44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and reburied; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Reflection
Initially this seemed like a very disjointed scripture lesson, but after some thought and prayer, and reading the previous devotions, the theme seemed more clear to me. I think about how often pictures pop up in my memories on my phone and how they make me feel. Sometimes they make me feel very happy and sometimes really sad. Maybe someone in a photo has died or maybe I don’t have the same relationship with them. Maybe it is just time passing too quickly. Probably more frequently than people would like, I share a photo of a fun time we had together.
This scripture reminds us how precious the Kingdom of God is and how we should share it with others. We don’t always understand all of the stories, but that is why we study and meet with others to discuss them. Sometimes we are quick to say we understand something like the disciples did. Is that because we don’t want to appear to ourselves or others that we have some work to do in our own faith journey? We are not supposed to have all of the answers, but we are meant to share our faith. We are the scribes of our time, recording acts of God in our lives and sharing them with others. Will we always be on the same page about what a scripture means to us? Probably not – think about our photos – someone might (and frequently does) say, “I hate that picture” because they are making a weird face or something is just out of place, but I may love it. The point is that we need to share. Sometimes it is just a matter of remembering someone at a certain time. They may just need to hear from us because they are having a bad day etc. We may not even know that, but if we take the time to share, it could make all the difference to them.. God gives us the gift of memory- good and bad so we can build on those in our own lives and share those with others. The way to learn and grow and to nurture our joy is to share it with others. As I write this I am in the Outer Banks with my daughter’s family at our sister’s house taking new photos to share and to treasure!
by Janet Waryck
For Pondering & Prayer
When was the last time you called, texted, or sent a photo or card to a friend to just say “hi, I’ve been thinking about you”? What can we do to share our faith and our joy with someone today?
Prayer: God of joy and memories, please show us how and who we can share with today to help bring your story in us to life with someone else. Help us to notice those opportunities when you present them. Amen.
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