Sermon

The Reign Of God Is Like . . .

July 27, 2014
Psalm 78:2-4; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Speaker:

The past few weeks we have heard quite a few of Jesus’parables that are included in the gospel of Matthew. I have struggled, along with the disciples, to understand these cryptic quotes.

I decided to ask the keeper of all knowledge for some help.  “Siri,”  I said, “tell me about parables.”I was immediately directed to a Wikipedia page which gives a succinct definition distinguishing parables from fables. Nice to know, but of course what I really wanted to know was how to understand parables. I am afraid Siri isn’t prepared to answer that.

The writer of Matthew collects a whole bunch of Jesus’parables just as he does with Jesus’ teachings in the “sermon on the mount.”This gathering of parables in chapter 13 is sometimes called “the third discourse.”(It is the third of the five sets of teachings in Matthew.) Near the beginning of this section Jesus explains to the disciples why he uses parables

“The secrets of the kindom of heaven are for you to know, but not for them.”And he goes on – “I use parables when I speak to people because they look but don’t see, they listen but don’t hear or understand…But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”

As mystical as this sounds, it is a reassurance to Jesus’disciples then and now; Jesus trusts and believes in his followers so much that he is willing to talk to them in this intimate and special way. And yet, the coded stories he uses are not always easy to decipher.

There are eight parables in chapter 13, and interspersed are two interpretations that the disciples are bold enough to ask for. At the end of the eighth parable we hear Jesus ask the disciples, “Have you understood all of this?”and with one voice they say “Yes.”

Really? I am not convinced. How is it that they need an explanation about weeds and wheat, and need an interpretation about seeds sown in different kinds of terrain but they understand the mustard seed. Okay, maybe they are quick learners; it only takes two exegetical exercises for them to understand the method Jesus is using.

The problem is some of the parables are not only good stories told by a master storyteller, they are kind of like jokes too. And if you have to explain the punchline, the joke sort of loses its punch. If the disciples, who understand the culture and context for the parables, miss out at first on some of the deeper meanings, is it any wonder that we might be a bit lost in terms of getting to the core truth?

In today’s reading, Jesus does not explain any of the parables so we are left to decode them ourselves, even if it does ruin the joke.

Let’s start with the mustard seed. We have grown to revere the mustard seed; the smallest of all seeds. It develops into a huge plant. But why would someone “sow”a mustard seed in their field? It is a weed, the biggest of all weeds. It grows so big, so strong, that even birds build nests in it. How can you plow around that?

Is this one of Jesus’jokes? The reign of God is like a weed seed? It looks terribly small, inconsequential and non-threatening. It grows whether it is wanted or not. If it is not pulled out, it grows so large that it can become a home, a place of refuge.

What about the next parable – the yeast. Soon after the yeast parable, Jesus uses the phrase, “The yeast of the Pharisees.”The disciples are confused but Jesus explains that the yeast of the Pharisees is something to be avoided; avoid the teaching of the pharisees. (Of course, yeast and all leavenings are to be avoided during the feast of the passover.)

But here, in this feast of parables, it seems like Jesus is interested in the mysterious power of yeast. How is the reign of God like yeast? A little bit goes a long, long way. Even hidden in 50 pounds of parable flour, yeast makes itself known. It does its work and becomes food for hundreds. Is it any wonder Jesus warns against yeast? And celebrates the power of yeast with a gleam in his eye.

The parables are supposed to enlighten the disciples, enlighten us. They are to to bring us in on a secret that until now has been hidden. Jesus uses the parables to help the disciples pay attention to the reign of God, right there, near by, among them.

Jesus helps his followers understand that the reign of God is not in some far off place and time, it is right     here      among     them. And the great storyteller doesn’t have just one story in his bag about what the kindom of heaven is like. Jesus seems to find the reign of God almost everywhere.

He tells stories about planting, harvesting and weeding. And if that isn’t in your realm of experience – how about baking, or fishing, or treasure hunting, or buying and selling? Surely, there is an example of the reign of God that will resonate with almost every listener.

We could continue through, explaining and unpacking each parable. But perhaps it is better to live with the parables, dance the parables, memorize the parables, understand the parables in our bodies. The parables are to be learned by heart until they begin to unravel and reveal themselves to us, in us. When that happens, then we can tell our own parables of the reign of God, with the tools and characters of our own time and place. Then we too will be blessed because we can see and hear the reign of God among us.

So what is the reign of God like among us, here and now? We probably don’t know any pearl merchants who search far and wide for the finest pearls. And then when the perfect pearl is found they sell everything they have and buy this treasure they have been looking for.

But we may know a man who has searched far and wide to find meaning in life. And as the man searches in this country and other countries, he begins to find healing for himself as well as an inner call to help others find healing. It becomes apparent to the man that in order to be a healer, he needs training.

He has a job that pays well, he gets great benefits and a good retirement plan. But it is all inconsequential, part of the old life, the way that led to unhealth. So he quits his job, sells his stuff, moves across the country and takes on massive debt so that he can study to be a healer, so that he can learn how to bring healing to others. This is what the reign of God is like. Is this what the reign of God is like?

What is the reign of God like? It is like a person who carries an emotional burden for years. She hurt someone grievously and has been carrying the burden of causing another so much pain. She replays the pain over and over, and after 17years she decides she just cannot carry it any more. She wonders if maybe she could be brave enough to ask for forgiveness, to risk admitting that she caused another pain and that she is pained herself.

Summoning all her courage, the person goes to the one whom she hurt. She is surprised to be welcomed in, and after telling her story, and explaining her pain, she finds that the other person is also tired of carrying the burden – tired of feeling the pain. Forgiveness is given and she is invited to stay for tea. An invitation is also extended for her to return in a few weeks for a banquet. The kindom of God is like this.

Jesus says, “‘Every religious scholar who has become a student of the kindom of heaven is like the head of a household who can bring from the storeroom both the new and the old.”

We are invited to be like the religious scholar, to bring from the storeroom of our memories the old and the new: stories of the reign of God from scripture, memories of the kindom of God in the past and new glimpses of God’s reign among us now.

Where do you see the reign of God? How do you see the kindom of God among us, in your family, in your neighborhood, in this community, in the world? We can be part of telling the story that recognizes the kindom, in the old and in the new, and in this way help to bring God’s kindom now, here on earth.

The reign of God is among us. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear the work of God in the old scripture, and in the new living story of God as it unfolds all around us.