Wednesday, March 11, 2026 -Lent Four

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.” (Matthew 13:44, New Living Translation)

             Go, get your shovel! There’s gold in them, thar hills!

There was a recent news story about a French home owner, who discovered $800,000 worth of gold while digging up his back yard to put in a swimming pool. He found five gold bars and several gold coins. After examination by the authorities, it was determined that the man would be allowed to keep the gold.  I have had fantasies about something like this – finding a Mickey Mantle rookie card in a junk pile or a first issue Superman comic in a discard pile. They are extremely valuable. I would buy the piles of junk so that I could own those treasures.  I might not even sell them, but keep them for their specialness.

                My first thought is about who might have buried this treasure to begin with. The article never said. This leads me to think about the man in Jesus’ parable of the talents and the servant who buried what the owner had given him rather than invest it. “‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’” (Matthew 24:24 -25) The servant was afraid to take any risks whatsoever and was proud that he could return the master’s money untouched, “every cent.”

But as Paul once wrote, we have been given these treasures of life and are sent out into the world to put them to good and profitable use, to invest God’s Grace and Love with interest. “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7) Light needs to shine, not be hidden. Thus, we are also reminded by another of Jesus’ teachings: “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5: 15 -16) God has generously given all of us gifts, talents and treasures to liberally (“liberal” really isn’t a swear word as some may argue) spread the Good News near and close, far and wide. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”  (Matthew 24: 21)

So it is that the man who discovered a treasure in the field goes out of his way to purchase the whole field. Not to overthink this short parable, yet some might think that this was a brash and even foolish action to take. There may not likely be any more treasure to be found if indeed that was what he was hoping. More likely though, he believed that plot of land now had intrinsic value and a purpose. He obviously was not the original owner, but wished to authenticate his find by buying the whole plot of land. The analogy is that when we discover the Good News of God’s Love in Jesus Christ, we take complete “ownership” of its valuable contents. We buy in totally to the wealth of Grace, Hope, Joy, Peace, Love and Salvation which we discover in its rich offerings.

These two parables are two sides of the same coin, both about the responsibility of being good stewards of all that God gives us. Perhaps, “responsibility” sounds like a tedious, laborious, duty-filled word, lacking much joy or pleasure.  But in Gospel terms, it has its rich rewards, its satisfactions, its gratifications, its joy-making. “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” (Luke 6:38, The Message Bible)

Now get out there, people, and start digging.

 Prayer:

                Our generous God, we ask, first, that you lead us to look in the right places for your life-giving Kingdom. Then, help us to stop at nothing to take ownership of the prize of this upward calling. Show us all the ways that we, too, can be generous, faithful, sharing, compassionate and full of forgiveness and love. In this Lenten season, the true treasure is Jesus Christ who died for us. May we strive to be worthy of such a cost he paid for us to live in your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.