Title: Hidden Treasure - Matthew 13:44
Contents
February 16, 2003 (Sun) 11:00 am Cheonan Salim Church
Title: Hidden Treasure
Text: Matthew 13:44
Shall I just say this and just end the sermon? I think I've shared the meaning of today's words enough with this story...
Are there people who can't remember the pause in the Word and only remember the jokes? Please do not keep this story in your memory as it is just a passing story.
Why would I bring up that story? I do not preach with any technique. Of course, if you say anything, you should be able to convey it best, so it would be a lie if you didn't think about the art of communication. However, it is a story that I know how to say like a parrot that I am not moved by myself and that I am not aware of. 'Oh, I see! How can it be a confession that I can avoid?' I felt like that, so I brought up the story today.
If you could answer the question posed by that confession, how could there be no answer? Perhaps the biggest part of my daily life is wrestling with that problem, how can I answer that?
But! The focus of today's message is not on whether you know what a treasure is or not. It comes down to whether or not there is something you want with the heart of wanting to keep the treasure, and whether or not you have a desire for something to the extent that you pour out all your devotion to life.
Of course, whether you know or not is also important. It is also important to discern what is right and what to pursue in an age of confusion. However, in many cases, it is not a problem of not knowing, but rather a problem of not being able to live as it is even if we know it. Commitment to that value that takes precedence over everything matters.
'dedication'? That alone is not enough to express. Nor is it a habitual 'preoccupation'. I think that saying that there is something you want to keep is 'joy'. I don't know if that would be a sufficient expression. The most appropriate expression is just like the parable of Jesus. "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a person finds it, he hides it in its place, and when he returns home with joy, he sells everything he has and buys the field." The joy of finding a treasure, the fear of losing it, the anticipation to somehow get it, and the meticulousness of doing everything possible to get it, all of these are contained in this parable.
If we go back to the mind of an innocent child, it is rather easy to understand. How tenacious is the second Sol in our household if there is anything she wants? As a father, I cannot refuse that tenacity. Most people ask me to buy something, but there are times when I just can't afford to buy it willingly, and I think it's not good to just respond so willingly, so I usually approve it with some conditions attached. When you think the request is justified. And then, after a few months, you'll be crazy about yelling, "Daddy!...". When Dad arrives around that time, Sol achieves her goal. Maybe it's the joy of getting what you want by doing that?
Maybe we lose that purity and live our lives. As the years of life increase, it loses its purity. They rely more on the wisdom that comes from their own experience. Of course, such wisdom is not worthless. In some societies, elders use their wisdom to teach future generations to enrich their lives. But on the other hand, the wisdom of experience only strengthens self-sufficiency, and also prevents the fresh awe of life. So, isn't there a common saying? "Let's go back to the beginning!" It's a story. It means to restore the passion that we devoted ourselves to and devoted ourselves to when we first set a goal.
That's what the saying "the kingdom of heaven is like it" means. This parable of Jesus does not speak of any attributes of the kingdom of heaven. If the various parables of Jesus are parables that explain the attributes of the kingdom of heaven, today's parables are not explanations about the kingdom of heaven itself. It is a message with a much stronger focus on what it means to those who received it, and to those who realized it. It is said that the kingdom of heaven is such a thrilling, terrifying, and joyful thing to those who have discovered it. We live with faith in the Gospel, that is how we live.
How can you have that heart? If you have never lived with such a heart, you should be able to really have that heart. I think I had that kind of heart at one time, but if I don't now, I'll have to be able to recover it.
Then how can you have that heart...? Don't expect the answer from my lips.
I can't speak right now, so if anyone has an answer, come out and talk, I won't step down from this position.
Because it has to come from the inside of each of us, not just a few words, and it has to be revealed by our lives. So I hope that you respond inwardly and with your life.
However, all I can declare here right now is that we all want to live our lives with a heart in search of that hidden treasure. So we just want our lives to be joyful and vibrant, and we want this Church to be that vibrant.*