The Greatest Treasure on Earth

Author: Pastor Mike Gutzler

The narrative lectionary gives us an opportunity to watch how God builds the church on Earth one week at a time. Since Easter, we watched how God uses the Holy Spirit and the gift of Baptism to bestow grace, love and forgiveness to the faith community. In response to these amazing freely given gifts, the community responds in acts of generosity, healing, charity, worship and prayer. These responses become the hallmarks of the faith community.

This week we step away from the first church in Jerusalem and take a closer look at the missional and evangelical arm of the new faith movement. Paul, formally known as Saul, becomes the new model for the community on how God intends to spread the message of the Messiah to the world.

Paul would travel to different cities and set up shop as a tentmaker. On the Sabbath, he would travel to the local synagogue and teach about Jesus – the prophesied Messiah the Jewish community was expecting. Paul’s conversations and teachings in the shop as well at the synagogue gained traction and, eventually, he was able to form a small group of individuals and families who converted to Christianity and then met regularly.   

Paul’s new community and the movement away from more traditional religious practices, was starting to “turn the world upside down.” Paul’s new understanding of God’s love given to all people changed the way many considered the fundamental nature of God.  

Our text section for today is from a letter Paul wrote back to his new church community after he left. Evidently the faith community started to experience persecution, so Paul encouraged them to remind one another of the joy they experienced when they first heard of God’s love. He encouraged them to continue to share the story of God’s love with others. And finally he told his community to be reminded that God chose them. They were the ones entrusted with the greatest treasure on Earth.