Today’s reading is one of those moments in the gospel narrative that we often skip over because its meaning isn’t that obvious, and certainly not in the way that we are offered it today.
Normally yesterday’s reading and today’s are combined into one passage made up of three short parables. In that way, we are almost encouraged to focus on the images of the treasure and the pearl of great value, and gloss over the equally challenging words about the new and the old.
So many of us struggle with the idea of things that are new. During our months of lockdown, almost every aspect of our lives has had to be reinvented and viewed through a different lens. We have been forced into embracing the new.
As days pass, the challenge of the new grows stronger and increasingly irresistible. The country is opening up after four months of almost total inactivity, and yet much of what we see around is different, it is new.
Businesses and churches are now required to focus on their primary purpose. For the church, this means we must focus on prayer and worship. There is no room in the new way of things for any other sort of communal gathering, not even a post-worship cup of coffee.
For the moment, things are different, things are new.
Today’s reading can help us through the challenges and confusions of these days, if we will let it.
The new of which Jesus speaks is about himself. Jesus’ earthly ministry brought a new clarity and a new vision to our faith in God.
Over recent weeks, I have found myself constantly reflecting on the ways in which Jesus challenged the human constructs that had stifled lively and proactive faith in God – human constructs that impose so many unnecessary constraints on the way people live out their daily lives. Jesus’ teaching and signs of power show us that a life of faith can be so much more exciting than that.
But Jesus also taught the value of God-given law, of the words of the prophets, of those traditions that keep us focussed on God.
Jesus honours both the new and the old.
Yes, we are living through strange times. Yes, things look different, and things feel new. But we are being given the opportunity to refocus our lives on the prayer and worship, which should be the primary focus of every Christian life.
Let us rejoice and give thanks for that opportunity, and cling on to only that which enriches our prayer and worship, so that others may see and taste the joy of God’s love in their lives.