The kingdom of heaven is like …. that phrase occurs about 30 times in the
gospel of Matthew; it is one of the main themes of Matthew’s Gospel. This
morning we have 5 parables, all of which start: The kingdom of heaven is like.
Some things to think about with these parables:
Firstly, the mustard bush.
The kingdom of heaven is like what
happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. Although it is the
smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a
tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.
It was a weed!
No farmer in their right mind would plant mustard
seeds, it would quickly take over the whole field, and your neighbour’s field.
And
the woman with the yeast and flour. Start yeast/flour/water mix
The kingdom of heaven is like what
happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour.
Finally, all the dough rises.
A few surprises in this parable:
Yeast was often considered to be impure, a symbol
of decay.
Woman were not highly valued, so the analogy of the
activity of God being like anything a woman does would be strange to the ears
of the people Jesus was speaking to.
And then there is the ‘three big batches of flour’,
which is equivalent to about 21 kgs. That is a lot of flour. Someone has
calculated that this would make 52 loaves of bread. This woman is making enough
to feed the village, not her family.[i]
For me, these two parables are surprising, and for the first
hearers would have been shocking or stupid.
I mean, who plants a rampant weed on their farm,
and who makes enough bread for the whole village,
and just imagine how big a bowl that would be.
I mean, who plants a rampant weed on their farm,
and who makes enough bread for the whole village,
and just imagine how big a bowl that would be.
Here is 1 kg flour, imagine how much 144kgs is going to be.
The next two parables:
The kingdom of heaven is like what
happens when someone finds a treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A
person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that
field.
The kingdom of heaven is like what
happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. After finding a very
valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.
finding treasure in a field, and a fine pearl; both ending
with people selling all they have for the sake of the treasure and the pearl;
who does that?
Is there anything you would give up all you had for?
Maybe the fifth parable will help.
“The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a
net is thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of fish.”
So far seems OK, but …. Then the separation of good
and bad fish. Which reminds me of another part of the Matthew’s gospel, chapter
25 and the sheep and the goats at judgement time.
Each of the parables we heard this morning hints at
the kingdom of God. the kingdom of God is not one dimensional, and it is not
easily described.
Jesus says the kingdom of God is like, ... then an action.
So, the kingdom isn’t like a weed,
or yeast, which is a contaminant
or buried treasure or a fine pearl
or a net full of fish.
So, the kingdom isn’t like a weed,
or yeast, which is a contaminant
or buried treasure or a fine pearl
or a net full of fish.
The kingdom of heaven is not like the objects, but what people
do with them.[ii]
The kingdom of heaven is not an object, but an activity. The
kingdom of Heaven is active in ways we may not even realise, “in the mysterious
and powerful things that happen right beneath our eyes, even if our eyes can't
seem to see what's happening (The Lectionary Commentary: The Gospels).”[iv]
Do you read the Bible,
pray, and come to Sunday worship thinking that these things might lead to our
lives being infiltrated, changed, and taken over by God’s reality and rule?
[v]
Is God enough for you to give up everything for?
“the Gospel of the kingdom that Jesus proclaims and
lives is truly good news only to those who are not finally satisfied with what
this life has to offer. For those who are content, selling everything to
possess a single pearl, no matter how valuable, seems a little crazy. How can
anything be so precious as to give up everything else to possess it? But to
those who are dissatisfied – with the status quo, with what they have been able
to secure on their own, with the values, stereotypes, or prejudices of the
culture – then Jesus’ Gospel, while still disruptive and even upsetting,
nevertheless feels true, real, and something worth buying at any cost.” [vi]
Fulghum story p116-7 Uh-Oh
Affirmative vandalism [200 words]
I wonder what we could do, here on the Peninsula, to spread
love, grace, and forgiveness?
What could we do to make a difference,
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