Treasures

In thinking about Treasures--old and new, it occured to me that we can get so connected to the 'old treasures' and the 'way it's always been done', that we don't even want to look around for new treasures.


Old Treasures can still have something to offer us, though even when it seems like the 'old ways' have been pretty well worked over or nibbled to the ground. Old treasures may even sometimes feel like they are just a pile of old rocks, but if you look around, there is new growth on the edges.

New treasures can be frightening because they involve change--changes to our way of thinking and acting. New treasures can challenge us with new opportunities and growth, too. New treasures are exciting and unknown at the same time. They can be eagerly anticipated, yet be a little fear-filled.

We probably don't want to throw out the old treasures, just because they may be old. And we don't always need to embrace new treasures, just because they are new. But God may very well be calling us to try new ways or look at the old treasures in a new way. After all God is always challenging us to grow and that will mean changes!

I hope you've enjoyed this study and found some new insights along the way.
Check my website for other study opportunities.

Old and New

"Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treaure what is new and what is old." Matt. 13:52 (RSV)

This is the last of the series of parables in Matthew 13. It's in a different format from the others and is really directions from Jesus to his disciples and to us more than an actual parable.

Start out by reading the verse above. Sit quietly and think about the words.

Read it through again, if possible in a different translation, and let yourself live into the verse.

Where do you see yourself in the verse?

Are you the scribe? (The scribe Jesus would have referred to were the learned men of Israel who interpreted the Law of Moses)

Do you identify with the householder--in charge of an estate with family and perhaps servants? Maybe your estate is your job?

Did you find yourself as the treasure?

Are you an old and well used treasure or new and shiny and untried?

As we've done each time, read the citation again and think about what the verse is saying to you.

If you are the scribe--what legalities are you concerned about?

What tasks of the estate trouble you as householder?

Are there treasures (old or new) that can help ease the burden?

Treasures might be seen as our talents or friends or many other options. How do you identify your treasures?

Where do you find the treasures to aid your walk?

Did you identify with the treasure itself?

Can you find ways to keep yourself 'polished' and ready for use?

Think about everything you've meditated on. Start collecting things to make your thoughts concrete.

When you think about the lexio divino questions, is there anything you want to jot down or draw to help you remember your insights?

Gather the items that came to your mind for the page relating to this verse.

Be Creative with your page and have FUN! There is no such thing as a right answer or perfect page in this process.
Check back for a view of my "Old and New" page.

How's your Net?

The net is the object that stood out for me as I thought about this verse. You probably came up with some other focus and/or a different meditation about what the verse means to you.

I was reminded by this exercise that God, as fisherman, casts his nets far and wide. It is my job as a net to enclose the fish. The fish are, naturally, those I meet and interact with. If my net is in good repair, strong and tight, I am able to engage the fish and bring them to the Fisherman. When I am ragged or torn, the fish can slip through the net and be lost.

My new favorite verse is 2 Cor. 4:5 “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” It’s a good reminder that in all we do, we are ambassadors (servants/slaves) of our Lord and King. Just as the net is an extension of the reach of the fisherman, so we are an extension of God in the world.

“Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours,” says the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila. Because God entrusts each of us with the duty and honor of being the hands, feet, eyes and words of Christ, we need to keep our net in good repair.

It’s our responsibility to be the net that brings the fish to the feet of the Fisherman. It’s not our concern how the Fisherman deals with the fish once they are there. Our Matthew citation says that the good are kept and the bad thrown away, but thankfully, it’s up to God to determine which is which.

What condition is your net in?

Check back next week for the last parable in the series.

Net Full of Fish

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad." Matt. 13:47-48

On the surface, this parable talks about a net full of fish--good (edible) ones and bad (inedible or not kosher) fish. Fishermen on the Sea of Galilee used several methods of fishing. One was to toss out a circular net that had weights around the edge. A skilled fisherman would throw/cast the net so that it spread out flat on the surface and settled into the water. Then the net is pulled closed like a pouch and dragged to shore where the fish can be sorted.

Again, we'll follow the now familiar steps:

Start out by reading the verse above.

Sit quietly and think about the words.

Read it through again, if possible in a different translation.

Let yourself live in the verse.

Are you the fisherman?

Do you relate to the net cast on the water to gather the fish?

Maybe, you are one of the fish who is caught?

Read the citation again

As the fisherman are you happy with the catch?

As the net--do you feel new and strong or weak and torn and in need of repair?

As the fish--do you want to be saved or thrown back into the sea?

Now: sit down and think about your thoughts and meditations.

Gather the materials to create your page.
Are their images that come to mind?--quotes, clippings, cartoons, etc. you remember that might relate to those images?

When you think about the lexio divino questions, is there anything you want to jot down or draw to help you remember your insights?

Remember to Have Fun and Be Creative with your page(s).

There is no such thing as a right answer or perfect page in this process. If you want to share your comments on the process or any thoughts about the citation, feel free to do so below.

Check back next week for a view of my "Net of Fish" page and the next citation with new lexio divino questions.

Pearl Page

Meditating on this parable raised some interesting questions and few answers, for me.

I thought about the merchant who found the pearl. He was doing his job—pearl trading. His passion and business involved looking for the ‘best pearl’. Yet this one was something extra special—it was worth selling all he had to obtain it. The pearl awakened in him a passion that regular pearls did not.

Some people have identified their ‘pearls’—their passion! Perhaps it is teaching or singing, maybe it’s creating or inventing—but each of these people not only recognize their gifts, but they have acknowledged they are passionate about doing what they are called to do, with their talents. They know what it is that brings them satisfaction and they are willing to put all their energy and even money into that dream.

Others of us struggle with exactly where our passion lies. For my bird friends from this summer—passion is a freshly filled bird feeder that they line up to have a chance at. Perhaps we haven’t identified our Pearl because we haven’t found it...Be assured that God has given each of us a Pearl of Great Price—and the gifts and we need to accomplish our passion.

Passion can be family or work, it can be being a mom or painting houses. For some it is starting a ministry or going to a far-off place for a mission. There is no end to the possibilities.

I leave you with a question--What is your Pearl of Great Price?

Check back next week for the next parable in the series.

Pearl of Great Price

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matt. 13:45-46 RSV

This week we are looking at the second parable in the series--the one often called the Pearl of Great Price. One note--the lexio divino process may be a more than one 'session' so that can have time to think about the verse and questions. We will use the same procedure as last week:

Start out by reading the verse above. Sit quietly and think about the words.

Read it through again, if possible in a different translation, and let yourself live in the verse.

Are you the merchant, searching for the best pearls?
What motivates your search? Fame, Fortune, Collecting, Gifts, Something else...?Where do you look for your pearls? Do you go to distant markets or do you dive for them yourself?
Do you see yourself as the oyster?
Think about how pearls are formed--a grain of sand irritates the animal and in defense it builds the pearl.

Read the citation at least one more time (a third translation can be used, if desired) and think about:

What are the pearls in my life? Wisdom or Knowledge or Wealth or Possessions or Faith or ...?
Do I search for the finest of pearls in my life or do I settle for the second best?
Where do I look for pearls?
What pearls have formed in my life as a result of troubles or difficulties (irritations)?

Now it's time to sit down and think about your thoughts and meditations. Then gather the materials to create your page.

Are their images that come to mind relating to your insights?
Can you think of quotes, clippings, cartoons, etc. you remember that might relate to those images?
Do you have any postcards, notes, photos, stickers, etc. which remind you of this Bible verse, esp. your meditations related to the verse?
When you think about the lexio divino questions, is there anything you want to jot down or draw to help you remember your insights?

Remember to Have Fun and Be Creative with your page(s).

There is no such thing as a right answer or perfect page in this process.
If you want to share your comments on the process or any thoughts about the citation, feel free to do so below.

Check back next week for a view of my "Pearl of Great Price" page and the next citation with new lexio divino questions.

My Scrapbook page on the Field

In my scrapbook page about the first parable, I found myself focusing on the field itself.

The thought occured to me that perhaps the field was laying fallow (not being cultivated). In the same way, we sometimes are not working the 'field' of our hearts as fully as we could. We neglect the disciplines that help a crop grow. Things like prayer, study, worship, and fellowship that all help us grow closer to our Lord.

Within the fallow heart, there are still treasures. Like the man in the parable, we can sometimes find them when we aren't looking for them. At other times, we must actively search for our talents and the direction God wants us to follow in using them.























Each person's treasure is different. Whether it is the cartoon cat dragging in a monster, the pigeon seeking the treat in the bird feeder built for sparrows or the search for the perfect pumpkin--we all desire the best and should seek to use that in the service of the Kingdom.

What did you find in your meditations on the Field, the Man, or the Treasure?

Treasure in a Field

"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Matt. 13:44 (RSV).

In the lexio devino method of Scrapbooking as a Spiritual Aid, we start with a Bible verse. During this on-line study,we'll be looking at verses 44-52 of the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 13. This week, we will focus on what the verse above says to each of us.

Start out by reading the verse above. Sit quietly and think about the words.

Read it through again, if possible in a different translation, and let yourself live in the verse.

Are you the Man? the Field? the Treasure? Use these questions as a starting point for meditation. You may want to leave the exercise and return to it later in the day or week.

Are you the man who buys the field?
How do you feel when you find the treasure?
Why do I cover up the treasure?

OR

Do you see yourself as the field?
Are you lying fallow or growing a crop?
Where is the treasure buried?

OR

What kind of treasure are you?
What happens when you are found?
How do you react to being covered up again?

Read the citation at least one more time (a third translation can be used, if desired) and think about the questions below:

In your life have you found something like a treasure in the field?
How did you react?
What "treasure" would you sell everything you own to possess?

Have you ever felt like a fallow field with nothing to offer?
Is there hidden treasure beneath the soil?
Is it hard to see that you are filled with treasure (talents)?

Do you think of your talents as treasure?
Have you ever felt that your treasure/talents have been overlooked?
How can you uncover your treasure?

At this point, we come to the scrapbooking part of the exercise.

Think about everything you've meditated on. Start collecting things to make your thoughts concrete. (I've shared some of the images that came to my mind.)

Are their images that come to mind relating to your insights?
Can you think of quotes, clippings, cartoons, etc. you remember that might relate to those images?
Do you have any postcards, notes, photos, stickers, etc. which remind you of this Bible verse, esp. your meditations related to the verse?
When you think about the lexio divino questions, is there anything you want to jot down or draw to help you remember your insights?

Gather the items that came to your mind for the page relating to this verse. (Remember it doesn't have to be a fancy or special scrapbook. I'm using some left over paper from other projects and a small notebook.)

Be Creative with your page--or double page spread. Have FUN! There is no such thing as a right answer or perfect page in this process.

If you want to share your comments on the process or any thoughts about the citation, feel free to do so below.

Check back next week for a view of my "Treasures in a Field" page and the next citation with new lexio divino questions.