Look There!

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; 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; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is like the tiniest seed, hidden under acres of farmland.  The Kingdom of Heaven is like a 4 micron (that’s literally microscopic!) yeast cell, hidden in three measures of flour… that’s 16- five pound bags to you and me! The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure chest, buried without an “X” to mark the spot or a map to show the way.  The Kingdom of Heaven is like a perfect pearl, hidden in a shell on the floor of the sea.  The Kingdom of Heaven is like the fish who swim in the ocean, hidden beneath the depths that cover the majority of our world.   

Given all of that it seems that the Kingdom of Heaven is pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to find.  Not such great news for those of us looking for some hope in this world.  But hang on just a bit.  There is much more to these parables than first meets the eye.  The first thing we are meant to see beyond how hidden the Kingdom appears to be is that the One who does the hiding… the Sower, the Baker, the Treasure burier, the Pearl builder and the Fish grower is God.  As a side note, using this particular cast of characters means that Jesus is portraying God as the sower being male, the baker being female, and the oyster being trans gender.  All oysters start as male and then mostly change to female after a year.  But that's for another sermon.  

The next thing for this sermon is to see that it's the ENTIRE Kingdom of God that is planted, inoculated, buried, seeded and swimming in the ocean.  It’s not a precursor or something that MAY or may not become the Kingdom of God.  It’s the whole Megillah.  “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Mustard Seed.  That helps beat the idea into our heads, short parable after short parable, that The Kingdom of Heaven is ALL God’s doing.  True you say, but we’re supposed to GROW the Kingdom, right?  Not so fast.  Look again.  The seed, planted by God, germinates and grows on it’s own.  No human help needed.  Same with the yeast.  The yeast does the work.  We just watch the tea towel covered dough rise.  We don’t do the work.  Same with the Oyster, it adds layer after layer to the Pearl without our help, and fish too just grow on their own.  It is not our task to PLANT the Kingdom.  It is not our job to GROW the Kingdom.  God does all that and as far as I’m concerned… THANK GOD!  Can you imagine what the Kingdom of Heaven would be like if it was left to us!?   

The next thing we are meant to see from these parables is that God has planted the Kingdom of Heaven, EVERYWHERE and in EVERYTHING and in EVERYONE.  The sower planted the Mustard Seed in “The Earth”... pun, I believe intended!  The treasure too is buried in “The Earth” and if those aren’t good enough for you, how about you try to pick out those 4 micron yeast cells from that one hundred plus pounds of dough!  

So the Kingdom of Heaven is fully God’s doing.  It very often begins hidden, but in spite of that is still literally everywhere, and it does it’s work… BIG WORK at that… growing from tiny seed into gigantic bush, building layer upon layer upon layer of pearl, and leavening the entire planet-resembling ball of dough as it doubles in size! 

To me, all of these examples, from different parabolic angles, come together as an enormous comfort.  When I look out the window, or open a window online to see the news, it is very often incredibly difficult to SEE the Kingdom of Heaven out there in the world.  It seems very hidden to me much of the time.  To hear from Jesus that “Hidden” is just how God has chosen to get things going is Good News in my book.  Now, would I like it to get growing, building and doubling in a hurry!  Absolutely, but here I’m reminded that what God starts, God also grows, and it all happens God’s way and not my way.  I actually think God made a wise choice in not leaving that for me to do, but at the same time, I have trouble being patient.  

But that then leaves us with one more wondering when it comes to this bullet list of parables.  If we don’t plant it and we don’t grow it, what are WE supposed to DO with it?  Well, if you ask me, I think our task is first to help one another TRUST that The Kingdom of Heaven is out actually there, particularly in those places and times when it's really hard to see, and then, WHEN we finally see a sign of it… even the tiniest of signs…  Our task is to thump our neighbor on the arm, point at it and tell them, “LOOK!  LOOK AT THAT!  THAT’S A BEAUTIFUL BIT OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN POKING THROUGH RIGHT THERE!”

These last seven months I’ve found it hard to find the energy to scan the horizon much for signs of the Kingdom.  Head down and plodding along, it’s difficult to see much more than the one square foot patch of ground right under my feet at that moment.  But in all this time, YOU have been doing that for me.  Looking out and seeing a tiny dot of earth being displaced by a sprouting stem.  You’ve seen it and thumped me and pointed and said, “LOOK, there it is!” and with that help I could see it.  That is the power of gathering in this community!  This community does not plant the seed.  This community does not grow the bush, the fish, or the pearl.  The power that this community wields is in gathering together, in person if at all possible, so that each of us is here to get the thump we need it or to give the thump that is needed more than we could ever imagine.  

The Kingdom of Heaven is here.  It is in that Kingdom that we live and move and have our being.  It grows and will, in time, consume all of creation AND in the mean time you and I are called to just show up to be thumped when we need it and to give a thump when someone else needs it so that all of us can point and see that what might look like a barren, bleak horizon is in reality THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN!  And in seeing even the smallest glimpse we can have hope!”  Amen.