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The Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
O God, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 12)
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The Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
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Scripture citation(s): Matthew 13:31-33, 44-49a
A Sermon by
Fr. Erdman
on
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-49a
✛
A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
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In the Name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Appearances can be deceiving. Two Sunday’s ago the Gospel reading was the parable of the sower. In it, Jesus explored a variety of factors that influence the growth of the seed, and that influence the faith of the one who hears the word of God. Some seeds produced plants with a similar appearance. The depths of root caused some to grow, and some to wither. Last week Jesus spoke about wheat and tares having been sown in the same field. At first glance they look alike, but as time passes their differences become recognizable.
This week, Jesus tells five short parables. The first two relate to the promise of the Kingdom of heaven. The second two relate to a disciple’s response to the Kingdom. Appearance is deceiving in the parable of the mustard seed and in the parable of the leaven. Jesus uses yet another agricultural image when he describes the growth of a mustard plant. Jesus emphasizes the small size of the seed at first, when compared to the final growth of the plant. In the parable of the leaven, the woman takes a little yeast, and mixes it with enough flour to feed around 150 people. This little yeast can create bread to feed a great many.
Both parables describe something very small producing something far greater. Even though it is commonplace, it is still incredible that a seed carries within it, everything it needs to become a tree, and that so little yeast can be enough to leaven. In both parables Jesus illustrates the promise of the kingdom of heaven.
The way of the kingdom of heaven is not the way of the world. Neither a mustard seed, nor yeast are much to look at, but they both grow to be far more than is initially evident. Through the scriptures, God used unlikely candidates to accomplish that which he promised and purposed. Moses, who claimed to have problems of speech, became the prophet that challenged Pharaoh. David was forgotten and left in the field with the sheep. He was the youngest of his brothers, became one of the greatest kings in the history of Judah. As a young lad, he slew a giant. He was a man after God’s own heart.
Mary, a young teenage virgin, gave her consent to bear Jesus Christ and bore God the Son. Even Jesus disciples were not the people who one would predict would become the leaders of the church. They were fishermen, tax-collectors, and were constantly arguing about who was the greatest among them. Peter, fallible and flawed, became the rock upon which Christ built the church.
None of them would be the “best candidate,” by earthly standards. Yet God worked miraculous things through them. That which was the least became great. God fulfilled his promises.
The fulfillment of the promise of the kingdom of heaven is unfolding. Yet it is not always obvious how. The temptation to despair can be great looking at the pages of any newspaper. So much is still happening in the world, our city, our communities, our churches, and in our relationships that we know is not what God intends. Wars are still fought. People are still hungry. Time after time, we witness and hear of what we know should not be. The parable of the leaven and the mustard seed both remind Jesus hearers that though it may not always be evident how God is working, God is doing more that is immediately visible. It takes time for a seed to be planted. It takes time for it to put down roots. It takes time for it to grow.
The moment when the promise of the kingdom was fully revealed was such a moment. It seemed like the moment of Jesus defeat, as if he had been beaten and his work cut short. His disciples had fled. His enemies freely mocked him. He hung bleeding and dying on a cross. Yet it was in the cross that Jesus revealed the way of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus demonstrated in his death and his resurrection that the love, grace, and mercy of God are stronger than the hatred, judgment, and vengeance of the world. It was in Jesus resurrection that God fulfilled the promises he had made to his people. Promises made from the very beginning. Death itself was defeated. His people are free to be with him always. Not even death can keep them from the His love. In his life, we have life. In his love we have a place to dwell. Jesus said the birds of the air made nests in the branches of the mustard plant. His people have a place of security and safety, dwelling in the love of God. We have a place in the kingdom of heaven.
In the crucifixion, Jesus shows the power of God to bring hope – hope, no matter how desperate the situation. God transformed the most fearsome threat the world can wield, hatred and death itself, into eternal life. God can transform whatever situation we face into new life. God does not cause hard times to befall his children, but he can resurrect any death. Saint Paul says “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Sometimes where God is acting may seem hidden, as the yeast was hid in the flour. Yet, God is at work, though at times it may be hard to see.
The parable of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven are meant to give Jesus followers hope as they watch for the unfolding of the fulfillment of the promises of God.
In the parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price Jesus describes the response of a disciple to the promise of the kingdom of heaven. One stumbles upon hope in the promise of the kingdom of heaven, the other finds it after diligently searching. In both cases, the treasure is there for them to find. God richly places the promise of the kingdom of heaven, in front of all his children, some spend a long time looking for it. Others simply stumble upon the hope we have in the promise of the love of Christ.
Each, upon finding this treasure, gives up all other treasures to obtain the riches they have found. As a disciple receives with hope, the promise of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus instructs that all other earthy treasures and worldly priorities are to be given up. A disciple is called to follow the purposes of God, not their own. This does not mean that a Christian only spends time detached from the world and the needs of others. This is not a call to leave the world. Each Christian can do more to transform the world according to the purpose of God, because they have hope in the kingdom of heaven.
C.S. Lewis describes Christian Hope as follows, “Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the slave trade all left their mark on earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven.”
In Jesus Christ, God has revealed the promise of the kingdom of heaven – the promise that his children dwell in the branches of his love. Though it may be hard to see at times, he is always at work. He has given the promise that he will never forsake us. We can take a hold of his promises as we encounter him in scripture, sacrament, and prayer. Once this treasure is before us, all other treasures become placed aside, replaced by hope in the kingdom of heaven – A hope that leads to the fulfillment of his promise in the transformation and renewal of this world; a hope that transforms us into more than we are. A hope that and in the end, leads to eternal life in the love of Jesus Christ. Amen.
