Text: Saint Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

It has been said that one of the best tests of your religious fervor is to find yourself in Church with only a fifty dollar bill in your wallet.

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus announces the ultimate test of one's status as a Religious Person …

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in Heaven … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Luke 12:32-34).

It is so hard at times to find words to describe the deep experience of our own common humanity. For example, who among us could ever find words to describe life's greatest treasure: the experience of Jesus Christ coming into your heart - the experience of the Loving Presence of God in Jesus Christ.

The foundation of our faith, the foundation of our true religion, the foundation of our genuine religious experience, is what the Old Testament called "the steadfast Love of God," and what the New Testament calls the "Grace" of God. This means that whatever else we may think or feel about God, whatever our theological hang-ups may be, the essence of our Faith is that God is ultimately for you, at the deepest level of your being, you will never again be the same.

Treasure that reality in your deepest heart and your life will be transformed. This is why the Apostle Paul started all of his letters with the words, "Grace to you from God the Father." This is what he wanted his converts to hear first, because it is central to the faith.

It is by the Grace of God that He has come to us in Jesus Christ, and identifies with us, and shows us what life is all about. It is by the Grace of God, the Goodness of God, that He has come to us as the Holy Spirit, welling up within us as a Living Presence.

In our coming together to celebrate this basic reality of our religious experience, it is important for us not only to hear these words again, but also to ponder them reverently and gratefully and treasure them in our hearts.

It is important for us to ask ourselves, "Are we standing tall on this foundation stone of our faith, or are we slipping and sliding on the shifting sands of other priorities?"

If our lives are based on the shifting sands of money and possessions, and passing pleasures, we're in for a terrible letdown.

Let me hold lightly Things of the earth.
Transient Treasures What are they worth?
Let me hold lightly Things that are mine.
Lord, let me hold tightly All that is Thine!

A successful businessman who was looking for some answers in his life, decided to spend some time reading the Bible. After he had read the Scriptures through, from cover-to-cover, he wrote these words …

"It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. From beginning to end there is one theme, and I felt it carrying me along, like I was riding a wave. It is the Goodness of God that the Scripture writers are telling us about, from cover-to-cover. It is the reality of who God is and how He acts and what He is doing in His Goodness. This is the theme all the way through, and it has changed my life completely."

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Good News about God, and so we have come to Worship, and so we have come to celebrate.

For why? The Lord, our God is good. (Hymn 245 LBW)

His Mercy is forever sure.
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age-to-age endure.

In today's Gospel Reading Jesus speaks a parable in which He says, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

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 13:44-46).

In Jesus' time, people buried their treasurers in fields and gardens to protect them from thieves and accidental loss. This parable teaches the immense value of the Gospels, and that one who discovers that value will give up everything else in order to possess the privileges and hopes of God's Kingdom.

In Jesus' time pearls were esteemed as the most valuable of gems. One having discovered a pearl of great price, was willing to invest everything he had in this pearl of surpassing beauty and worth. Again, Jesus is alluding to the priceless value of His Gospel Truth which one would embrace at any cost in order to possess the privileges and hopes of God's Kingdom.

In the early part of World War II, when it seemed that England was about to be invaded, Winston Churchill rallied the people with these words: "We shall fight them on the beaches, we shall fight them in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight them in the hills." When asked to comment on these words, one High School Student said, "It sounds just like our family vacations."

Here we are now in the middle of our family vacation season. And it is useful to remind ourselves that there is much to be said in favor of rest and relaxation. Indeed, when we take time out for rest and relaxation we are being very Biblical, very Godlike.

We read in the Book of Genesis' story of creation that after creating the world in six days, God took a day off, so to speak, and "He rested on the seventh day" (Genesis 2:2).

The Book of Genesis tells us also that we are made in God's image. Consequently, when we read in the creation story that God opted to take a rest, on the seventh day, we can be sure that we too need our time of rest - our vacation time.

From time-to-time our sagging spirits, our spinning heads, our aching hearts and our tired bones all need to be refreshed, relaxed and renewed. And whatever else they do for us, our times of getting away from it all are our golden opportunities to take stock of our life. "Am I really being the person God wants me to be? Am I really doing what God wants me to do? Am I really doing all I can to make Christ visible in me? In other words, "Am I really treasuring that which God wants me to treasure?

The Kingdom of God - the treasure in the field and the Pearl of Great Price - is at hand. Now is the time to get it all together under God's rule …

• Your physical and emotional well being
• Your relationships
• Your concern for the need of brothers and sisters, wherever you find them
• Your daily work

It's all there to take on new meaning in life, because God rules over you now. This is what makes life exciting and beautiful. This is why we gather together to share our abiding hope of drawing ever closer to the Glory of our Loving, Gracious, Merciful God - our treasure in the field, our Pearl of great price.

Lord, Let me hold tightly, All That is Thine!

Thanks be to God!!!!!

Amen!!!