July 30, 2023
Rev. Mary Erickson
Hope Lutheran Church
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52; 1 Kings 3:5-12; Romans 8:26-39
Thy Kingdom Come
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
One summer during college I lived at the home of my college roommate while we both worked summer jobs. A couple of times that summer, Linda’s family had gatherings at her grandparents’ house. They lived in a big old farmhouse in Chaska, MN.
Her grandparents came from old German farmer stock. They believed in big, hearty meals and that no one should step away from the table hungry.
Before the meal, there were appetizers. At one gathering, Linda’s grandfather had this huge box of assorted chocolates. He walked around the circle of people assembled in the living room and held out the box for each of us to take some. Linda had warned me, “If Grandpa doesn’t think you’ve taken enough, he’ll just stay there in front of you.”
So I knew not to skimp. I took like, three chocolates, which was way more sweets than I normally would have taken before a meal. Grandpa didn’t move and he said, “You want more, no?” So I took a few more.
Our reading from Matthew is something like that. We hear no less than five brief parables. They’re all small nuggets, like assorted, individual chocolates. And five of them is a lot to digest in one setting!
Chapter 13 of Matthew is a repository of Jesus’ parables. We’ve already heard some of them: the farmer sowing seeds in various soil conditions, the wheat growing with the weeds. And now today we hear these five small parables.
What holds all of the parables together in Matthew 13 is that they’re about the Kingdom of Heaven. They’re kingdom parables, they’re trying to describe the dynamics of God’s realm.
The five parable we hear today are all kingdom parables. In the Lord’s prayer we pray “thy kingdom come.” Martin Luther had this to say about the prayer petition: “God’s kingdom comes, indeed, without our praying for it. But we ask in this prayer that it may also come to us.”
We don’t have to pray the kingdom into existence; it comes on its own. But nevertheless, we pray: come, Jesus, come into our lives with your grace and your Spirit-filled realm.
Kingdom parables. Of today’s parables, two of them are about tiny things. Two others center on hidden wealth. And the final one is about a fishing net. So today I’m going to reflect briefly on all five parables. Like good assorted chocolates, we’ll binge on all five and savor them.
First, the mustard seed. Now, the mustard seed is quite small. It’s smaller than an acorn or a pea. It’s even smaller than a grain of wheat or an apple seed. But a very large bush-like plant can grow from that tiny seed. It grows to be about three to four feet high. That’s large enough so that birds can shelter in it and even nest.
Elsewhere, Jesus comments that you can’t search for God’s kingdom here or there. The kingdom, he says, is “within you.”
God’s kingdom is within you. Like a little seed. That seed germinates and takes root within YOU! Too often we trivialize our capabilities and influence in the world. We think of ourselves as insignificant and incapable. “What can I do? I’m just one person. I’m not rich or particularly clever. I’m not well connected or powerful. So don’t count on me for much.”
When we engage in self talk like that, we underestimate the power of God’s kingdom. It’s not about us, it’s about the kingdom within us, doing its own thing on its own. What you have inside you may be small, but so is a mustard seed! The potential of God’s kingdom within you isn’t something to be minimalized. What becomes of that seed in you is kingdom driven! Don’t doubt that you can become a mighty shelter for others!
On to chocolate number two. Jesus talks about a woman who is making bread. She mixes yeast into her bread dough and works it in. Yeast comes in a very small package. It doesn’t take much yeast to leaven a lot of dough.
Typically, in a Jewish context, yeast is regarded unfavorably. Yeast was eradicated from a house during Passover. Jesus spoke negatively about the yeast of the Pharisees. But in this passage, Jesus uses yeast in a positive manner.
There’s something marvelous about yeast. You mix it into dough and then put the lump away in a bowl. When you come back an hour later, the dough has doubled in size. The little yeast molecules have worked their magic! And it smells so good, too!
So what kingdom wisdom do we glean from this parable? God’s kingdom has been worked into us. We hear God’s word. We sing inspirational hymns. We pray, we walk with God. And in all these ways, God is working that yeast within us. But like yeast, you don’t notice it growing day by day. You don’t feel different from one day to the next. But when you take inventory of who you were or how you made sense of the world 5 years or 10 years ago, you recognize that God has indeed been at work in you!
There’s a saying: please be patient; God isn’t finished with me yet. God is at work in you. The yeast of God’s kingdom is slowly, persistently doing its thing within you, in every bit of your being. Be patient. Be understanding to yourself and others. God’s kingdom comes indeed, without our praying for it. God is transforming you, just like yeast transforms bread dough.
Chocolate number three: the treasure in the field. Did you read that recent story about the “Great Kentucky Hoard?” A Kentucky farmer unearthed from his cornfield a buried cache of 700 Civil War era coins. During the Civil War, it was common for people to bury valuables. The majority of the coins from the hoard are gold, the rarest being the 1863 1-ounce gold Liberty coin. Just one of these coins can go for six figures at auction, and the Kentucky hoard has 18 of them!
The gifts of God’s kingdom are of invaluable measure. What price can we put on eternal life? How can we place a value on divine forgiveness, or the presence of the Holy Spirit, or the greatest gift of all, the boundless love of God? What is the value of the promise we have in our baptism, or in receiving the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ?
There is no greater hidden cache of treasure than what we receive from the boundless generosity of God’s kingdom! But unlike the man in the parable, this treasure isn’t something we have to purchase. It has been given to us, given through the love of God outpoured through the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord.
In the parable, the man sells all that he has to buy the field. But it was our Lord who gave everything of himself to achieve that treasure for us! He became human and lived among us. He gives us his very body and blood in his meal. And he gave his life on the cross for our reconciliation. In his love, he gave his everything so that we might have this incredible treasure.
Chocolate number four: the pearl of great price. The value of the pearl wasn’t something that the world necessarily recognized. But this man knew his pearls, and when he saw this one, he knew its full value.
On the PBS show Antiques Roadshow, pretty near every episode contains the story of some item found at a thrift sale or an antique store that was purchased for a song. But the buyer suspected its true worth.
The world may not value the worth of God’s kingdom, but we know what it is. We know just how impoverished our lives would be without it.
King Solomon was presented with a dilemma. God promised to give Solomon whatever he wished for. But Solomon didn’t ask for tremendous wealth or limitless power. What he asked for was wisdom, wisdom to rule God’s people Israel. It wasn’t a gift that was necessarily valued by the world. But Solomon knew its true worth.
As people of faith, we recognize just how precious these kingdom gifts are! The world may not value servanthood, or compassion, or reconciliation, but we do. These values of God’s kingdom, these are our pearls.
The fifth chocolate is the parable of the dragnet. This net was cast into the sea, and it grabs everything that comes its way. It collects EVERYTHING!
The reach of God’s kingdom is all encompassing. Jesus draws in all things. Everything is hauled in its large net. It is as expansive as Jesus’ cross.
Jesus once said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things unto myself.” Jesus was speaking of his cross. He was lifted from the earth, he was elevated when he was placed upon his cross. And in doing so, he drew all things unto himself. This was his goal. He spread his arms wide apart, and he gathered all things unto himself.
The parable of the dragnet assures you and me that we are in that net! We are included in the great catch. The cross leaves us no room for doubt on this: you have been scooped up in God’s loving embrace. Christ’s outstretched arms on the cross have snagged you in.
Paul’s text from Romans doubles down on this promise. Paul assures us: “It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.” His intercession on your behalf is his judgment of mercy. And therefore, nothing can separate us from the love of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. You are in the net! And that’s right where you want to be.
Five brief parables describe the Kingdom of Heaven. Thy kingdom come. God’s kingdom comes, indeed, without our asking for it. But we ask in this prayer that it may come also to us.
