Little Parables, Big Message

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Old Testament: Genesis 29:15-28

Psalter: Psalm 105:1-11, 45b or Psalm 128

Epistle: Romans 8:26-39

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

Scripture (complementary)

Old Testament: 1 Kings 3:5-12

Psalter: Psalm 119:129-136

Epistle: Romans 8:26-39

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

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Prayer

Seed-planting, fish-netting, bread-baking, pearl-hunting God, you shape us into living parables. Pray with your Spirit in us so that we may understand our experiences as healing metaphors, and become creative and abundant stewards of the environment you entrusted to our love. Amen.

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Reflection

He put before them 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 a man found and reburied; 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 become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

In Matthew 13, Jesus presents parables that reveal the surprising nature of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Consider first the mustard seed and the yeast. The mustard seed, the smallest of seeds grows into a large tree, offering shelter and refuge. The yeast, in minuscule quantity permeates through sixty pounds of flour, completely transforming it. The Kingdom of Heaven, like the mustard seed and the yeast may seem insignificant or hidden at first, but grows and expands to influence and transform everything it touches. It begins in the human heart and expands to touch every area of life growing steadily until it fills and transforms us completely. In the same way, the Kingdom starts small in the world, but expands as God’s people multiply. The church embodies the Kingdom in the world.

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Next, Jesus shares the parables of the treasure hidden in a field and the merchant looking for fine pearls. Both individuals in these parables, upon finding something of immense value sold all they had to obtain it. Such is the value of the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s worth giving up everything to gain it, worth every sacrifice. It’s the treasure we are all seeking, sometimes without even knowing it.

The parable of the net brings the ultimate reality into focus. The Kingdom of Heaven is open to everyone, just as the net gathers all kinds of fish. Yet, a day of reckoning is coming, a time of separation where the true value of the heart will be revealed. This parable serves as a sobering reminder of our responsibility to respond to God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: O sovereign God, in Jesus Christ you set your holy reign upon this earth and within your people. So let its coming be like the mustard seed that grows into greatness, and like the leaven that mixes with the grain until the whole becomes greater, to the praise of the triune God, who lives forevermore. Amen.

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