The Kingdom of God is like …
Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33,44-52
9th Sunday After Pentecost, July 30, 2023
Pastor Ritva H Williams
Welcome to episode three of Matthew 13, a chapter in which Jesus draws on everyday life in first century Galilee to teach us how God operates in the world.
In episode 1, the parable of the sower, we learned that God sows the Word — Christ — extravagantly and indiscriminately on hard beaten down surfaces, rocky ground, thorny patches and “good” soil. These represent the realities of life that we all experience. The good news is that God’s word — Christ — is present everywhere at all times, working to accomplish God’s purpose.
Episode 2, the parable of the “weeds,” compares God’s kingdom to a carefully cultivated field of wheat in which someone has sown a parallel poisonous crop of darnel. The two crops can’t be told apart before they are fully matured. Their roots systems are so tightly intertwined that pulling up one destroys both. The good news is that God planted the good seed everywhere and in everyone first before any “weeds” were introduced into our hearts, minds and souls. Our job is to nurture the good seed within ourselves and within each other. Separating wheat from weeds in our hearts and in our communities is the job of God’s angels at the consummation of history.
Our third and final episode of Matthew 13 explores five and half parables in which Jesus invites us to ponder the nature of God’s kingdom, and how God accomplishes God’s purposes.
Parable 1 — Jesus says, the kingdom is like a mustard seed, an herb native to Galilee with the botanical name brassica nigra. The seed is very small and produces a plant that grows up to 15 feet in height, and attracts birds. Although mustard was valued for its culinary and medicinal properties, ancient writers lamented that “it grows entirely wild … when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it” (Pliny the Elder, Natural History 19.170-171). Most Galilean farmers would regard a mustard tree in their field as a weed to be pulled out.
Parable 2 — Jesus says, the kingdom is like yeast. In the world of Jesus, “yeast” was a bubbly, smelly mess of raw dough mixed with mash leftover from wine or beer making, not the neat little packets of granules we buy at the grocery story. The word we translate as yeast, zume, means leavened, fermented, or corrupted depending on its context. Here Jesus says the kingdom is like the bubbly, smelly sourdough starter a baker-woman hides in 3 measures (about 50-60 pounds) of flour until all is leavened. The end result would be 100 loaves of yummy, fragrant bread.
These parables emphasize the hiddenness and mysteriousness of God’s presence and activity in our lives. They also suggest we might mistake God’s presence for a noxious weed or a smelly fungal concoction. Like a mustard seed, small, tenacious, resilient, and persistent, God’s presence and activity spreads and takes over our lives. The hidden leaven of God’s activity amplifies and multiplies our capacity for mission and ministry.
In my own life, God’s call started out small, but has been tenacious and persistent, gradually taking over more and more of my time, energy, talents, and life. From personal Bible reading as a kid, to college courses, earning multiple degrees in biblical studies, teaching in a church college, occasional preaching gigs, to seminary and ordination. Like hidden leaven, God’s presence and activity have transformed a shy, stammering public speaker into a competent preacher and teacher. How have you experienced God’s presence, activity and power in your own life? What is the hidden leaven that energizes and inspires you to be and do your best?
The next two parables present variations on finding and joyful commitment. Parable 3, Jesus says the kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. A tenant farmer doing his job finds it unexpectedly. It is a random discovery and a joyful surprise. The farmer hides the treasure again, sells everything, and buys the field. Parable 4, Jesus says the kingdom is like a merchant searching for fine pearls until they discover one exceptionally valuable pearl. In order to possess it the merchant sells all. On one level these parables are funny, even absurd. How will the farmer and the merchant live day-to-day after they have sold everything? But maybe that’s the point — they won’t. As one commentator puts it:
“We will all, some day, give everything we have. Christ demands our whole life, and in every single case, that is exactly what Christ will get. Put another way, we will all, some day, “buy the farm,” which is why it is good to know that the treasure of the death of and resurrection of Jesus is right there with us and has been all along.
When we reach the end of our days, what will our lives say about our commitment to God’s kingdom and its mission here on earth?
Parable 5, Jesus says the kingdom is like a dragnet gathering every kind of fish, turtles, seaweed, old bottles and whatever else is floating around in the sea. When it is full, the fishers draw the net ashore, sort the catch. We don’t how they determine what is good and bad. Presumably they would throw out dead fish, but maybe keep an old bottle to be re-used, but they do not the final judgment each thing in the net. That is the job of angels at the consummation of the age. If this parable is intended to describe the work of Christ’s followers then it should be clear our task is to gather without discrimination or prejudice. Whatever sorting we do is not about judging each other, but rather discerning how best to be there for each other.
And last but not least, the half parable. Jesus says every scribe trained for the kingdom is like the master of the house who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. In the world of Jesus, the scribes studied and interpreted Torah (first 5 books of the Bible = constitution of Judean temple state), and in general served as guardians of Judean tradition and culture. The gospel writers consistently portray the scribes as bad guys, serving the one percenters. Here, Jesus reveals that Christ’s mission, and our mission is to disciple scribes for the kingdom who can study and interpret scripture, tradition, and culture through the lens of God’s kingdom.To train followers to think critically and creatively in bringing out new truths and affirming ancient wisdom.
Let me close with this prayer-poem by Pastor John van de Laar. (sacredise.com)
The Hidden Kingdom, We don’t see it, but it’s everywhere we look. We don’t hear it, but its message is constantly whispered throughout the world. We can’t touch it, but its energy flows through every interaction, every connection. Your Kingdom, O God, is hidden in the ordinary stuff that makes up our everyday lives. It’s like yeast in a loaf of bread, like a tiny seed that imperceptibly sprouts and grows in the secret, unseen place. And while we may miss it, or doubt it, or wonder why it appears weak in the face of evil, this Kingdom of yours exerts an inexorable influence on us calling us to be more than our selfishness and pride would lead us to believe we are, leading us to love and serve and connect in ways that leave us and our world different, more alive, more real, more whole. And so, God, we celebrate this hidden Kingdom of yours, we praise you for its gentle power, and we open ourselves, once again, to its life-giving influence. Amen.
