Pearls of Great Price - weekly reflection 29th April 2024

 Reflection

A 10-year-old girl has discovered a "once-in-a-lifetime" ancient megalodon tooth on a UK beach.

 

The giant fossilised tooth was found by Elana on a visit to Bawdsey Beach in Suffolk with her family. After checking in with some scientists, Elana found out that the 10cm-long tooth was around 2 to 6 million-years-old and belonged to a gigantic prehistoric species of shark called megalodon. Megalodons were enormous fearsome predators who lived in warm oceans millions of years ago and could grow to be around 19 metres-long - that's three times bigger than a great white shark.

I don’t know if you saw this news article about this outstanding find by Elana. At St Oswald’s we have begun a new sermon series looking at Matthew Gospel and on Sunday last we had an introduction of the broad outline of Matthew's Gospel and then looked at two of Jesus’s short parables.

Matthew 13:44-46

“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.

In the first parable the man found a hidden treasure and the intimation is that this man wasn’t looking for it.  However, he recognised the value of what he had stumbled upon and with joy gave everything he had so that he could buy the field.  This reminds us of those who almost stumble upon the Good News and the Christian Faith. They are not seeking it or looking for it, but something presents itself and they have what we might call a light bulb moment. Indeed, they have seen the light.

 

In the second parable we have the same outcome but in this case the merchant is searching, and, in this instance, Jesus likens it to a merchant looking for fine pearls.  (Have you ever considered the actual reference and the knowledge of merchants looking for fine pearls)

 

In both cases everything is given so that the Kingdom of God can be embraced which seems to be the point Jesus is seeking to get across. In embracing the Kingdom there is a joy that is worth giving everything for.

 

St Paul knew something of giving up everything. The King James Version puts this graphically in Philippians 3.8.

 ‘… and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.’

And you?