Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
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This sermon was originally preached by me on July 22, 2020 for our pre-recorded July 26, 2020 worship service. You can read the sermon below, listen to the sermon here, or watch the whole service at this link.
Let us pray:
God of small, insignificant things, help us to see how your love and action in the world makes all things into an abundant part of the Kingdom of God. Amen.
Around this time last year, our director for youth ministry Hannah recommended a new book to me: Love Does by Bob Goff. The premise of the book is that love and grace are more than warm fuzzy feelings, they can actually be active in the world and when they are, the world changes. The author tells his stories of seeing the love and grace of others in action and being a mobilizer of love and grace in his own world. It’s a charming book, but I think I got more out of the title than anything else. Love does. Love as an action. Love does something.
That’s the theme we see in this seemingly sort of disjointed gospel text this morning. The Kingdom of God is love in action.
Jesus spends much of his time on earth teaching the disciples and the crowds who gather around him. And when he’s teaching, he talks a lot about what the Kingdom of God is like. He describes the Kingdom of God, not so we can imagine a place up in the sky that we call heaven. To be honest, if that’s what he he’s doing, he’s not doing a very good job. If the Kingdom of God is a place, it doesn’t sound that nice— a mustard bush? A fishing net? I was hoping for something a bit more regal.
No, The Kingdom of God is not a place we go when we die. Jesus tells us about the Kingdom of God as a movement. The kingdom of God is not so much a place as it is an action. The kingdom of God is like a growing mustard seed, fermenting yeast, hidden treasure, looking for pearls, and throwing nets. Just like love, the kingdom of God does.
Jesus describes the action of the Kingdom of God so that we might recognize it when we encounter it today. When we see love and grace in action, we can point to it and say, “this is a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.” When we take actions that show love for our neighbor, whether they are big like a fishing net or small like a mustard seed, whether they are common like yeast or rare like pearls, we can point to it and say, “this is a glimpse of the Kingdom of God.”
I’ve seen so many of these glimpses over the past few weeks here in this community. There have been tiny bits of yeast coming together to create loaves of bread that feed hundreds of people. I’ve seen it in what God is doing through the food pantry. People are relentlessly devoted to coming out in the heat, putting their own health at risk to be a part of something holy and grace-filling in this world.
I’ve seen tiny mustard seeds grow into shelter for those who need it most. A couple weeks ago, a student in our campus ministry contacted me and said that she was going through a rough patch and needed help paying her rent for campus housing. Within hours of reaching out to our community, we had received a grant and over $600 in donations. Now, not only can we keep that student from being evicted, but we now have a fund to make sure all of our students are housed and fed this fall.
I see people wearing masks to protect one another, even when they are uncomfortable and hot. Our campus ministry students have been reaching out to one another to check in and make sure they are doing okay.
Despite these things seeming small on their own, when God works in them, they become bread for the hungry and shelter for the homeless. Even in these last few weeks, I’ve seen what grace does. I’ve seen what love does. I’ve seen what the kingdom of God does.
And while I think it is our call as God’s people to continue joining in the work of the Kingdom of God, to continue what God started in Christ Jesus here on earth, I also think that perhaps what the world needs right now is for us to notice God working. And point to it emphatically.
Pastor of the Garden Church and writer of the book This is God’s Table, Anna Woofenden writes about this very thing: “Maybe the work of the religious is not to be gatekeepers and jury,… Instead, maybe our job is to pay attention to how God is moving in the world, to God with us, and to how all creation is holy. Maybe our task is to be the heralds and cultivators of our time.” Perhaps our call is to recognize God’s work in the world and point to it.
But we have to be looking for it. Mustard seeds and pearls are small. Yeast is barely noticeable when mixed in with the rest of the dough. Treasure is hidden. Fishing nets are seemingly nothing special. Yet God uses them to point to the Kingdom, God uses them in the movement toward love and reconciliation. God takes seemingly small, insignificant things and creates abundance, creates a movement into which we are invited. It’s the same thing that God does in the waters of baptism, a few drops of water and the work of the Holy Spirit becomes new, everlasting life in Christ. It’s what God does with each small thing we offer to God— abundance and love. It’s the Kingdom of God. Amen.
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