This week's sermon...
We have spent the last two weeks in Matthew chapter 13. This week we return there one more time. Jesus is in Capernaum, a city on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. If you remember a couple of weeks ago, we read that Jesus came out of a house and there was a huge crowd gathered to hear him teach. There were so many that Jesus climbed into a boat and taught from the water while the crowds stayed on the shore. This week’s passage takes place partially during that teaching and partially after Jesus and his disciples went back into the house.
So far our readings from
Matthew 13 have been parables: The Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Weeds & Wheat. Those parables were sort of long and elaborate. Today Jesus continues teaching with parables. Today’s reading contains 6 parables. Two are given to the gathered crowd, the rest are told only to the disciples after they have left the crowds.
So here we have 5 rapid-fire parables, 5 parables about the ‘kingdom of heaven’ or the ‘kingdom of God.’ Each of them starts with “the kingdom of Heaven is like…” Here Jesus gives us a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. And that’s good, because each week, we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.” What exactly are we asking for?
Let’s look at Jesus’ description of the Kingdom of Heaven.
First Jesus compares the kingdom to a mustard seed. It starts small. Very small. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? It’s about the size of a flea. From that tiny seed, Jesus tells us, grows ‘the greatest of the shrubs’.
Let me stop there for a moment. In Jesus time a mustard plant was generally viewed as a weed. This is particularly interesting given the parable Jesus told just before this one about weeds sown among the wheat. Here, Jesus compares the kingdom to a weed? Jesus likes to use the unexpected to make his point. He’ll continue this theme.
But Jesus compares the Kingdom to a tiny mustard seed growing into a tree where birds can nest. In other words, even if the kingdom has a humble beginning, it can grow into something signifigant. Or great things can come from humble beginnings.
I don’t know how many of you know the history of Walmart. What is now the world’s largest retailer came from humble beginnings. Sam Walton began his retail work at JC Penny. In 1950, he bought a storefront in Bentonville, AR and opened Walton’s 5 & 10. 10 years later Walton had 10 stores throughout Arkansas. In 1962, Walton opened the first Wal-Mart discount store in Rogers, AR. Within 10 years the company went public. By 1979 Wal-Mart had 276 stores and topped $1 billion in sales. Today Walmart operates more than 9000 stores worldwide. Last year Walmart saw revenues of $422 billion. From the humble beginning of one small 5 & 10 sprouted the largest retailer in the world.
Think about the beginnings of the Christian church. We talked about this a few weeks ago. According to Acts, there were 120 followers of Christ just after his death. That is quite a humble beginning. From those 120 the Christian faith today includes over 2 billion followers of Christ, not to mention billions of saints who have passed away.
The kingdom of heaven is also like yeast that a woman works into some dough. A couple of things to clarify. The yeast referred to here is not the prepackaged “Dry Active Yeast” we know today. It is more accurately referred to as leavening. It was a piece of dough from a previous loaf of bread. This piece was torn off before baking and set aside. It was left there to rot. To ferment. That leavening would then be added to the next batch of bread the baker made. The leavening would then work through the dough to leaven the new batch. The baker would tear off a piece of that loaf and save it for the next time.
It was not unusual to use leavening as a metaphor in Jesus time. But, just like the mustard plant, it was not typically a positive symbol. It was usually used to symbolize corruption and impurity. Here it is used to symbolize the spread of God’s kingdom throughout the world. Again, quite an unexpected image to equate to the kingdom of heaven.
The woman mixes the yeast with 3 measures of flour. This would make enough bread to feed 100 people.
Again, just as with the mustard seed, we have something small making a huge impact. A tiny seed grows into a tree where birds can nest. A small amount of yeast leavens enough bread to feed 100 people. Great things from humble beginnings.
What does that mean for Mt. Moriah? Well, I think it is a promise that great things can come from small numbers. Which leads me to ask, what great things? Or what do you consider to be great? Is it simply the number of people in church on Sunday morning? Is it the number of names listed on the membership rolls? Is it the impact that you have on those around you? It can be all of those things. Mt. Moriah can be like a mustard seed. That doesn’t necessarily mean standing room only on Sunday mornings or a membership book as thick as ‘War and Peace.’ It can be a cloud of influence in the community. It can be the number of lives impacted by the ministry of this church. It can be the live that were changed because of their encounter with one of you.
Here’s something else to keep in mind about these two views of the kingdom. Neither the seed nor the flour changed themselves. In the same way, we do not have the power to change ourselves, or to change others for that matter. God does. God can change us and others. We can act as the woman adding leavening to the flour or the planter burying the mustard seed, but change comes from the work of the Holy Spirit.
Next we have two parables that compare the Kingdom of heaven to something precious and valuable. First Jesus tells of a man who finds treasure buried in a field. Obviously, this is not his field, because he immediately goes out and sells all of his possessions and buys the field and the treasure buried there. Does anyone else find it interesting that he doesn’t tell the owner of the field about the treasure? Our Bishop, Will Willimon, imagined he might have approached the owner like this, "Ummm, how much would you like for that rocky, worthless, barren field out there? Call me crazy, but I'd like to buy it." Again, Jesus uses an unexpected image to represent the kingdom.
The second story is similar. A merchant searches everywhere for fine pearls. When he finds a particularly beautiful specimen, he sells all he has and buys it.
Each story tells of someone who risks everything they have to obtain their prize. Each gives up many good things to get something great. There is a contrast in the stories as well.
In the story of the hidden treasure, the man happens upon the treasure by accident. Maybe he was working in the field, we don’t really know why he was digging in someone else’s field. But in doing so he found a treasure hidden there and , we assume, forgotten by someone. This can be true of the kingdom as well. Many have accidentally met Jesus. Simon of Cyrene simply came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, but he found himself carrying the cross of a stranger. This parable demonstrates, once again, that God pursues us. God longs for relationship with us.
There are also those who search and search for meaning in life. Eventually that search can, but doesn’t always, lead to Jesus. The merchant searched and searched for the perfect pearl. Finally he found it. Again, countless men and women have found Jesus after a thorough search for joy and peace.
The final parable compares the kingdom to a net. This is a dragnet. A net drug behind the boat that picks up everything. In other words, Jesus tells us that the kingdom is for everyone! Yes, the good will be separated from the bad, but all are welcome. All are invited. All are pursued.
A few words about kingdom: The kingdom is now. Each parable starts “The kingdom of heaven IS like…” Not “will be like.” John Wesley said, “As soon as God speaks to your heart: ‘Be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven,’ His kingdom comes. You have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” We are part of that kingdom, and we are called to do the work of the kingdom, which means helping others into the kingdom. So let this be your prayer: ‘Thy kingdom come. To me. To my family. To…
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