Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
1st Reading: 1 Kings
3:5-12
2nd
Reading: Romans 8:26-39
We’ve got here 6 little parables
about the Kingdom of God. How about you,
do you understand all this? We’d love to
say, yes, wouldn’t we? But even the
disciples, who say yes, in the next chapter express a lack of understanding at
the feeding of the 5000. “You expect us
to feed all these people, with 5 loaves and 2 fishes? That’s not possible!” And of course Jesus shows us that the Kingdom
of God is beyond all our expectations, and that it is about this world, not
something we have to die to experience.
All the readings for today are
about what is worth pursuing, what has value and worth? How do we know assess whether something is
trash or treasure, worth our time and energy or not?
In the Old Testament reading King Solomon basically gets the question
we’ve all spent time considering—if you had one wish, what would it be. What’s it going to be—money, long life, dead
enemies? You can just see God waiting
for one of the expected answers. But
Solomon asks for a discerning mind—the gift that keeps on giving. Solomon sees what a gift it was that his
father David was in relationship with God.
He seems unaware of some of his father's shortcomings, but God seems to
have forgotten them, too. All humans
will have weaknesses and sins, but the important thing is that David stayed in
relationship with God. That was a gift
that he valued and kept coming back to as a source of comfort and in
decision-making.
In the reading from Romans, Paul admits we don’t know what to pray for or
how to ask for it. We don’t know what to
value or what the Kingdom of God looks like or how to build it. However, thankfully we have in the Holy
Spirit a translator, who communicates for us what we really need. We think we know what has power in our lives:
hardship, disress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, violence, and
death. However, this letter reminds us
that there is a stronger force, God’s love that is worth pursuing, seeking and
sharing with others, that is more valuable, lasting, and powerful than anything
else.
Then we come to these little parables, to find out what the Kingdom of
God is all about, what is important and valuable in our lives, what is worth
leaving everything else to pursue. This
question of what matters and what is worth our time and energy made me think of
what God invests in, and whether that can tell us something. I think it can.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. God brings weeds into the fields of our
lives, disrupting the orderly rows to provide homes for the smallest, most
helpless of creatures, bringing them comfort.
The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast.
It is like a bacteria infesting us so we won’t be so dense!
The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Who hides treasure in a field and then goes
and buys it? However, we are God’s
creation, and he set us free, let us go, and then sent Jesus to pay the price
to bring us home. This is the one that
makes the most sense to me, with God in the active role.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for a fine pearl. Jesus gave up everything, even his life to
purchase our salvation. We want to be
humble and not compare ourselves to fine jewels, however, maybe it isn’t
humankind only that he came to redeem or purchase, but the balance and
wholeness of all creation working together as God intended. Maybe that’s the pearl.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a net.
Yes, all is collected. God sorts
out from each one of us, what is worth keeping and what can be thrown out.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a scribe who treasures what is new and what
is old. God values the relationship that
has been going on for a long time as well as doing a new thing among us.
The Kingdom is God’s work, however it is coming near to us. We want to be able to see it when it comes
close to us because it both encourages us going forward and it corrects us
whenever we are in the way of God’s work.
And we want to be aware of the Kingdom because we want to help build it
where we can, because it is valuable and satisfying not just for us, but all
Creation.
Part of participating in the building of the kingdom is to take up our
cross and follow Jesus, making a choice of what to let go of and what to take
up going forward.
We get to let go of our neat little rows and trying to have everything
organized, and allow for some rapid and disruptive growth for the sake of the
little ones. We get to allow weeds in
our garden, squirrels in our birdhouses, children making noises in our worship
space, and outdoor worship to disrupt what we’ve come to expect, so that God
can show us something new, so that God can speak to us and transform us.
We get to let go of our favorite recipes and control over every process,
because the Kingdom brings surprises, like yeast. We have to let go of our expectations that we
will be seen and recognized and be willing to work quietly behind the scenes, a
little bit going a long way in our volunteer work and faith life.
We get to let go of our possessions, our comforts, our usual way of doing
things, in pursuit of God’s way.
We get to let go of whatever those bad fish are that end up in our lives,
things that weigh down our nets, distract us, tempt us, and let God throw them
in the furnace. If we burn them up
instead of throwing them back, when we haul in our nets the next time, those
same fish won’t be in there again!
We get to let go of our either/or thinking that it is either the old or
the new that is better, and embrace the big picture, knowing that the old has
something to teach us, and God is bringing new life through the new story of
Jesus.
Jesus came to show us what really has value, so that we can invest
wisely. God coming among us shows that
we who have been destructive and harmful, who have been defiant and rebellious,
are worthwhile to God to pursue. These
parables of the Kingdom of heaven, help us turn our focus from our selfish
pursuits, to what is good for all. In
giving us a little orientation to the Kingdom, Jesus is showing us that we are
part of something greater, and only when we let go of our own importance and
hoarding, and take our place in the whole, will the Kingdom come for all
Creation.
One example I read this week compared this world to a system of trains
going many different directions. But we
have to decide which train to board.
Some trains are shiny and bright.
Some offer first-class amenities, but they go nowhere. Some offer destinations like beauty and money
and fame, but are lonely. And some offer
meaning and purpose and love, but the cost of the fare is giving up your
comforts and possessions and riding with some people who might not smell so
good or speak good English, some might be loud or tell inappropriate stories,
they might sit too close, or spit on the floor or have tattoos or have baggy
saggy pants. I’m convinced there are birds
and mice on this train and abandoned, abused pets. You’re bound to encounter whatever and
whoever you don’t expect. Congratulations!
You’ve boarded the train to the Kingdom of heaven. This is the train that Jesus took, and Martin
Luther King Jr., and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and even Dick Morris. But the destination is worth everything—it
means connection, it means balance, it means abundant life, and it is eternal
relationship, not just for us or a select few, but God’s beloved, messy,
hungry, tired, disruptive friends.
So here are a few more parables for you.
I hope you’ll be thinking of your own.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a human chain that suddenly forms among
strangers to save a family swept out by a riptide.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a little bit of tint in a pane of glass
that changes a gloomy room into one that is bright and warm.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a transgender son or daughter who comes out
to friends and family and teaches them even more about what love is.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a kid on a long train ride that gets
everyone to look up from their mobile devices and smile.
The Kingdom of heaven is like a small congregation that leaves the
comfort of its four walls and ventures out to be transformed by the world and
have new experiences of the Divine.
The Kingdom of heaven is all around us and it isn’t what we’d
expect. Look for it in the smallest
places, the most unlikely people, the worst of days, and you’ll see it. Set aside the things you normally value, and
work with those you are most uncomfortable with and let them teach you to build
up the Kingdom. The Kingdom has come
near. It is here! And it won’t let us stay the same! God’s Kingdom is transforming us. It is giving us new life. We may struggle and fight, but God won’t let
us go, because we are of value to God as part of the vision God has when all
will be gathered together in peace and love.
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