July 26, 2026 - The Joy of the Find

 

July 26, 2026

The Joy of the Find

 

Give credit to Gerhard Lohfink German Scholar-Show book
(the scholarly details are HIS)

 

You have probably noticed

We have been hearing a lot of parables

2 weeks ago…the Sower and the Seed

Last week…the wheat and the Weeds

And then we have 5 more today!

But in the Bible the heading reads “A day of parables”

Rapid-fire!

 

This definition of a parable from the Biblical Scholar CH Dodd has stood the test of time:

“A metaphor or a simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt of its precise application to tease it into active thought.”

 

So the job this morning is to “get teased into active thought”…active reflection.

 

Each of today’s parables deserves a homily of its own 

So I am going to focus on the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price which scholars call “an obvious double parable”

Why? Because read together they give a fuller picture…1+1=greater than 2;)

 

They are incredibly short…

It isn’t as if Jesus doesn’t know how to weave a good tale…

(think Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son) 

Each parable is ONE sentence. No word is wasted. It’s deliberate. 

There are details in common and details in contrast

 

Two people…each comes upon something extremely valuable and precious

Each one gives up everything

The first is a day-laborer who must work in a field that is not his own. 

(Though he will end up buying it.)

The other…we might call a wholesale merchant. 

The Greek word emporos is used (root of the word emperor) which indicates that he’s not just your average merchant…but a kind of a big-wig, he has connections!

The day-laborer literally STUMBLES over the treasure…pure chance!

But the merchant has made it his life’s work to search for costly pearls! 

In the TREASURE parable we are in the country…with the PEARL we are in the city. 

 

This all suggest…per Gerhard…and it sounds like Jesus:

That the KOG is open to the rich and the poor… 
Those looking for a day’s work and those with secure careers with future pensions!

By naming the extremes, we can add “and everyone in between1”

SO…EVERYONE

 

And the KOG can be found in different ways. 
Suddenly, Unexpectedly, by accident 
OR
After a life-long search

AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!

 

 

Most often, related to these parables…I have heard about how precious the KOG is

And how it is hidden…but in plain sight

Or how the only response is giving up everything…your whole life

 

And, for me anyway, I leave beating my breast…

It’s not that easy for me to see! 

And I haven’t given up everything! 

I really need to DO something about this!

Just not very fruitful

 

 

I think Gerhard’s insights lead to something more fruitful

How so?

 

The introduction is key

In each parable it DOES NOT say

“The KOG is like a hidden treasure PERIOD.” 

Or “a gigantic pearl PERIOD.”

The KOG is like…the whole…ONE sentence…story!

 

The KOG is a happening! 

The KOG has happened 

is happening 

and will happen

 

The WHOLE EVENT is equated with the KOG!

From the lucky find

Through

The selling of everything

To the huge deals they both make in the end

 

BUT IT IS THE JOY OF THE FIND THAT STARTS EVERYTHING IN MOTION

AND HERE IS WHERE I AM TEASED INTO ACTIVE REFLECTION!

 

The joy of the find

What experience do I have of “the joy of the find”

An experience of the presence of God that takes over me?

An astonishing experience of not being alone

An experience that reminds me that God is relentlessly begging to accompany me through this life.

 

Times of obvious joy come to mind

The birth of a new baby. 

The exchange of promises on a wedding day

I think of accompanying my dad as he approached his death

 

And just this week

An old friend I talk to maybe once a year

called me Monday in great distress over a daughter, 

who, for years has struggled with addiction. 

She was asking for prayer

 

Then I checked in with her on Thursday 

and she shared what I would name as a “joy of the find” experience.”

She has for many years been a committed ALANON person. 

(Does everyone know what ALANON is? Briefly describe))
She attends meetings several times a week. 

And in the midst of these folks

…her community…these friends who have been accompanying her for years…

she found great peace. 

She felt profoundly NOT ALONE
She experienced the KOG/the joy of the find

 

(Reminds me of the saying: “Joy is not the absence of suffering but the presence of God”)

 

What trips me up? What makes this so hard?

 

I can ignore

I can become caught up in distractions

I can whine and complain

But even then…
from time to time

I, like my friend, experience the “joy of the find”

 

Over and over again 

Because, my friends,

the Good News is that God is relentless!

God relentlessly desires to accompany us through this life!

 

Being seized by the KOG and overcome by the “joy of the find”

Is not something far off…something coming in the future

 

The KOG is happening! 

It is here

Today

 

Now I have a week on you

In this business of 

“being teased into active thought/reflection”

 

(SLOW DOWN)

SO…

What has it been like for you to experience the “joy of the find”?
Try to draw out those remembrances

Which I think helps train us to be open to new ones

 

And maybe all of us will have a few more “joy of the find” experiences this week!

May it be so!