An occupational hazard of vocational ministry is that everything – Scripture, worship, conversations … life – is seen and experienced with an eye to using it in a sermon, bible study, class … or blog post! Clergy and ministry leaders are often so focused on how to convey lessons and insights to others, that we don’t take time to listen and learn and ponder them ourselves.
I remember an assignment in seminary to visit different churches on Sundays during the semester. We were the worst! We evaluated, critiqued, dismissed. We did not listen for God’s word or experience worship. We were too busy being “experts” and taking notes for our reflection paper. Or proving our worth and networking. We missed any opportunity of revelation. I worry those tendencies – and consequences – too often remain.
This spring, a TMC cohort of pastors met with Rev. Dr. Sam Wells, a Church of England priest who currently serves as Vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. When the group asked about his approach to preaching, he responded with as much of a posture and conviction as a technique. Wells described how he reads the text with curiosity, anticipation, and expectation, not that he will find a sermon, but that he will discover something that intrigues him – a thread to follow and enjoy. Any sermon comes after a faithful indulgent wandering and pondering of the text. Of course, this takes intention. And time. And faith. After decades of preaching, Wells (like many others) could pull out an old sermon on most texts that is ‘good enough’ for Sunday. Instead, he remains attentive, eager, and trusting that God has something new for him to discover, not only a word to/for his congregation.
Scripture is full of hidden treasure. Indeed it is hidden treasure. And it tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like hidden treasure. When we look for and/or discover it and start to dig, we find more and more and more. The result isn’t a good sermon, or lesson, or article. It is far better. It is joy.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
Matthew 13:44
In his book, Proclaiming the Parables: Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom of God, Tom Long names our temptation to explain the text rather than proclaim it. Moreover, before we proclaim the Scriptures – in this case parables – we must allow them to lead us, guide us, shape us, and change us. We experience them.
In exploring the parable of the hidden treasure in Matthew, Long invokes Proverbs 21:1:
My child, if you accept my words
and treasure up my commandments within you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding,
if you indeed cry out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures—
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
He writes, “here wisdom itself is the hidden treasure, a treasure that, when found, entails being drawn into the life and knowledge of God. That is the deepest joy.”
Scripture refuses to be reduced to good content for preaching and teaching. It is treasure – no longer fully hidden – that we hold in our hands. And God wants us – not only those we serve and pastor and lead – to enjoy all that it is, and all that it reveals, and all that it invites us into.
Questions for Reflection:
- When I engage Scripture, worship, or ministry experiences, am I primarily asking, “How can I use this?” or “What is God saying to me through this?” What might need to change in my approach?
- Recall a recent encounter with Scripture. Did I allow the text to surprise, challenge, or delight me, or did I quickly move to interpretation, application, or preparation for others? Why?
- What practices could help me cultivate greater curiosity, attentiveness, and joy in reading Scripture rather than approaching it merely as a ministry task?
- Where might God be inviting me to slow down, linger, and “search for hidden treasure” in Scripture or in my daily life this week?
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