we can surrender or “sell off” all the other illusory images that we have carried for so long. Then, hopefully, the “kingdom of heaven” can become an “engaging” or “relating” to and with each other that transforms our ignorant and often times violent fear into the possibility for recognizing and living the precious human and divine treasure that is the “kingdom of heaven.”
Peace
Thomas