“’Have you understood all of this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’ When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.” (Matthew 13:51-53)
Jesus closes his parables with a check on our understanding. The crowd affirmed that they understood. Then, Jesus added a little word picture about someone who is trained in the Kingdom. Those shaped by the kingdom, he says, will possess valuable resources. Some of the resources are the old ways, tried and true. But, surprise: some of the treasures are new!
What does Jesus mean to communicate?
He is pointing to the change that the kingdom brings.
When change comes there are often two opposite reactions. One group, opposing and threatened by change, battles for the old. “There’s valuable stuff here,” they insist. “We can’t risk it for some vague promise in the future!” Another group counts all the old stuff as garbage. “Just get rid of it” they say. “There’s no value there. We have to scrap that old, outdated, irrelevant stuff and go with what’s new and innovative!”
Is Jesus saying that those who wish to follow as his apprentices in the world should steer way different than either of these options? What’s his teaching here?
- Ponder this reality: Nobody has such a deficit in their past that there is not some very valuable treasure that should be brought into the future.
- And, nobody has such a complete and sufficient past that they don’t need to be open to the newness of the future.
This is a time of radical change. Not all change is good. Neither is hanging on to the past only for the sake of tradition. It’s time for fresh expressions. The past is not all liability. The path Jesus points to is the kingdom. That’s what sorts out both the past and the future.
Jesus brings a new kingdom, filled with new possibilities. The new possibilities are made of treasures that are both old and new. Your life is that way, too.
Jesus closes his parables with a check on our understanding. The crowd affirmed that they understood. Then, Jesus added a little word picture about someone who is trained in the Kingdom. Those shaped by the kingdom, he says, will possess valuable resources. Some of the resources are the old ways, tried and true. But, surprise: some of the treasures are new!
What does Jesus mean to communicate?
He is pointing to the change that the kingdom brings.
When change comes there are often two opposite reactions. One group, opposing and threatened by change, battles for the old. “There’s valuable stuff here,” they insist. “We can’t risk it for some vague promise in the future!” Another group counts all the old stuff as garbage. “Just get rid of it” they say. “There’s no value there. We have to scrap that old, outdated, irrelevant stuff and go with what’s new and innovative!”
Is Jesus saying that those who wish to follow as his apprentices in the world should steer way different than either of these options? What’s his teaching here?
- Ponder this reality: Nobody has such a deficit in their past that there is not some very valuable treasure that should be brought into the future.
- And, nobody has such a complete and sufficient past that they don’t need to be open to the newness of the future.
I read a quote recently in Lovett Weems’ wonderful book on change entitled, Take the Next Step. Dr. Weems cites Rosabeth Moss Kanter in her work, The Change Masters: “Change is disturbing when it is done to us, exhilarating when it is done by us.” Wow. True!
I ask you: in your life can you assert your deepest value, your core belief and at the same time open your life to changes that God will bring? Such a stance is a necessity for those who are apprentices in the kingdom. The kingdom is both old and new. Are you like the master of the household? Can you bring resources both old and new to living?This is a time of radical change. Not all change is good. Neither is hanging on to the past only for the sake of tradition. It’s time for fresh expressions. The past is not all liability. The path Jesus points to is the kingdom. That’s what sorts out both the past and the future.
Jesus brings a new kingdom, filled with new possibilities. The new possibilities are made of treasures that are both old and new. Your life is that way, too.
God both loves you and calls you!
-- Rev. Richard Lancaster
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