Knox Presbyterian Church

*SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32it 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.” 33He 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.”
44“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. 45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46on finding one pearl of great value, he 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 caught fish of every kind; 48when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52And 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.”

Sermon
This morning Jesus is inviting you to participate in God’s kingdom.

What you do with this invitation matters. How you choose to participate or not participate in God’s kingdom will impact you in both the present moment and in the future, and it may change how you talk about your past.

Sounds like the invitation marriage doesn’t it (smile)? When two people say yes to participate in each other’s lives their present life, their future and even their past are never quite the same again.

I was reminded of the essence of this kind of life transforming invitation this weekend, when Patty and I had the privilege of officiating at Eric and Julie’s wedding. We arrived on Thursday and were able to hang out, with their family and friends, for about 72 hours before the wedding took place on Saturday. It was so life giving to see what gradually began to happen.

The closer it got to he wedding, the more I saw Eric aware of Julie’s presence, the more I saw Julie seeking Eric out. During the wedding Julie asked Patty and I to extend an invitation to those present to participate in their joining together, by promising to stay connected to them, even they extended their blessings upon them.

In some limited sense, Jesus says, this is what God’s kingdom is like… like a mustard seed that someone takes and sows in his or her field (in my imagination that’s where I see the invitation to participate – to grow into a great shrub, anywhere from 6-12 feet height, where the world comes for shelter and refuge – the smallest must be planted first). God’s kingdom is like a little bit of yeast, that a woman or man takes and mixes in (there’s the participation again) with three measures – which is just over a bushel full – about 8 gallons of flour.
Can you grasp the imagery of the invitation, of what you might participate in here? The tiniest of seeds, the littlest bit of yeast in all of that flour! God shows up in the most unexpected ways and places. No matter how small we feel or how hopeless we think a situation is, the tiniest, our efforts with God at the center, rather than ourselves – a tiny bit of the kingdom eventually produces incredible results, with a tremendous impact.

After Eric and Julie’s wedding Patty and I spent a couple of days in wine country in the Napa Valley, where we learned that in 1823 Spanish explorers arrived and planed the first grapevines in the region. They planned to produce grapes for sacramental wine – One of the friars traveled with a burro loaded with all of the supplies, including a bag of mustard seed. As the story goes a tiny hole in the bottom of the bag left a trail of tiny seed, which by spring grew a yellow pathway to guide the Spaniard on their return to the Napa Valley.

The seeds from these mustard plants scattered and now, each spring, mustard blossoms yellow the earth of the entire valley before the leaves of the grapevines appear. The mustard plant to this day provides a valuable cover crop for the vineyards and the orchards that keep producing some of the world’s greatest wine.

The next two parables about what God’s kingdom is like speak to its value.

Someone finds a treasure hidden in a field, and hides it, but then in his or her joy, goes and sells everything to buy that field. This is such interesting imagery here!

Often the meaning and purpose of our lives – what we are searching for – lingers just underneath the surface of our lives. But when we discover God’s love and care for us, God participating with us, joy comes doesn’t it? Joy drives us to make a commitment to participate in life that extends beyond the center of ourselves.

I just received this video in e-mail from former Whitworth chaplain Andi Saccoccio who just moved to Washington, DC taking a job with International Justice Mission. She wanted her friends to know what her new job was all about – she thought it would best be explained in this video that is a follow up to a story NBC’s dateline did on her organization. Interestingly it is entitled Tears of Joy.

VIDEO: Tears of Joy

Quite moving to see the treasures of young girls given their life back isn’t it? Quite remarkable to hear the reporter speak of how often he wondered about their lives, and how they turned out, and to see his obvious joy at being part of something beyond himself.

God’s kingdom is like a merchant in search of fine pearls who finds the one pearl of great value and sells everything to buy it.

I was talking to a friend of mine this week who is garage sale junkie. She’s very good at finding that one piece of junk that someone is willing to give away for next to nothing, and then turns it into a 300 percent profit! She’s so good that she is one of the supplies for the Farm Chicks Garage sale, that is one of the largest in the country. Every year in June people, primarily women come from all over the country, to pay extraordinary prices for other people’s junk.
My friend Shelly is so good at this – here’s what I find so fascinating – when I asked her what is like when you find that one thing, your treasure? She lit up, “it gives me life.”

All of this talk about what God’s kingdom is like, with the invitation of these participatory words lingering in the background – sowing, taking, mixing, finding and hiding, buying and selling, leaves me wondering how are I am at managing and valuing the kingdom treasures God has given me? What about us? How are we doing at Knox at managing and valuing the kingdom treasures that God has given us?

And what about you? What are you feeling or thinking about as you hear again what God’s kingdom is like? That you have received an invitation to not only participate in it, and but to value it? It does cause one to wonder about what one values and treasures doesn’t it? The invitation to participate in God’s kingdom that is happening now and will come in the future – we pray this every Sunday when we say the Lord’s prayer thy kingdom come! –comes with a warning.

God’s kingdom is also like a net that is thrown into the sea, catching fish of every kind (notice the participatory action of kingdom again) when the net is full the good are put into baskets, the bad are thrown away, and then there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Vivid imagery isn’t it?

In all of our participation with Jesus in God’s kingdom we are being asked to say yes to God’s goodness and love.

We are being asked to search for meaning and significance with Jesus at the center of our lives. All of this is dependent on God’s grace, that comes in unexpected ways and places, that can seem small and even insignificant until we see its impact face to face.

Seeing the young girl’s lives and faces years later after being freed from a life of dullness and slavery should inspire us to live in ways that brings this kind of freedom to ourselves and to others.

It also serves as a warning to us – Human meaning and significance begins with the knowledge of God’s great love for us – God’s love for humanity. Meaning and significance come with God at the center of our lives. When we search for meaning and significance apart from God – in selfish, self-centered ways, we often end up either dehumanizing ourselves or another person in the process.

This is not God’s desire for us. God wants us to become gracious righteousness – to participate in doing good, by being just and merciful, by walking in humility with our God who created us.

May Jesus grant us wisdom to understand his words.
May God give us grace to participate in kingdom living.
May we have communion with the Holy Spirit as we evaluate what we treasure.

May we live again to value our wealth – God’s kingdom treasure.