A Homily given by Fr. Ben Jones; Curate,
St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;
on the Feast of St. Anne, Mother of the B.V.M.; A.D. 2009.
“Chosen of God”
+ In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Ghost, Amen.
St. Matthew 13:44. “Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”
Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Very little is known of St. Anne, but what we do know is from apocryphal literature. Her husband, Joachim went to the temple on a feast day in order to present a sacrifice. Joachim was turned away under the pretext that men without offspring were unworthy to offer sacrifice. He turned into the mountains to pray to God that he and his wife may be fruitful and multiply. When Hannah, the Hebrew for Anne, learned the reason of the prolonged absence of her husband, she prayed to God unceasing that He would bless her by taking away from her the curse of sterility, and promised God that she would dedicate her child to the service of God. Their prayers were heard. “And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, saying: Anna, Anna, the Lord heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world. And Anna said: As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life. And behold, two angels came, saying to her: Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks. For an angel of the Lord went down to him, saying: Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down hence: for, behold, your wife Anna shall conceive.”1
The gospel lesson appointed is a great fit for the Feast of St. Anne because we see the importance of making the decision to offer all that we have and all of our being to God. We heard a collection of three parables this morning. We are used to having one parable, followed by Jesus’ detailed interpretation. There is no interpretation of these parables. Following the parables, Jesus addresses the disciples, “And Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yea Lord.”2 Let’s take a different approach to this group of parables just as if we were considering one parable.
The parables of the “Hidden Treasure” and “The Pearl of Great Price” point to the value or the significance of the Kingdom of Heaven. The importance of this value or significance of the Kingdom of Heaven is that we should sacrifice our all to be partakers in God’s Kingdom. The focus of these two parables is on the present and not the future, and as well on the actions of believers and not unbelievers. Other parables required one to listen, to hear the message Jesus was teaching. Again, we have a new twist. We are now being required to act on the teachings of Jesus. Here is the lesson Jesus was teaching. By these two parables we see how “wholeheartedly” men react to the discovery of earthly treasure. Jesus wants us to grasp in our hearts how much more we should act at the prospect of being a part of the heavenly treasure of God’s Kingdom, while at the same time, being the treasured of God because of our belief and faith in His Son. “And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”3 We belong to the Father as well as the Son.
The parable of the dragnet is very similar to the parable of the wheat and the tares which gives us a glimpse of the “Last Judgment”. We all have the same equal call of God to be included in His Kingdom, all of us; every single one of us. “Again the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind.”4 We now understand the reward and the consequences in the importance of not delaying the action or the response regarding our belief and faith in Jesus Christ. We now see by the sorting of the fish where the good were placed into a vessel to keep and the bad ones were cast out, that we will be held accountable for our responses and our actions to our call to be the “CHOSEN OF GOD”.
“So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. And there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”5
As mentioned earlier, Jesus gave no interpretation of these parables. Instead He asked the Disciples, “Have ye understood all these things?”6 Their answer was a decisive “Yea, Lord”7. With this answer, Jesus gives the Disciples an explanation of their ministry. “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”8 The Greek for the phrase, “instructed unto the kingdom”, is more accurately translated as, “has become a disciple of the kingdom”. Since this statement by Jesus immediately follows His asking the Disciples if they understood the lessons of these parables, it implies that the disciples will become teachers, and will share with others the treasurers they have received from Jesus Christ. The Disciples are now responsible for showing that the salvation that was preached in the old redemptive prophecy that would point to Christ is now available to us through the redemptive work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. By His sacrifice for us, not only has Jesus broken the bonds of the Jewish law and tradition as taught in the Torah, He has opened the way to His Father’s kingdom. “As thou hast given power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given Him.”9 Eternal life results in a true knowledge of both God and Jesus Christ.
Here is the key. Would we respond to Jesus’ question in a resounding “YES”? And by our answer of “YES”, do we accept His call to be His disciple and to share His treasure with others? This is not a pick one option, only one option choice. We were told these parables required “action”. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”10 What we possess as our knowledge of the kingdom of God is the greatest nugget of knowledge known to man. We receive a glimpse of this knowledge of the kingdom of heaven each and every time we receive the spiritual food of the most precious body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We choose to be a disciple of Christ, because God chose us first.
AMEN.
+
“AND NOW UNTO GOD THE FATHER,
GOD THE SON,
AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST;
BE ASCRIBED ALL MIGHT,
MAJESTY, POWER,
AND DOMINION,
MOST JUSTLY DUE THIS DAY,
BOTH NOW, AND FOREVER,
WORLD WITHOUT END,
AMEN.
1 The Protoevangelium of James, 4.
2 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 13:51.
3 The Gospel according to St. John 17:10.
4 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 13.47.
5 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 13:50.
6 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 13:51.
7 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 13:51.
8 The Gospel according to St. Matthew 13:52.
9 The Gospel according to St. John 17:2.
10 The Epistle General of St. James 1:22.