Buried Treasure, a Pearl and a Bugatti Sportscar

This post is an excerpt from a talk I gave in August 2022, at my local church.

Jesus told two short parables, recorded in the gospel of Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV).

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

It’s not hard to see parallels between the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl. Yes, the high value of the Kingdom of Heaven, through the treasure and the pearl stands out. Another similarity is that the person who finds the valuable item, whether by chance or by diligent search, sells everything to possess it.

As we ponder these parables, letting them roll around in our minds, and earnestly seeking their meaning, we realize that the value of the Kingdom and the willingness to sell everything to obtain it really go hand in hand. 

Have you ever held and examined a pearl? It’s one thing to store up some facts about pearls in our minds and then have a logical understanding of what Jesus said, and it’s another to ponder a pearl, roll it around in our palm, and earnestly seek its meaning and its beauty. 

A Syrian theologian who served as a deacon did this very thing in around the year 360 AD. Based on his hands-on experience with a single pearl and his thoughtful reflections about it, Ephrem the Syrian wrote seven hymns. 

Among other things, he observed that the pearl speaks with “silent mouth” of the trophies, victories and crowns of Jesus Christ. The bright and luminous gem was for him a reflection of Jesus, the “Light of the world.”[1]

If buried treasure and a lustrous and valuable pearl feel too distant from our everyday experiences, let’s reimagine the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl using a more current example of something out of reach for most people.  

It was suggested as a modern equivalent by a Grade 8 student during class devotions, when asked, “What is something today that somebody might sell everything to get?” 

Consider with me: The Kingdom of Heaven is like the case of a collector of classic cars, who scours websites and advertisement and travels to dealerships and auto shows every weekend for months. He is seeking for the one car that meets all his criteria for design, speed, and luxury. One day, he spots a one-off Bugatti sportscar and knows he doesn’t need to see any others. 

He smiles broadly and sells all the other cars in his collection and everything else he owns to get that sportscar. 

The man who sold everything to buy the field, and the merchant who sold everything to buy the pearl, and the car enthusiast of our modern example did not feel they were making a sacrifice. It was a calculated decision; they knew the supreme value of the item they were seeking. Therefore, I also hesitate to use the word “sacrifice” to describe what citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven choose to give up in their loyalty to Jesus. 

After all, what else has lasting value? Through Christ and his Kingdom, in the words of the hymn writer, we have “pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, [Christ’s] own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all [ours] with ten thousand beside.”[2]

JOY is the motivation for a Kingdom citizen to give up things of minor value so that they become more and more centered on their King and Lord. Committing every part of oneself to serving the Lord is a joyful process, and it will take a different form in your life than it does in mine. 

[1] http://www.voskrese.info/spl/pearl.html

[2] Lyrics from the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923. 

Good Things Come In Threes- Reposted for Easter 2024

  How much validity does the expression "Good things come in threes" have?  I've also heard the opposite: "Bad things come in threes," such that a person who has had two things go wrong in her day was still expecting a third to make it complete.  I would venture that such statements are based on a type of superstition that stops counting after three.  Each day or event, depending on our outlook, can have numerous good or bad aspects to it.

   That being said, there is something special about the number three that goes beyond the formula for fairy tales (three wishes, three characters, three incidents) and the rules of baseball.
   Since it is Easter weekend, I'd like to share about the "three days" between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Jesus predicted more than once that, similar to Jonah's sojourn in the belly of the fish, he would be "three days and three nights" in the heart of the earth (Mark 12:40).  After that, he would rise again.
   The modern, Western reader may be perplexed, as I used to be, about how this timing exactly works. When we think of three days and three nights, we think in terms of 72 hours.  However, when you look at the Gospel accounts, Jesus' time in the tomb was much less than this.  Could Jesus have made a mistake? Was he exaggerating just so we'd see a parallel between his experience and Jonah's?
   Then I read about Jewish reckoning of time.  When we approach any text, we should be aware of the historical and cultural context in which it was written.  So, when a Jewish person speaks of "a day," it can mean 24 hours or any part thereof.  A part of a day is considered a whole in the way time is measured.
   There's one more thing.  While we often measure a day from midnight to midnight, the Jews still consider the day beginning at sundown.  When we look again at the account of Jesus' death we see the following:

• He was crucified on Friday, during which there were three hours of darkness in the middle of the day. Jesus dies in late afternoon, and his friends take his body to the tomb before sunset.  There is concern to do this quickly because the Sabbath is approaching. Friday counts as "Day 1."
• It states in Luke 23:56b, "they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment."  This is "Day 2."
• The Sabbath ended at sunset, but no activity would have been undertaken in the dark.  Thus the women got up "very early in the morning" on the first day of the week (Sunday) to bring spices to the tomb.  When they arrive the tomb is already empty. Some time during the night Jesus overpowered death.  That makes "Day 3."

The words of a Puerto Rican folk hymn, translated into English, refer to "good" and "three":

Oh how good is Christ the Lord!

On the cross he died for me.

He has pardoned all my sin,

Glory be to Jesus.

Glory be to Jesus!

Glory be to Jesus!

In three days he rose again.

Glory be to Jesus.

In Jewish reckoning, sunset marked the start of a new day

Dare to be an Ebed-Melech

This post owes something to two individuals, who should be acknowledged at the outset. The first is the hymn writer Philip Bliss, who wrote the simple song "Dare to be a Daniel." The second is a Rev. John Suk, who preached a sermon 20+ years ago entitled "Dare to be an Epaphroditus," in which he highlighted a lesser known New Testament character with a 5-syllable name.

Jeremiah is a long book of prophecy in the Old Testament. It also contains some narrative parts (storylines), such as chapter 38. Here we read that Jeremiah's prophecies were not appreciated by the king's officials, and they want to put a stop to his words. They approach King Zedekiah with plans to put Jeremiah to death, and the king puts up no resistance.

That is how Jeremiah is lowered into a mucky cistern, a deep well used to collect rain water. Ebed-Melech, a Cushite [1] and official in the royal palace hears what has been done to Jeremiah and plucks up his courage to see King Zedekiah about it. He must know that the king had been indifferent before, but Ebed-Melech advocates for the life of Jeremiah and is ready to get personally involved.

Not only that, Ebed-Melech is an example of kindness. He understands about rope burn and takes the time to gather rags and worn out clothes to cushion the ropes that would be placed under Jeremiah's arms to lift him out of the pit. Along with 30 men the king sent with him, they go to the cistern and perform their rescue. Because of Ebed-Melech's kindness, Jeremiah is safely restored and can continue his ministry.

So, I'd like to add a stanza to Philip Bliss's song written in the 1800's. Because it's a four-syllable name, it may not have the same ring to it:

Dare to be an Ebed-Melech,

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose kind

And dare to make it known.

[1] Cushite is an ethnic reference. Ebed-Melech or his ancestors were from the "Upper Nile Region", or what is today called Sudan. Hence Ebed-Melech is someone we can celebrate as an African in the Bible. 

Giving on a Tight Budget- retitled from December 2014

  This time of year is associated with giving.  Giving gifts to your friends and family has become an integral part of Christmas celebrations.  Charities appeal to donors to consider the needs of the less fortunate, and rightly so.  But what if a person finds themself in a position of being unable to give?

   This question presupposes that giving is a matter of material things.  We think that if you are poor, you can't give, but this is so wrong.  Giving has so many forms that are accessible to people of all ages and economic situations.  In fact, much can be learned from the way in which people in economically disadvantaged countries give generously.

   This month I am challenging myself to do an intentional act of giving each day.  Most of these do not require having a bi-weekly or monthly salary.  Giving begins in the heart.  When the heart practices giving even when money is tight, that heart will be ready to give to an even greater extent when circumstances turn around.

   Check out some of the ideas I will be working with:

• Do a chore at home that is not really your job.  Do not draw attention to it.
• Think about a duplicate of something you own and find a way to give your extra one to someone who has none.  (Inspired by John the Baptist's advice in Luke 3:11.)
• Find something in your closet that you have not worn or used for 6 months or more and give it to a centre that ministers to newcomers.
• Re-gift something that you've received but do not use.
• Gather all the change in your house.  Put it in a pretty box and then leave it on the doorstep of a neighbour that you think could use it.
• Create a coupon offering to use a talent or ability and give it to someone else.
• Give a little more than usual to the Sunday offering.  Think about the people who are benefiting from the offering and pray for them.
• Spend the equivalent of what you spend on milk (or some other thing you always need in the house) on some non-perishable food and donate to a food bank.
• Give a compliment to someone you meet.
• Call a family member or friend on the telephone who you have not seen in a while.  Listen to how their day was.  If it is a local call on your land line, it is free.
• You have probably "stolen" a pen from a public space at least once in your life.  Plan to deliberately leave a pen somewhere that people are likely to need one.
• Give away an orange.
• Give a thank you note to someone who does a thankless job.
• When you prepare a snack today, make a second one to give to a co-worker, classmate or family member.
• Give part of your lunch break to pray for or with someone.
• Lend a helping hand by carrying something for someone or opening a door for someone.
• Write an encouraging Bible verse on a small card and leave it somewhere for a person to find.
• Offer someone a ride or give someone bus fare.
• Pick up two pieces of trash you see lying around indoors or outdoors and put them in the right place.
• Lend a book you've enjoyed to someone else, and don't expect to get it back.
• Give time to someone by playing a game or listening to a song together.
• Scrape someone else's windshield or shovel someone else's driveway.
• Give a music CD you've enjoyed to another person you think might also enjoy it.
• Drop off a small care package for a person who has to work on Christmas Day (hospital, nursing home, public works)
• Leave a box of tissues in a place where people outside of your family might need them.
• Make a hygiene kit or two for someone in need.  Bring it to a local community centre for distribution.
• Use a partial gift card to bless someone in line behind you.
• Give a mug with a surprise inside to someone in your neighbourhood.
• Invite someone over for lunch, dinner or dessert.
• Make something (a card, baked goods, or a craft) and give it away.
• Take a picture and send it to someone electronically or in the mail.
• Make an appointment to donate blood

A Learning Journey: Science

    A book entitled Flourishing Together: A Christian Vision for Students, Educators and Schools contains questions for reflection at the close of each short section or chapter. One of these questions caught my imagination when I read it during the summer months: 

"Have you ever shared your learning journey with your students? What effect might that have?"

   I decided to share my learning journey of science with my students on the first day of classes this past September. To simplify it a little and provide a framework for the students to reflect on their own learning journey of science, I told of my journey in four parts.

1. 

   My dad attentive to a creature

   A person who sparked my interest in science.  For me, that was my father. As a farmer, he cared about living things in the fields and barns. He also took me on many walks in the woods where he pointed out different trees and plants. Although he did not have much formal education, he had interesting facts to share about the past and present uses of each plant or tree.

 

2. An early experience with science. When I was in elementary school, we sometimes had special elective classes in the winter time. The elective that captured my attention was not my own, but my sister's. She was part of a small group led by an embryologist who taught at the University of Toronto. He led the students in creating individual science fair projects. My sister worked on hers at home. Her topic was "blue babies" and a life saving operation developed to make their hearts work properly. She made models of the heart out of blue and pink playdough, and I can still picture her display board.

3. A more recent experience with science. During the second COVID school lockdown I was also teaching science. One of the remote lessons I developed was for students to spend an hour outdoors and record all their observations of living and non-living things and their interactions. To provide a "sample" observation record, I spent time beside a storm pond close to my home. This experience stands out to me as a peaceful time of connection with nature and with God, during a turbulent period in history.

4. Recent interest. I shared with my students some things I had recently learned about the Great Lakes from an audiobook I had finished a couple of weeks earlier. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan further developed my understanding of the effects of human innovations like industrialization, canals, waterways, sewage systems, and international trade on the five freshwater lakes at the border of Canada and the United States. The plants, fish and other living things in these lakes have been affected by pollution and invasive species. Living near the Great Lakes gives me a responsibility to know and care about their well being as a habitat.

Even if you are not a student, this post may give you time to reflect on your learning journey in science or some other area of study. People, events and experiences all contribute to our learning, and I am grateful for them.

Prayer for Those Who Sleep in Tents--not by choice

In the book Every Moment Holy, volume I, by Douglas McKelvey, there is a liturgy (or prayer) "For Those Who Sleep in Tents" in the section titled "Creation and Recreation." I used that prayer when I was camping recently and it reminded me that sleeping in tents has a long biblical history.

That being said, I chose to sleep in a tent as a kind of vacation. We need a different kind of prayer for those who didn't have a choice about this place to lay their heads.

Lord, in North America camping is something fun and voluntary when camp is temporary in a National Park or a self-selected wild place, but today I pray for those who sleep in tents to survive. They are all human beings created in your image. I pray for~

~those just outside of war zones

~those in makeshift hospitals and shelters after an earthquake

~those who have nowhere else to call home

~those who can barely keep warm when the temperature plummets at night

            I pray for peace~ 

~where there is trauma of many forms

~where there is fear.

Please bring a better day for such inhabitants. May they indeed find peace and rest in these unlikely dwellings. Stir the hearts of your people to seek better shelters and to work for the flourishing of all people.

Amen

If you're interested in other prayers/liturgies: for a "project", for a Zoom meeting, or for something lost, see an earlier post entitled "Three Liturgies." 

 

Part of God's Story

I had a room mate in university who once asked me, “If the Bible were being written today, do you think we’d be in it?” I’ve thought about her question from time to time. I’m not sure if she was wondering about her or our level of faithfulness and whether or not it would be noticed. She may also have been seeking a tangible way to be part of God’s story.

So, are we in God’s story? As a child, I saw myself in the stories of the Israelites from Genesis to the rule of David. In fact, I remember the shock around Grade 10 when it was made clear that I was not in fact a Jew but a Gentile. Despite not being a biological Jew, the stories of the Hebrew people are so relatable—human nature spans one’s ethnicity. The life of Jesus is also sprinkled with characters we can relate to.

We live in a culture where people look to celebrities and “follow” them. Not even the Christian church is immune with singers, teachers, pastors and congregations building brands and empires. We are tempted to read the Bible as the stories of heroes to emulate and villains to scorn. But when we do that, we miss the truth that God is the main character and that God can use anyone—adult, child, powerful, weak, named, unnamed, Middle Eastern, African, European, Asian-- to help bring about his purposes. The apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians of their beginnings, which were nothing to boast about:

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him.”

Ten examples that shine a spotlight on hidden figures.

1.       The little boy who gave up the five loaves and two fish to Jesus, resulting in the feeding of the 5,000.

2.       The servant girls who urged Naaman the Syrian to go to Israel’s prophet to be cured of leprosy.

3.       Shepherds were a disreputable class of people who nonetheless were the angels’ audience as they  shared the news of the Messiah’s birth.

4.       Jehoida the priest, who lived to be 130 years of age, faithfully advised the seven-year-old King Joash and kept him on a good path.

5.       Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, found a wife for Isaac so that Abraham’s line could continue at a critical time in Canaan.

6.       Who does Jesus take the time to talk to as he’s being rushed to the synagogue ruler’s house to heal his 12 year old daughter? A woman who’s been bleeding for 12 years.

7.       An ill Egyptian servant of the enemy Amalekites left for dead enabled David to reclaim all the people and goods raided from the town of Ziklag.

8.       It’s not known which of these was the first African to receive Jesus as Lord: maybe Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus’ cross or his sons Alexander and Rufus or the Ethiopian eunuch or Simeon called Niger or Lucius of Cyrene.

9.       Who rescued the prophet Jeremiah from the mucky cistern? Ebed-Melech, a Sudanese man who was a government official.

10.    The Apostle Paul’s nephew overheard a plot to ambush Paul on the way to Caesarea and spoke up so that it could to be carried out.

Something my room mate and children and we ourselves want to know is, are we part of God’s story? Does God’s story include people like me? Fortunately, for all of us the answer is “yes.” For some of us, who might feel like we don’t fit, it may take a careful search to demonstrate this truth: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on US that WE should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”