Matthew 13:31-33,
44-52
The
story goes that he was just the crazy old man of the village. Every day at dawn
he would go into the hills with his shovel, and he would not come back until
sunset. He never told anyone why he went up there or what he did. He just went
day after day, year after year. One day the crazy old man did not wake up. He
died in his sleep. After he was buried, the villagers decided to go up to the
hills and see if they could find what he had been doing all those years.
This
village that the old man lived in was in a remote location on one side of a
steep hill. In order to get to the nearest larger city with a hospital, you had
to take the road which wound its way around the hill. It took hours, and
someone could die en route. That is what happened to the old man’s wife. She
was sick, and he was trying to get her to the hospital for treatment. But the
road around the hill was too long. She died before they could reach help.
What
had the crazy old man been doing all those years? He was digging a road through
the hill. He was digging a road through the hill. It was wide and
smooth and it shortened the journey from the village to the city from hours to
one, from many kilometers to four. The crazy old man was not so crazy after
all. He did not want anyone else to suffer what his wife had suffered. He did
not want anyone else to go through what they had gone through. He took his
shovel and dug a road through the hill.
No
one knew what he was doing. They assumed he was just crazy and went off by
himself to do crazy things. Apparently no one apparently asked him what he was
doing, or if they did he did not answer. But he took a small thing and made it
large. He did something in secret that became a visible blessing. The kingdom
of heaven just might be like that crazy old man.
I
will confess that I have started and deleted this sermon about five times. The
last time was at 8:00 this morning. I
realize that verges on the ridiculous. Just write something already and be done
with it. But I knew that what I had on paper was not what I was supposed to
have. I’m not sure that I’m any closer, but time will tell. So look for these
parables as the basis of a sermon series or a Bible study down the road. It’s
not that our passage didn’t give me enough to work; it’s that there is so much!
Jesus told these
parables in rapid-fire succession. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that grows from its infinitesimal size to a large and flowering bush that
welcomes birds of every kind. The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who hides
yeast – that is the literal translation; she is not “mixing in” yeast, she is
hiding it – into three measures of flour. That is an enormous amount of flour.
It’s estimated to be about fifty pounds?! That would make enough bread to feed
an entire community. Then Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a
treasure that was hidden in a field. When a person finds that treasure, he
joyfully goes and sells everything he has to buy that field and obtain that
treasure. The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great value. A merchant,
when he finds that one magnificent pearl, sells off all his other merchandise
just to own that pearl. And the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that brings
in fish of every kind. When the dragnet was full, it was hauled to shore and
the fish were sorted. The good fish were kept and put into baskets. The bad
fish were thrown out. That will be what happens at the end of the age. The good
will be kept. The bad will be thrown into the fire, and there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
When
he finished telling these parables, Jesus asked the disciples,
“Have
you understood all this?”
They
answered,
“Yes!”
And
I want to shout,
“No!”
“No!”
No,
they don’t, and no I don’t either, because these are some crazy sounding
parables. I am not saying that lightly either. If these parables are
glimpses of the kingdom, then the kingdom of heaven sounds a little bit nuts.
The
kingdom of heaven is an invasive weed. The kingdom of heaven is subversive. The
term “subversive” is one used by several scholars in their description of the
woman’s actions and the mustard seed. In thinking about that woman, why did she
hide the yeast? I know that yeast has negative connotations in scripture –
beware the yeast of the Pharisees. It can be seen as a corrupting influence.
But for bread to rise, yeast is necessary. Unless that bread was supposed to be
matzo, then having yeast hidden in it would have been quite the surprise.
The
kingdom of heaven sounds kind of dubious as well. Of course it is a treasure,
but hidden in a field? It makes me uncomfortable to think of the person who
found the treasure buying that field from the owner and not telling the owner
about the treasure. All I can think of are the indigenous people living on land
that had some value to it: coal, diamonds, gold, etc., and the people who
bought the land from them for pennies when it worth millions.
The
kingdom of heaven sounds like it caused someone to make a bad business
decision. The merchant sold everything he had in order to own that one pearl.
That pearl was splendid, but if you sell off all your merchandise, you are no
longer a merchant.
The
dragnet is probably the only one of these parables that I would expect, and I
still don’t like it because it hearkens back to my childhood days of God being
the God of fire and brimstone. Be good or watch out!
The
kingdom of heaven as Jesus described it sounds strange and unlike anything I
would ever expect. Where are the angels and the perfect people wandering around
in robes with harps and halos? Where are the endless blue skies and the
affirmation that I will be able to fly, or at least float, my way through
eternity? Isn’t the kingdom of heaven supposed to be about perfection? If so,
then what Jesus described seems far from perfect.
But
Jesus was not describing a geographical location that we reach after we die.
Nor was he describing a Utopia. The kingdom of heaven was in their midst, right
then. That’s what Jesus brought to fulfillment. The kingdom of heaven was
already there. And although it might have started small, it would grow and
flourish and spread with abandon.
The
kingdom of heaven might seem hidden from view, hidden to the eye, but it was
there doing its work, reaching every corner like yeast leavening dough.
Although subversion might seem like a radical word; considering the work of the
kingdom as subverting the work of the world with the work of God is a comfort.
When the world these days seems most particularly opposite to the will and work
of God, knowing that the kingdom of heaven is here, even though it’s hidden
from my sight gives me great hope.
The
kingdom of heaven is a treasure that we will do anything to have, anything to
own. Of course it looks like a bad or dubious business decision. When did
following a call or doing something for the gospel or living empowered by the
Holy Spirit not look weird or dubious or just plain bad according to the
world’s sensibilities?
And
as far as that dragnet goes, well what do we know of God? What do we know of
God’s intentions for the world, especially in light of Jesus, his incarnation
of Love and Life? If God just wants to save some and damn others than why
bother with grace? Why offer us mercy? I’m a good Presbyterian, and I hold to
the predestination that we read about in Romans, but I think that God
predestines us for good. I think God is always at our shoulder calling us to
follow, to go the way of love and life.
So
the kingdom of heaven? The kingdom of heaven is weird and wild and unexpected. I
love our denomination, but the kingdom of heaven is definitely not decent and
in good order. The kingdom of heaven looks nothing like we think it should. It
looks nothing like we would design it to look like. It looks nothing like we
would create. It looks nothing like we would build. The kingdom of heaven is
like that man who took a shovel to dig a road out of a hill. The kingdom of
heaven is just a bit nuts. The kingdom of heaven is just a bit nuts.
Thanks be to God.
Let
all of God’s children say, “Alleluia!” Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment