Pentecost 9 (3YL)

Intro

I dont know about you guys but it is so easy to dream big and start big projects and have trouble seeing them to the end. You block out a whole day to get to work on that thing that you know you want to do and not hire out.

To be clear I have gotten some brig things done in my life. An office, some fake walls, a simulated race setup, a shed… but for every success there is also a story like, my hay bale garden, learning a new language, getting healthy through meal prepping…

The door of my car…

Those of you who are good at projects know that they best way is faithfully a little at a time.

The Text

So if we remember that our weekly Sunday Readings are assemebled into what is called the lectionary, we are in Year A, and it is the 9th Sunday in Pentecost. This week to different themes are emphasized in the lectionary reading. That is the kingdom of God growing and taking hold from the most unlikly starts. Second it is the tremendous value of the kingdom, and we are going to go backwards, quickly looking at the value proposition then focusing more on the unlikley growth of the kingdom.

The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to three things:

““The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

Treasure buried in a field. This is not strange to anyone hearing it at the time. We might imagine working in our garden or front yard and happening on a buried treasure, but this is a litte more on purpose than that.

Ancient art of seeking treasure.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one priceless pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

The second parable, the Kingdom is like a fine pearl.

Again the ancient art of seeking pearls.

Finally the Kingdom is like a large fishing haul

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. So it will be at the end of the age.

My funny fishing story.

This is not that, this is a great big catch, but a catch with consequences. The kingdom casts a wide net, but there is a winnowing at the end.

Matthew 13:31–33 “He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.””

I don’t know if any one remembers but in 2010 there was a devastating earthquake in Haiti. The death toll was astounding. The Red Cross raised $500 mil in relief. They had talked about huge relief projects that was going to raise standards of living and create a foundation for a new future. in 2015 it was discovered that the red cross only out up 6 permanent structures. They claim much of the money instead went to temp. housing and other relief, but it never met the expectation of raising thousands out of desperate situations.

We dream of large projects coming in and helping in desperate situations, but the kingdom of God operates differently.

Look at the comparisons of Christ…

Like mustard seeds…

The Birds of the air..OT picture of God’s care.

Like Yeast…

Applications

First applications from the readings about the kingdom’s value.

There is nothing in our lives right now that compares with the value of Kingdom gains. Yes there are valuable things in this life that we might be able to attain, but they will wear out or we will wear out. None of it lasts for ever.

Morton Hall

But the things of God’s kingdom are forever.

At the end of all things there will be a sorting. The good fish from the bad, and we all understand the consequences. Hell, the eternal absence of God and all his goodness awaits the fish that are cast away. We need to seek to be in the net of the good fish. That is part of the family of God, transformed in baptism into his people.

Small acts done with great love matter. They matter. Mother Teresa used to say that, small things done with great love will change the world. Mustard seeds are tiny, and yet they produce robust plants that create care for God’s smallest creatures.

The little things done with great love by Saint John are like that Mustard seed. The time spent helping with the yard sale, working with feeding the neighborhood. The past vbs’s and Christmas Pageants. I know that some of that stuff in the rear view mirror. But those were ways that God brought about the kingdom. Who knows what projects God will put before us in the future, but as long as we dive in with great love for God and Neighbor we will be fulfilling the promise of the kingdom.

Wrap-Up

And let us remember Jesus. His was no small act of Love. The God of the universe, wholly innocent and wholly righteous nailed to the cross to save sinners, rebellious creation. The greatest act of love. As one hymn writers put it. Behold the man up on the cross…

Seek the kingdom friends, it is the greatest gift of God, purchased at the cross with great love.