July 27, 2008 Sermon The Reverend Eric Liles Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 Jesus put before the crowds another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 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." 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." "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. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." 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." This morning we close out our sermon series on Jesus' parables in the middle of Matthew's Gospel. We have heard about the importance of having a childlike faith, of our need to be the good soil in which the word of God can grow in, and about our call to be sowers of that good seed as well. Last week we talked about how as human beings we are not capable of casting judgment on other people and that God's grace is present in both that evil will be eradicated and that the final judgment has not yet taken place. All people have the opportunity to grow and change, just look at Jacob. Today we are looking at 5 more parables of Jesus. So keep in mind where we have been. If you have missed any of this sermon series, parts 1-2 are already on the web site and parts 3 and 4 will be up early this week. If you learned some things, your faith was strengthen, or you were encouraged, feel free to share our web site and this series with your friends, family and coworkers. With these parables we hear from Jesus today, it is important to keep in mind to whom Jesus is teaching and preaching. The large crowds are present for the parables of the mustard seed and yeast, but only the disciples are present to hear the parables of the treasure buried in the field, the pearl of great value and the parable of the net. The first two parables, the mustard seed and yeast, proclaim God's action in the world as almost imperceptible or hidden, but also that in God's own time God's work in the world comes to fruition. These two are not teaching parables so much as they are preaching parables, calling God's people to have faith that God is active in these tiny illustrations, and also who's will ultimately prevails. The purpose of all these parables is to fulfill the scripture (Psalm 78:2) "I will open my mouth in parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old." Looking at the parable of the mustard seed we hear that a person took a single mustard seed and planted it in their field. Think about the trouble to plant a single tiny seed in a field. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, though it is smallest of all seeds, it becomes the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree. We who are entrusted with a small seed of the good news of the kingdom, when we are deliberate with how we plant and care for that seed, it can grow into something great and wonderful. The parable of the yeast again reminds us that at times God's action in the word can seem hidden, but that from something so small and seemingly hidden, great things can emerge. In the parable, yeast is mixed with 3 measures of flour until all is leavened. The yeast and flour mixed together so well might serve us as a reminder that our faith must seep into all aspects of our lives, we are to leaven our whole being with the yeast of the kingdom of God. These 3 measures of flour would have amounted to enough bread to feed 100-150 people and is perhaps a reference to Genesis 18:6 when Sarai prepares 3 measures of flour of the heavenly visitors who announce that she will bear a son. This parable also teaches us about the extravagance of God's grace. There is more than enough to go around. The parables of the mustard seed and leaven show a small beginning to the kingdom of heaven and a great future using examples of extraordinary growth. The third and forth parables are the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great value. In the first, a worker finds a treasure buried in a field, goes and sells all they have and buys the field. In the second a merchant finds a pearl of great value and sells all they have in order to purchase it. The two parables are different in that in the first, the plowman is not actively seeking anything, but in the second the merchant is looking for such a treasure. The plowman uses questionable ethics to get the treasure while the merchant seems a bit irresponsible but perfectly legal in his approach. Yet both parables stress the great value of the kingdom of heaven and the necessity of taking the once-for-all opportunity to gain it, even if that requires selling everything else. Perhaps when you were a young person, you, like me collected baseball cards. For me I would trade a whole bunch of valuable cards of mine to get a Don Mattingly card that I did not have, and later this was for Bo Jackson cards. Collecting cards of my favorite players was more important to me than the value of the cards I traded away. As an adult is seems irresponsible to sell everything to buy one pearl, but the kingdom of heaven is worth more than anything else. Seeking it will cost us dearly, we must sacrifice those things which get in the way of our relationship with God. The final parable we hear today is very similar to the wheat and weeds, which we talked about last week. This again is a parable of judgment. A net is thrown into the water and fish of every kind are brought in. Then the fish are sorted and the bad are thrown out. Remember that in the dietary restrictions of a kosher diet, only certain kinds of fish are allowed for food. Our attention here often times is drawn to the bad fish being tossed out; but remember, here as in before, it is Christ and his angels who come to separate the evil from the righteous. This separation and judgment is not a task we are up for. At the end of reading today, Jesus asks his disciples if they have understood all these parables. The answer of the twelve (and hopefully our as well) is that they do understand. Jesus' final admonition here is that every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom is like a master who brings out treasure that is both old and new. This ending is a warning not to ignore the teaching of the prophets of old, that we who would be scribes trained for the kingdom of heaven must appreciate the new revelation of Jesus as well all the older revelation of Moses. In our task in being trained to be scribes for the kingdom of heaven, as we learn and grow, we are to keep our training before others, sharing what we learn and inviting them to journey with us. And now as this sermon series comes to a close, may you all be blessed with the knowledge that comes from time with God in his Holy Word. May you be good soil for the seed of the word of God to grow. May your childlike faith lead you to be creative, trusting and loving. May you bear fruit and be sowers of the good seed. And may the God who shakes heaven and earth, whom death could not contain, who lives to disturb and heal us, give you the power to go forth and be the Gospel. Amen. the Reverend Eric Liles