"The Christmas Present of Great Price: Hope"
Knox, 28 November, 2010 © Scott McAndless
Lamentations 3:19-26, Matthew 13:45-46, Psalm 9:7-20, Romans 8:18-30
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them. The kingdom of heaven, he saith, is like unto a merchant man who was out doing his shopping for Christmas gifts. And, yea verily, he goeth even unto the shopping mall for he seeketh to find him a present that he might give even unto his brother-in-law. But, lo, he findeth nothing.
And after searching for many an hour and visiting every single store in the place, he cometh upon the very last little boutique. And he saith unto himself, “Well, it looks like this place is my very last hope. If I can’t find something for my dear brother-in-law here, then I’ll just have to give him a fruitcake again.” And so, in he goeth.
The shop that he has found – the very last shop hidden in a far corner of the mall on the far side of the janitor’s closet where no one would think to find anything important – has a small and simple sign affixed upon its door. The sign bears but one word. “Pearls,” it says. Inside, the place is a mess with bins and barrels stacked all about in great disorder. But an old man standing behind a small counter greets him warmly and asks him how he can help him.
And so the merchant man tells the vendor of his quest to find the perfect gift for his brother-in-law and how, among all of the wonderful merchandise to be found in the mall, he has found nothing that is just right. And he looks around at the clutter of the little shop and sighs, “But I suppose that you don’t have anything to help me here.” And he moves to leave.
But the old man holds up his hand to stop him. “Wait a moment, my friend. At least let me show you my merchandise. Perhaps there is something that will be just right.” He comes out from behind the counter and stoops to open one of the crates on the floor. As he slowly opens it, the merchant man suddenly gasps for inside he sees that the simple wooden crate is filled with beautiful pearls.
“Pretty nice, eh,” says the old man. “Lots of people really like these. For example, this one,” he says, picking up one of the larger, milky white balls, “is the pearl of great electronics. Looks really nice, doesn’t it. Of course, if you give this pearl to your brother-in-law, it’ll be obsolete before the end of the month – they’ll be another pearl of even greater electronics that has more memory and faster graphics that’ll make this thing look like a piece of junk in no time. But it’ll sure be impressive for a while.”
But the merchant man shakes his head. “It’s very nice,” he says. But somehow I couldn’t bear to give such a thing to my brother-in-law. It wouldn’t be right.” The old man turns back to his bins and barrels and one by one he pulls out bright balls of pearl. One is the pearl of great silk ties. Another is the pearl of great books. Another one has an expiry date on it and the old man explains that it is the pearl of great gift cards. The merchant man looks at them all with great interest. But then, each time, he softly shakes his head. Nothing is right. None of it is really any different from the merchandise he has found in the other shops in the mall.
Finally the old man closes the last of his bins and looks the merchant man directly in the eyes. “Maybe you had better tell me a little something about this brother-in-law of yours and then I might be able to show you the gift that he really needs. And so the merchant man begins to tell the story.
“Well, he married my sister about ten years ago. And you’ve never seen two people more in love or more devoted to each other. A few years later, the most beautiful daughter in the whole world came along, and then a fine son. They seemed to have everything. But then my sister got cancer. The battle was long and hard and it took almost every ounce of energy that the family had. And then they lost her in the end.” The merchant man pauses to wipe away a tear.
“My brother-in-law was as solid as a rock through it all. He loved his kids with everything that he had. Though sometimes I wondered if he gave them so much that he had nothing left for himself. And they all seemed to be on their way back to getting on an even keel until last year. He lost his job. The factory shut down and about 200 people were laid off. And he’s tried to find work – I know he has – but it seems like there really is nothing out there.
“And, it’s like he’s just given up. It’s not really about the money. They’re okay financially – at least for now. It is that he has finally lost all hope. I keep telling him that things will get better and I know that they will. But I look into his eyes and it’s like there’s nobody in there. Do you know what I mean? He says he doesn’t believe in God – that he doesn’t really believe in anything at all. And I fear so much for him and for his kids but it seems that there’s nothing in the world (or at least nothing in this mall) that I could give him this Christmas that could make a difference.”
The old man sits in silence for a while. “You’re right,” he says. “You’re absolutely right. None of these pearls is what you need. And you certainly won’t find anything in any other store in this Godforsaken mall.”
“Well, I guess I’ll be on my way then,” the merchant man sighs as he turns to go. “I’m sorry to have bothered you.
“No wait,” cries the pearl vendor. “I’ll be right back. And with a speed and a bounce in his step that seems to deny his great age, he disappears into the back room. The merchant man hears the sound of many boxes and bins being shifted. And when he peeks around the corner he sees a great cloud of dust rising about the man as he calls out “No one has been here looking for this in years, but I think it might be just the thing.” There is a great crash as one of the bins precariously balanced on top of another topples to the ground but the man hardly even seems to notice because he has found what he is looking for and he rushes back out.
In his hand is a dilapidated old tin box but he holds it out eagerly. “This?” laughs the merchant man, “it looks like it has been through wars and floods and earthquakes.” “Oh, it’s been through worse than that,” is the reply, “but look – look inside.” And so the merchant man opens it and immediately gasps for inside is the biggest, brightest, roundest and smoothest pearl that he has ever seen.
“You’ve heard of the Hope diamond?” asks the man, “well this is the hope pearl and it is a whole lot better. I think it is what you brother-in-law really needs. Do you know how a pearl is made?”
“Everybody knows that. A piece of sand or grit gets into an oyster’s shell and it starts to irritate the little mollusc. And it can’t get rid of it and so it starts to deposit this white stuff that its shell is made of around the grit to deal with the problem. Over time a beautiful pearl is created out of that problem that just wouldn’t go away.”
“Well,” says the old man who clearly knows more about pearls than anybody, “hope is kind of like that. It’s not really about the bad things that happen (or don’t happen) to you.It’s about what you do with the things that happen to you.
“They say that there was once a prophet in ancient Israel and he witnessed the most horrible events you could imagine. He saw the city that he lived in – the city of Jerusalem which was proud and strong and filled with thousands of people – attacked and destroyed by the armies of Babylon. He watched his friends and his neighbours as some of them were murdered in the street and most of the rest of them were gathered up and chained together and taken away to live and die as captive slaves in far off Babylon. He wandered around the rubble of that ruined city alone and bereft. Do you suppose that a man like that might understand something of what your brother-in-law is feeling?”
“I supposed he might,” allows the merchant man.
“Well, do you know what that man said? He stood there in the middle of the rubble and he said, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Now there was a man who understood hope. He knew that it wasn’t about what had happened to him or even what had happened to the people whom he loved. It was about who God was. And if he could have confidence in God’s love and compassion, then he could have hope. But if he didn’t have that, then there was nothing but despair no matter what happened.
“You tell me that your brother-in-law says that he doesn’t believe in God. I’m not so sure about that. Oh, he believes in God all right – believes in him too much, I’d say. Because the God that he believes in is a God that doesn’t have compassion – doesn’t care that these things have happened to him or to the people that he loves. That’s why he can’t see a way out of his despair.
“Oh, I know that he’s suffered a lot. And I know that he hasn’t seen very much of God’s compassion in his life lately. But the evidence of God’s compassion is still there. It is in the eyes of his children, in the memory of his wife, in the love of his brother-in-law. If he will only call to mind the great love of God, he can find it. And on this seemingly frail foundation, he can build the beginnings of hope that will see him through.”
The merchant man takes out his handkerchief and uses it to wipe his eyes that have been growing damp in the corners. “Yes, I think you’re right,” he says. “That is probably what he really needs. But how can I give him such a gift at this Christmas time? You say that this pearl is such a gift – and it is beautiful – but how can it give my brother-in-law the hope that he really needs. And at what price may it be purchased?”
“The pearl? You haven’t enough money in all your bank accounts and investments.” says the old man. “No price on the earth could possibly buy it anyways. But you can have it and you can give it to him if you dare to give what I ask. Will you pay its true price?”
“Tell me what it is,” cries the merchant man, “and I will pay it though I have to mortgage all my holdings and sell all my stocks.”
“Only one payment will do. You must give everything – all that you have. You must devote your possessions, your energy and your service to God. Only by doing so will you learn the true nature of God’s compassion as he gives back to you what you need most. When you understand that, you will be able to share God’s compassion with your brother in word, in prayer, in thought and in deed.
The merchant man hesitates for only a moment. “Give me this pearl of great value,” he whispers. “I will pay the price.”