GOSPEL: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

31 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 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." 33 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."

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; 46 on 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; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." 52 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."

He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like...”

• The kingdom of Heaven can only be described in parables. No other form of explanation will serve. Unlike the last two Sundays, Jesus offers no explanation or key to understanding the parables. They are short little things that he appears to rattle off quickly. It is possible that the writer of the Gospel gathered these sayings together even though they may have been uttered at different times, or they may have been parts of one day's teaching.
• The kingdom of heaven is like...
  • ...a mustard seed
  • ...yeast
  • ...a treasure hidden in a field
  • ...a pearl of great price
  • ...a fisherman's net
• How can the kingdom of heaven be like all these things? The simplest answer is that the Kingdom can be all these things because it IS all these things.
• If we are to interpret these parables at all, we'd do well to look at the common threads in them. One is agricultural and uses the mustard seed as it's sign.
• The next is a parable of baking, yeast, and rising dough... kitchen things. Here Jesus uses what was considered “woman's work” in his day and by using the image of kneading and baking, gives it a special dignity in the realm of parables.
• The treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great value use business and might even appear to be a bit underhanded and sneaky.
• The fisherman's net would be well know to his disciples since so many had made their living as fishermen. In any event, all of the parable use figures familiar to all of the crowd that was addressed that day.
• The common thread of these parable is the idea of hidden-ness in each of the parable. The mustard seed is so incredibly small that if you sneeze with one in the palm of your hand, you'd never find it again. The yeast in a loaf of bread can never be removed or found once it's added. The treasure begins the story hidden and is hidden again. The net does it's work hidden under the water, but it takes in whatever is before it and leaves the separation until later.
• Even though Jesus makes reference to a future judgement and a separation-to-come, these parables, like all parables, are more about the present than the future. The mustard seed grows now and becomes a tree that is home for the birds. The yeast is mixed into the dough now and leavens it now. The treasure and the pearl are found and seen a valuable in the present. Finally the net is out and catching right now, without any concern for sorting, evaluation, or judgement.
• Just so the kingdom is around us and is active now. It is subtle and quiet and simple now. It is found in the ordinary and might even be encountered accidentally. As with the net in the parable, it scoops up the good and the bad, the righteous and the evil, the worthy and the unworthy.
• It also changes those who are part of it. The parables of the buried treasure and of the pearl of great value tell us that the kingdom is often found by those who are not necessarily looking for it specifically, by those who stumble upon it. The person who found the treasure did not know it was there, but when he found it, his life was changed. The merchant in search of fine pearls sold all he had to acquire that pearl of surpassing value. Both characters found their treasure and discovered that their lives were changed by it.
• In our own lives, the kingdom does not require preliminaries or prerequisites, but when the kingdom is encountered, it brings with it motivation for change and even a desire to live a changed life. This could be a definition of the life of grace. God gives; we receive and in receiving, all we do and all we know is changed. Better than changed – renewed or reborn.
• These simple, short parables tell us so much in so few words. They tell us of the kingdom of heaven, as it is with us now and as it will be when the time comes. They comfort us by saying there is a place for us in the kingdom as it grows secretly and quietly. They challenge us to, in Biblical words, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” The kingdom is shown and we respond in the grace given to us.
• Hold onto these simple words of Jesus and in them, let us lead what could be called simple lives of Christian loving faithfulness and humility. For that is the way the kingdom spreads - in the simple, quiet, humble deeds and words of those who believe.