A Pearl of Great Price June 12, 2016 Rev. Abigail Henderson

Transcription

1 A Pearl of Great Price June 12, 2016 Rev. Abigail Henderson Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45 46) Another week, another short, sweet, and deceptively simple parable. Last week, Todd explored how the kingdom of heaven is like yeast, fermenting, bubbling under the surface of things, at work even when we can t see it, causing new life, new energy, new hope to come into being. I think this week s parable, in which the kingdom of heaven is compared to a pearl of great price, is a fitting continuation of that theme, one that might tell us something about the nature of God, and, perhaps, something about our nature, the nature of we who seek God, we who wish to taste the bread of life. What s great about this snappy little parable is that it actually packs a lot of action: we ve got this merchant looking for fine pearls; he finds one of great value, and he apparently loves it so much that he sells his entire assortment of worldly goods so it can be his. Our guide through these parables, Dr. Amy Jill Levine, reviews the standard Christian allegorical reading, one that comes from Matthew, the Gospel writer, himself. Traditionally, the church has seen the merchant as a model for the perfect disciple, who discovers something of great value Jesus and gives up everything to follow him. Picture Simon and Andrew, the fishermen, dropping the most necessarily tool of their trade, their fishing nets, and

2 leaving everything behind to live in a state of radical dependence on J esus. Or, in a variation of that, Jesus is the merchant, and humanity is the pearl, and Jesus gives up everything, literally gives up his life on the Cross, for the sake of our eternal souls. Picture Jesus, the lamb of God, atoning for our sins, being led to the slaughter because we are so bad but he loves us anyway. You ll be shocked to hear that I m not a huge fan of either of those interpretations. Both these readings involve a huge amount of sacrifice, sacrifice in a very literal sense. And don t get me wrong, sacrifice is sometimes necessary and holy and good. Some of the people I admire most deeply are the ones who ve sacrificed safety, comfort, and even their lives for the sake of something bigger. And I think we all have the opportunity to practice faithful sacrifice in our lives: for children, for spouses, for a cause we care about. But I don t buy into the idea that absolute, profound, life or death, all or nothing sacrifice is the only true faith. And I don t buy into the idea that this is what God really wants of us. It s not practical. It s not realistic. And what is the point of faith if it doesn t help us live our real, actual lives? Amy Jill Levine helps us to extract the parable from its church trappings and Matthew s editorial hand, and then reimagine it into something that might ve been spoken by a real, living, breathing Jesus addressing first century Jews and Greeks. Here s what I found most interesting in her commentary. She writes, Had the parable suggested that the merchant felt a sense of loss over his exchanges, the language of sacrifice would be present. Had the parable

3 indicated that the merchant suffers by going without, again, sacrificial language might be appropriate. Had the parable indicated that the sacrifice was on behalf of another or designed to establish or restore relationships or had served to mark a holiday, expiate guilt, or offer thanksgiving, again, the metaphor of sacrifice would fit. But the parable offers none of these prompts ( Short Stories by Jesus, p ). So, if we follow Amy Jill Levine s lead and strip away the sacrifice metaphor, the parable feels much less straightforward. We re left with this little story about searching for something and, when it is found, dropping everything to get it. Amy Jill Levine also points out that early followers of Jesus would likely have noticed, as we do, that the merchant s actions are a bit dramatic. They probably wondered, as we might, why on earth you would sell everything you own for the sake of one little pearl, no matter how lovely it was. People from all walks of life peasants, merchants, artisans would ve thought, how irresponsible! This is another clue that Jesus didn t mean for us to read this parable like an instruction manual. He spoke in hyperbole exaggerated language all the time, in order to get our attention. In order to shake us up and get us to think. Maybe Jesus is trying to capture a feeling, an attitude, a way of being in the world. Maybe he s saying, pearls of great value aren t just all over the place, lying everywhere waiting for us to pick them up. We have to look for them, to search for them. And then, when we are lucky enough to find one, we better go for it. In practical, real life terms, what does this mean? I think it could mean a lot of things. Here s an example of what it meant to me recently.

4 I had this parable in my mind all this past week. Whenever I m on sermon duty, I find myself looking at the world through the lens of whatever text I m preaching. So with that in the back of my mind, I made the decision to read a very famous letter that has been circulating. I m speaking about the victim impact statement written by the young woman who was brutally sexually assaulted, while unconscious, by Brock Turner, the ex Stanford swimming star. This letter, which she read at the sentencing, has been shared millions of times since it was made public. I think this statement is very important and worth reading. But I also want to acknowledge that it is intense and upsetting and may be especially triggering to people who ve experienced sexual assault. If you haven t read the letter, and you feel grounded and ready to process it, I encourage you to find it online. Just google Stanford victim impact statement. In my eyes, this young woman is a poet and hero; she gives words to an experience that is horrifically common across our country. She bravely describes the pain and humiliation she experienced recovering from her assault, and then her re victimization by a legal system that privileges white, successful young men like Brock Turner. There s one portion I d like to quote to you, something that I think is very worth repeating. It is not graphic. It s at the very end of her letter. She has just thanked the two Swedish graduate students who intervened, saved her, and detained her assailant. And then she writes, And finally, to girls everywhere, I am with you. On nights when you feel alone, I am with you. When people doubt you or dismiss you, I am with you. I fought everyday for you. So never stop fighting, I believe you. Lighthouses don t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining. Although I can t save every boat, I hope that by speaking today, you absorbed a small amount of light, a small knowing that you can t be silenced, a small satisfaction that justice was served, a small assurance

5 that we are getting somewhere, and a big, big knowing that you are important, unquestionably, you are untouchable, you are beautiful, you are to be valued, respected, undeniably, every minute of every day, you are powerful and nobody can take that away from you. To girls everywhere, I am with you. I read those words, tears in my eyes, and it dawned on me that I had found a pearl of great value. Because this young woman s words, her courage, her truth telling: they made me want to drop everything and do something. They stopped me in my tracks and made me remember something important. In the midst of a stressful week, her words reminded me why I m a pastor. It s as simple and as profound as that. I was reminded why I m passionate about OWL, Our Whole Lives, our church s faith based sexuality education course, which affirms all young people, no matter their gender, and gives them tools to live out their sexualities in healthy, life giving ways. I was reminded of my commitment to fighting for the rights of women and girls, especially reproductive rights, because I believe so deeply that women, especially young women, deserve bodily autonomy, which means freedom from all forms of coercion. I was reminded of why I m leading our youth service trip to Guatemala, so that our young people can learn about the world, and reflect on their own place in it, and consider what they might be called to do with their lives. A pearl of great value is something that reorients your heart. A pearl of great value reminds you about what s really important; it is is something or

6 someone that gives perspective, puts priorities back in order, helping us to be the people that God knows we can be. This week, I encourage you to be on the lookout for those pearls of great value in your lives. When you see or hear something that gives you hope and purpose, that fills you with a sense that the kingdom of heaven might be real, then grab on. Hold it close. Carry it in your heart and, when the time feels right, show it others. That s what I m trying to do with this sermon. Because I m pretty sure pearls of great value aren t meant to be hoarded or kept locked up in a safe deposit box. When there s so much bad news out there, we need these rare and precious things to reassure us that transformation is possible. So let s search for pearls of great value and share them. For the sake of the world. Amen.