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Pentecost 7, 07/27/2014
Sermon on Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, by Andrew Smith
31 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants 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 leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. 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 who, on finding one pearl of great value, 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 gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away 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 fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 "Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." 52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for the sermon is the Gospel just read. "Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." This is our text.
The kingdom of heaven is like a sower who went out to sow and just sowed seed everywhere. The kingdom of heaven looks tiny and insignificant to untrained eyes, but for those who recognize it's potential and power it's like a mustard seed which grows into a great bush and like a little bit of leavened bread which leavens a whole lump. The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who found weeds growing in his wheat and didn't pull them up lest he uprooted the wheat too. The kingdom of heaven is of such value those who see it would sell everything to have it, like a man who found a buried treasure in a field and sold everything he owned to by the field and like a merchant who sold everything he owned to buy a pearl of great price. Not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven. It's like a great net thrown into the sea and gets all the fish, but the good ones will be kept and the bad fish thrown away.
"Have you understood all these things?" asked Jesus. They said to him, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
We certainly identify with Jesus' parables. I think one of the reasons that we can identify with these stories that Jesus tells some two thousand years ago and in a culture very different from our own is because these stories not only tell us about the kingdom of heaven which is timeless and really cultureless, or rather, a culture of it's own, but because these stories relate so precisely to our human nature. We can identify with a man who while working in a field finds a buried treasure and then goes and sell everything he has to get that treasure. We understand that. Of course usually in our society, the treasure is usually not all that valuable but the one giving up everything seems to think so. We see them. Married for 20 years, two kids, great job, great house, pillar of the community, gives it all up for someone younger and prettier. Another variant on the story looks like this, so many hours at work chasing the next raise and the next promotion that she literally sacrifices everything, motherhood, any time to enjoy the life she has earned for herself. Those examples may not be us, but this might be. I heard a report on the radio this week talking about summer vacation for American workers. The average American worker gets 12.4 vacation days, that's less, by the way than medieval peasants in the Middle Ages! And what's worse, one third of us don't even use all that time off! Can you tell what was most important for them? We understand Jesus' parables from long ago because they speak to us today. In 2,000 years humans haven't changed at all. We identify with these stories but do we understand them?
"Have you understood all these things?" asked Jesus not just of the disciples then but of us now. Do you understand what it is that Jesus has accomplished and is continuing to accomplish for you and for those who would understand him? Do we see the kingdom for what it is and the rest of the world for what it is? Read chapter 13 of Matthew over again and take a good long look, up close, and see what the kingdom is. Because Jesus is asking you, "Do you understand all these things?"
Understanding all these things means something for all eternity. Jesus isn't asking about our understanding of these things because it's some kind of holiness quiz or super spiritual knowledge bowl. In two of the parables Jesus tells, there is a picture of the judgment and the last day. The weeds will be harvested and burned in fire and the bad fish caught in the net will be thrown out. If I'm talking with anyone about what I do for a living, it doesn't take long for the conversation to turn toward sermonizing. What phrase leaps to your mind when you hear the word preacher or sermon? Number one answer on the survey, (sorry, Daniel has been watching a lot of Family Feud lately) "fire and brimstone." I'm always curious what people mean when they bring up the phrase. I like to think I preach with a little bit of fire in my belly, like maybe some of this business really means something to me. But is that what people mean? Or do they mean, that preachers sometimes use vivid descriptions of judgment, and the damnation to Hell of sinners forever to encourage repentance out of fear of divine wrath and punishment? I think that's what they mean. Most people don't believe it, but Jesus preached "fire and brimstone." Jesus has used two such images, the harvest and the net, in the parables of chapter 13. Remember Jesus isn't a self-help guru. He's the Host High God and if he is talking about judgment then what he is talking about has implications for us for all eternity.
There is an old preacher's story, I think it goes back to Fred Craddock. He said he was visiting the home of a former student after his graduation and after a great dinner the young parents excused themselves and hustled the children off to bed, leaving Fred in the living room with the family pet, a large, sleek greyhound. Earlier in the evening Fred had watched the kids rolling around on the floor playing with the greyhound.
"That's a full-blooded greyhound, there," the father of the kids told Fred. "He once raced professionally down in Florida. Then we got him. Great dog with the kids, that greyhound," the father said.
Well it was just Fred and the dog sitting there in the living room and the dog turned and looked at Fred and said, "So, this your first visit to Connecticut?"
"No," Fred answered. "I went to school up here a long time ago."
"Well I guess you heard, I came up here from Miami," said the greyhound.
"Oh, yeah," Fred said, "you retired."
"No," the dog said. "Is that what they told you? No, no, I didn't retire. I spent 10 years racing professionally in Miami. That's 10 years of running around that track day after day, seven days a week, chasing that rabbit. Well, one day, I got up close. I got a real good look at that rabbit. And you know what? It was a fake! I realized that I had spent my whole life chasing a fake rabbit. Hey, man, I didn't retire, I quit."
Jesus parables show us what our world really looks like so that we can see what God gives to us in sharper relief. On the face of it, the kingdom Jesus came to bring doesn't look like much. A Galilean traveling preacher's wisdom sayings and there's healing and miracles too. Now that's interesting. But then there's the bloody cross of Jesus and it looks like it's all over. But something his followers say, catch the attention of people. He is raised from the dead and now ascended into heaven. He claimed to be the very Son of God. Something in all that makes sense to us. Our shortcomings and failures to one another and ultimately to God, they matter. Jesus' followers in their writings and preaching they didn't create anything new; they quoted the old. Jesus opened up the Bible to them. Their Bible is what we would know today as the Old Testament. These sayings and teachings come directly out of what the Moses and the prophets had been saying for centuries. There is nothing new here and yet Jesus comes and makes everything new. He comes and puts more meaning into the prophecies and stories of the Old Testament like no rabbi before him ever could. Suddenly, Abraham commanded to sacrifice Isaac on Mt. Moriah is a different story in the light of the coming of Jesus the only-begotten Son of God sacrificed on Golgatha in the shadow of Mt. Moriah. Suddenly, the prophesies of Isaiah are understood in Jesus in a way never before seen. There's nothing new here, but it's still like they and we are hearing for the first time. Through Jesus we can see the world for what it is and see what Jesus gives us to rescue us from it through his death and resurrection.
So go ahead. Get a good look and stop being fooled or even fooling yourself. Pray for eyes to see and ears to hear. And pray with me what I think is one of the most profound prayers of the Scriptures. "Lord, I believe. Help thou, my unbelief." Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Bemerkung:
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 [English Standard Version, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers]