Parable of the Hidden Treasure

thumb|The Parable of the Hidden Treasure, etching by Jan Luyken The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is a parable of Jesus which appears in the New Testament and illustrates the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven. It immediately precedes the parable of the pearl, which has a similar theme. Quotes about Bible 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. Gospel of Matthew 13:44 NIV. For the Lord established that children should respect their father; he confirmed the right of the mother over her children. Whoever honors his father atones for his sins; he who gives glory to his mother prepares a treasure for himself. Whoever honors his father will receive joy from his own children and will be heard when he prays. Whoever glorifies his father will have a long life. Whoever obeys the Lord gives comfort to his mother. He serves those who brought him to birth as he would serve the Lord. Honor your father in word and deed so that his blessing may come on you. For a father’s blessing secures the future of his children, but a mother’s curse destroys them at their roots. Do not rejoice at the humiliation of your father because his dishonor is no glory for you. For a man’s glory comes from his father’s reputation; a mother who is not respected is a disgrace to her children. My child, take care of your father in his old age, do not cause him sorrow as long as he lives. Even if he has lost his mind, have patience; do not be disrespectful to him while you are in full health. For kindness done to one’s father will never be forgotten, it will serve as reparation for your sins. In the day of adversity the Lord will remember it to your advantage; for just as ice melts in the heat, so will your sins melt away. The man who abandons his father is like a blasphemer; he who annoys his mother is cursed by the Lord. Sirach Chapter 3 : 2-15 Others It is necessary, therefore, to prove clearly that in the Early Church, at least, Christianity was no whit behind other great religions in possessing a hidden side, and that it guarded, as a priceless treasure, the secrets revealed only to a select few in its Mysteries. But ere doing this it will be well to consider the whole question of this hidden side of religions, and to see why such a side must exist if a religion is to be strong and stable; for thus its existence in Christianity will appear as a foregone conclusion, and the references to it in the writings of the Christian Fathers will appear simple and natural instead of surprising and unintelligible. As a historical fact, the existence of this esotericism is demonstrable; but it may also be shown that intellectually it is a necessity. Annie Besant, Esoteric Christianity: Or, The Lesser Mysteries (1914), Chapter I. The Hidden Side of Religions. The lowest of these three divisions is usually called the Causal Body, for a reason that will be only fully assimilable by those who have studied the teaching of Reincarnation —taught in the Early Church—and who understand that human evolution needs very many successive lives on earth, ere the germinal soul of the savage can become the perfected soul of the Christ, and then, becoming perfect as the Father in Heaven, can realise the union of the Son with the Father. It is a body that lasts from life to life, and in it all memory of the past is stored. From it come forth the causes that build up the lower bodies. It is the receptacle of human experience, the treasure-house in which all we gather in our lives is stored up, the seat of Conscience, the wielder of the Will. p. 240 Annie Besant, Esoteric Christianity: Or, The Lesser Mysteries (1914), Chapter VIII. Resurrection and Ascension If the field has a connection with human life – one's work, the fact of supporting oneself through what it produces – and can indeed be a metaphor for human life itself, then the treasure, the kingdom of heaven, is hidden in human life. But not primarily in the life of the individual, but in the life of the Lord. The Lord possesses the treasure, and the man who has discovered the Lord consecrates his life to the Lord, leaving everything, selling everything, in order to come close to him and to obtain the kingdom of heaven through him. But perhaps the field is also the Church, and one discovers that the truth of the Lord is hidden in the Church, and that one cannot reach the Lord in any other way than by entering the Church. Adrienne von Speyr, Le parabole del Signore (Gleichnisse des Herrn, 1966), translation into Italian by Giuseppe Reguzzoni, Jaca Book, Milano, 2008, p. 64. ISBN 978-88-16-30459-8. External links The Hidden Treasure Category:Parables of Jesus