July 30, 2023 Sermon
Sermon title: "A Bunch of Parables"
Scripture: Matthew 13:31-33 and 44-52
(Other lectionary choices include Genesis 29:15-28, Psalm 105:1-11, and Romans 8:26-39.)
Matthew 13:31-33 and 44-52
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32it 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."
The Parable of the Yeast
33He 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."
Three Parables
44"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. 45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Treasures New and Old
51"Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." 52And 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."
First of all, it is nice to be back! It's always good to get away, but it's always good to come back home, too. And as I get older, I think getting back home seems more and more attractive. (My Dad was like that: toward the end of a vacation, he wanted to get home! And as home got closer, he was like a horse heading back to the barn, seeming to go faster and faster until he got home! And my mother commented on his behavior one time. "Look at your father", she said. "He is positively PURRING to be back in his home and back into his routine!")
And a big thank-you to the Rev. Drak Druella for filling in for me! I know you like him, and he enjoys preaching from time to time. I think most of you know that he feels his calling is in hospice care, so I appreciate it when he can fill in for me. Also. I think it's good that parishioners hear from another preacher from time to time. Perhaps that preacher will have a little different insight, a different way of looking at the Gospels, for example. And while I like to think that God is helping me with what I tell you, I also believe God uses other people, too, to reveal His Truth. Thank you, Drak, for sharing what God has revealed to you.
The sermon title is "A Bunch of Parables", and the reason for such a title is that Jesus mentions many ideas in the Scripture we heard for today. Not all of his parables were long ones, such as the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son. Today he mentions the mustard seed and yeast and treasure hidden in a field and the merchant looking for the finest pearl. He mentions that the kingdom of heaven is like a fisherman who catches fish of every kind. And the passage closes with Jesus saying something about what is old that is worth conserving and what is new. (Are you familiar with the wedding practice of the bride carrying something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue? I am reminded of an Elvis Presley song on his album "Pot Luck", and it's called "Something Blue". (Sing a few bars!)
The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast have to do with WAITING. We don't want to wait, but what Jesus is getting at is that things will happen in God's good time, not ours. We who follow Jesus in the 21st century are not unlike those who followed him when he walked the earth. Essentially they thought, "If you truly are the Son of God, why isn't God's Kingdom happening NOW, as we speak?" What Jesus is saying is that God works in His own good time. not ours. In a parable right before what we heard today, Jesus talks about a field that is filled with good wheat and bad weeds. Some want to rip the weeds out right now, but the landowner (God, supposedly) says NO. "Let's wait until the harvest, and then we'll separate the wheat from the weeds, the good from the bad."
Such an outlook and a requirement to WAIT are hard for most people. Have you ever heard that fake prayer that says, "Lord, give me patience, and I want it NOW"? The Christian believer has always had to live in between the times. Yes, Jesus has come, the Word was made flesh....but this is only the beginning. We have been told to work for the kingdom, but we also have to WAIT. That's why some of us believe in the 2nd Coming of Christ. Jesus has come, and he will come again, as he says in the Gospel of John. But that time is NOT YET, and many preachers have "predicted" the end of time - INCORRECTLY, I might add! - since shortly after the Resurrection and the Ascension. As one of the Old Testament Psalms says, we must WAIT for the Lord.
Do you remember the rock musical "Hair"? There is a hopeful song in that musical called The Dawning of Aquarius. One of the verses says, "This is the dawning of Aquarius, Aquarius, when love will steer the stars." But that's the point: it is the DAWNING of Aquarius, not quite the age of Aquarius! So - like the early Christians - a new day is dawning, but it's not here yet, and we must wait! I think that's what those two parables are saying: God is at work, and we can help him with that work.....but we also have to wait for God's Will to be done.
Something else in today's reading: the story about the guy selling everything he had to buy that field because of the treasure he found there and the pearl merchant who was looking for the BEST pearl......these stories are related. Why? Because both sold everything they had in order to have that ONE THING, and what Jesus is getting at is that what he is 'selling" requires our selling everything we have to get it! What's the First Commandment? Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Is Jesus being literal here? Maybe, and maybe not. He knows we need to feed our families. He knows we need to care for our loved ones. So maybe he isn't being literal. But what he is getting at is that our faith isn't just another activity that we do when it's "convenient". Church membership isn't like being a member of Kiwanis or some other service club. Your faith should be at the top of your list.
Some unscrupulous TV preachers have urged people to give more than they can afford, and that is truly sinful. Some of those preachers take advantage of gullible people who will do whatever a religious leader tells them to do. THAT is not what Jesus had in mind, either for preachers or their congregations. But think back to when Jesus was asked what the Greatest Commandment was. He said there were TWO: love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. And then he said, "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets." So love the Lord your God with all you have. That's what the guy did who bought that field. That's what the pearl merchant did who sold every other pearl to get that ONE.
Love the Lord your God EVERYDAY, not simply on Sunday. Love your neighbor as yourself EVERYDAY, not simply on Sunday. Do the right thing ALL the time, not simply when it's convenient! I think that's what Jesus was saying in those two parables: Love God with everything you have every day. You will stumble, of course, as we all do. But that should be our goal, if I'm reading those two parables correctly.
And one more thing: don't be afraid to disagree with the preacher and his ideas about the parables! I heard from the Jewish New Testament scholar Amy Jill Levine, who teaches at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Tennessee, that the parables were created so that listeners would continue to talk about them even after Jesus was finished telling them! And she said it was a very Jewish thing for people to argue about the meanings of various stories. She says that when Jesus argued with the Pharisees, they were both doing a very Jewish thing. So, Friends, don't be afraid to argue! Amen.
Pastor Skip
