Sermon - Advent Midweek 3 - 2022 - Matthew 13:44-52

Santa Lucia

The kingdom of heaven is the greatest treasure

1. St. Lucia gave everything for this treasure

2. Every other possession should be used in service to this one treasure

3. Christ spares no expense to buy us for heaven

In the early 4th century the last of the widespread persecutions of christians by the Roman government was taking place under emperor Diocletian. Among the many christians martyred for their faith, today we remember young St. Lucy, popularly known as Santa Lucia. Lucia was born to wealthy and noble christian parents, but at a young age her father died. Left with a significant dowry, she privately determined to remain a virgin, never get married, and thus bestow her large dowry upon the poor. Her mother, unaware of this, and in poor health, betrothed Lucia to a wealthy young pagan man.

In the meantime, Lucia and her mother continued praying for healing. God answered their prayers by healing Lucia’s mother. Now in better health Lucia convinced her mother to give away the large dowry to the poor. But when the pagan man to whom she was betrothed discovered that the dowry had been given away, and he wouldn’t get that fortune when marrying Lucia, he became furious. He reported Lucia to the government as a Christian, and she was arrested and executed. Santa Lucia was martyred at the age of 24 for regarding Christ as a greater treasure than all of her worldly riches.

Christians have for centuries now commemorated Santa Lucia and her willingness to forsake all earthly goods for Christ. Her commemoration became quite popular in northern Europe where the winter days are very short. The name Lucy means light. So the tradition arose that girls would dress up in white with a red sash, symbolizing martyrdom. Upon their heads was placed a crown of lighted candles in honor of Lucy’s name and a reminder that Christ is the light in this dark world. They’d carry in baked goods, traditionally saffron buns, in remembrance of Lucia’s generosity. 

Lucia’s life is a beautiful reminder of what Christ teaches us in the parables we heard today. “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. Again, 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.”

The kingdom of heaven is indeed a treasure of great value and it is worth more than anything else in this life! Santa Lucia was willing to forego a life of luxury and give away her treasures to the poor in thanksgiving to God. May we, like her, learn to see our worldly treasures as subservient to the true treasures of God’s kingdom. Like the men who sold all that they had to gain the treasure and the pearl, let us gladly lose our earthly treasures for the sake of that eternal treasure. Every other treasure we have must be used in service to this one heavenly treasure. 

I know it seems foolish to sell everything you have for the sake of one pearl or one treasure; it’s very risky to put all of your wealth in one investment. A good investment portfolio is diversified so that when one investment fails, you don’t lose everything. But in this instance, when the treasure is God’s kingdom, every other treasure pales in comparison to this truly lasting treasure. It would be utterly foolish not to forsake your earthly treasures in order to gain this one treasure. Every other treasure will fail you, but God’s kingdom will never fall apart. Every earthly treasure, given enough time, becomes nothing more than dust. But God’s kingdom is eternal and shall never turn to dust. Thus, like Lucia and the men in the parables, it only makes sense to use our treasures in service to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

God’s word and commandments are worth treasuring up in our hearts. They are to be sought like silver and hidden treasures. That’s what Solomon tells his son in the book of Proverbs. God’s Word is our treasure, our great heritage. We should expend more energy on treasuring up God’s Word than we would ever spend on acquiring earthly wealth. Consider all of the hours we work in order to have a nice home and fun toys. How much more should we work for the sake of acquiring the eternal kingdom of God! 

 Once we have these treasures of God’s Kingdom they are meant to be shared with others so that others may find the kingdom of God. “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Just as we are to be generous and charitable with our earthly treasures, so ought we to be generous with this heavenly treasure. The more you study the scriptures the more you will be able to give to each other.

Now, of course we could never give enough to buy God’s kingdom. Therefore it is Christ who ultimately fulfills these parables for us. So that we may receive the kingdom of heaven, Christ purchased us not with gold or silver, but with His own precious blood. Of ourselves we are not the most appealing treasures, we’re not worth spending everything in order to acquire. So it is only out of God’s great love for us, His creation, that He would sacrifice Himself in order to win us for heaven. Because Christ shed His blood for us we are valuable and God deems us a worthwhile treasure for Himself in paradise. 

So on this day when we remember Santa Lucia, let us be spurred on to generosity with our treasures, both heavenly and earthly. Let us lose our earthly wealth with joy for the sake of gaining God’s kingdom. Above all, may Lucia’s shed blood remind us of Jesus’ blood which has been poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. We christians are the richest people on earth, not by any worldly standard, but because God has given us His kingdom by giving us Himself. That is the most valuable treasure.