Image credit: Ryan Hopkins, “Chesapeake Oyster I”

In our OT reading, God sounds a little like the Genie from an old lamp, saying to Solomon, “ask what I should give you”. Solomon didn’t ask for riches, luck, or power, but only always to know the difference between good and evil. To me, it seems that he was wise enough already to even ask for such a thing! He knew that if he strove for wisdom, people would follow him, and riches would come. But do you remember another story in which people also pursued “the knowledge of good and evil,” yet it ended in disaster? 

Yes, the Garden episode. It describes our fundamental temptation to take a shortcut towards wisdom “behind God’s” back, hoping for instant success, maturity, and independence. Adam and Eve presumed that they could become “like God” overnight, but tragically, the only thing that they gained instantly was shame. Shame tells us how little we know, and how unworthy we are. Wisdom tells us how much we are yet to learn, and what great potential we have. And discernment means calling on God to help us sort through thoughts, feelings, and impulses, and reject those that stand in the way of becoming who we are meant to be. It’s like today’s parable about sifting through a net full of fish, and discarding those that smell a bit off, or are too small, or poisonous. 

I believe that the knowledge of good and evil is something that God absolutely desires us to have. Adam and Eve’s problem was that they sought it impatiently and on their own. Solomon’s wisdom had come from God even before he asked for it, but it took him a lifetime to recognize this. God gives us reason and compassion, the ability to love and from attachment, the desire for meaning, connection, and belonging. These are gifts. We can’t create them; nor could we make seeds, pearls, fish, or sourdough starters out of thin air. Those are all gifts from nature – small and hidden; gathered, cultivated and used to make beautiful things. That’s partly what building the Kingdom of God means: applying natural gifts over the lifetime and eternity, with God’s help and by our effort. Much more effort than simply plucking the proverbial apple off a tree, and taking a bite!

And sorting through a stinky net full of fish may be both hard and tedious. So is training, practicing, and studying. Ask any kid if they are looking forward to September, or any athlete if they delight in every workout, or Ed if he really enjoys every single practice with the ballet. There’s no magic pill! Maybe that’s why in Jesus’ parables there are no talking animals or fantasy elements – quite in contrast to the Greek fables, which is another popular vehicle for teaching moral lessons. No, in the gospels, there are only simple, everyday scenes: baking bread, knocking on doors, looking for lost items, roadside mugging, fishing, agriculture, commerce. Or consider today’s Ps 119, which opens with, “oh how I love the Law!”… and then repeats this over 176 verses! Really? The longest psalm of all, and yet there’s no drama, pain, anger, or delight as in all other psalms. Yet, some Orthodox monks read Ps 119 at every Midnight Office. Imagine getting out of bed after a couple of hours of sleep, filing into an unheated chapel, and chanting all 176 verses about the goodness of the scripture… night after night!

Now, the parables do employ some humor and exaggeration to create a bit of fun and discourage simplistic interpretations: a mustard plant can’t support birds and its seed is quite large, and nobody trades in pearls only or builds “non-diversified portfolios”. And Ps 119 may be boring, but at least it’s a clever acrostic. Its 22 sections follow the Hebrew alphabet in that each of the 8 verses of every section starts with the same letter. So in section 1, all verses begin with aleph; and in section 22 – with tau; and all other letters in order are in between. This may not be enough to make it super fun, but I  imagine ancient Israelites using it to teach their kids the alphabet – like we use the ABC song with ours – and imparting on them moral and academic literacy at the same time.

What do you think about teaching, learning, and worship? Should church be fun? Should it be more like a concert or lecture, dining room or classroom, or completely different from anything else we ever do? Should we challenge the stereotype that faith-oriented life that follows God’s “rules” is boring? How do we overcome tediousness in our prayers – must we? There are no easy answers or immediate fixes; only a couple of millennia of traditions that we are making our own. And maybe, much of prayer and worship, and growth is just like life itself, or like long-term love. A lot of the time it is ordinary, plain, and possibly unexciting, but that is exactly what gives wisdom and genuine connection the best chance to grow. For any kind of quality physical, emotional, or skill training is always a lot of work. Overcoming anxiety, trauma, and temperament takes time. But the Good News is that God designed us for the job, gave us the materials, tools, and instruction to make it happen, wired us to seek help from others, and continues to supply a daily dose of grace to see us through. Thanks be to God.

Discussion Questions: let’s work with the parable of the Pearl of Great Price through the following questions.

1. What is the Kingdom of God? Is it metaphysical? That renewed, perfected, eternal world, which will replace the current material, imperfect world at the end of all time, but the glimpses of which we already see and co-create with God? Or is the concept of God’s Kingdom more practical and applicable to each individual life here and now, such as in the quest for the meaning of life, faith, belonging, communion with God and others, relationships, eternal life, peace that passes all understanding… all of the above? What is it to you?
2. The traditional view of the parable of “the pearl of great value” is that the merchant is every one of us; that is, one who deliberately looks for the Kingdom of God, then finds it, and realizes that s/he has to give up the old way of life in order to participate in the new way of living (i.e., “enter” the Kingdom). Based on your answer to 1), what would/did you have to give up to attain “the pearl” according to this interpretation?
3. Now consider some alternative interpretation(s). Perhaps, the merchant who finds the pearl is Jesus. The church is the pearl, one body composed of those he has sought out through the ages; or perhaps, the pearl is simply each human being. What’s important is that the pearl is not stumbled upon accidentally, but sought out specially. How does this make you feel? What does it mean then, that the merchant aka Jesus had to give up everything to pay for the pearl? Or, could Christ be the oyster who has enveloped the pain of this world with the substance made out of his being, in the process creating something beautiful and perfect, and quite priceless, out of it. Which interpretation is best for you?
4. Finally, consider the context in which this rapid fire of parables occurs in Matthew. Why might they be grouped like this, and how do they enhance the meaning of each other?