Jesus 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 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 Jesus 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.”
***
I am really good at finding a bargain. I am one of those
people who can look at an old jacket and notice the mustard seeds of
distinctive well cut tailoring. I can drive by a cast off door, and like
treasurer in a field, know that propped against a wall - it’s faded coloring
and peeling paint would look pristine and clean with a simple wreath. Likewise,
I have often been a collector of people, such that in a small community, I seem
to end up walking around and saying hi to acquaintances rather than sitting
down with one good friend. This collecting is a fun game, this finding of
strings of pearls, but I’ve stopped playing. I realized that I was loosing at a
bigger one, the kingdom
of God.
About a year or two ago, I went through my closet like fish
in a net, and tried everything on, and donated a truckload as if throwing, too
small, too large, ill-fitting fish back to the sea. Likewise, I have been going
through my home and asking myself is this object or the next worth the clutter.
Furthermore, as a extrovert having collected a lot of acquaintances and called
them friends, I asked myself which relationships fill me, or help me grow, and
which were to starve off being alone. I realized that in my gluttony of things
and people, I was missing out on the more meaningful relationships with myself,
my God, and others for which I longed. I realized that the kingdom of God
isn’t cluttered, it is in the empty space left behind. The space that allows
something small to start to grow. The space for a mustard seed, a pearl, yeast,
a net, and treasure.
These that the scripture mentions, are all tiny things, and
so too is the beginning of the Kingdom
of God. It doesn’t start
with the giant shrub with the nest holding the birds. It doesn’t start with 100
loaves of bread. It doesn’t start with a net full. It doesn’t start with a field
of treasure all your own. It doesn’t start with the most valuable pearl. It
doesn’t start feeling like everything is great and God is walking beside you
constantly and you have no need for earthy bounty. That is the promise of
someday. Jesus is promising this someday, but promises are also for now.
Promises are the beginnings of someday, promises are things which keep you
going back and checking.
The kingdom of heaven begins that you plant a mustard seed,
and you wait and you try not to plant other things that shadow it’s sun. I notice
the mustard sprout that has grown in my closet when I don’t care that I wear the
same clothes twice a week because it’s my favorite. The promise is that God
loves and welcomes us in our well worn favorite so much that we don’t need so
many distractions of superfluous decisions.
The kingdom of heaven begins that you mix in the yeast and
you wait and you try not to get your fill on things which will not ultimately
satisfy your hunger. I notice when I allow myself a quiet evening where yeast
can rise, instead of time with acquaintances, I see the promise of peace in how
much I enjoy getting things done, or reading a book, or falling asleep on the
early side.
The Kingdom of heaven begins that you search for pearls and
you wait, and you try not to adorn yourself with the jewelry of this life
trading it in for the glories of the next. Yes, I am one who sees what could be
done to make a space beautiful, and maybe you have your own lists of projects
and priorities, but I have the promise as I've gotten more at ease with allowing
things to be unfinished, and for the vulnerable honesty and comfort of
imperfection to be championed. The promise that we are enough just as we are.
The kingdom of heaven begins, when you walk through a field
and notice treasure and you wait until you can buy it full, instead of
squandering what will be your inheritance on the frivolousness of now. I have
tried not to buy new things, or things I don’t need, and because it has allowed
me to be in a more comfortable spot financially I have found the promise that
lies in the joy of giving.
The kingdom of heaven begins when you cast the net and you
wait trying to appreciate the smell of the sea and glitter of waves, so that
I don’t pull it in too early with too little to feed you. I have been trying to
focus on the promise that things as small as the smell of the sea, and the
glitter of the waves, and spots of rain on my back as I run on a cloudy day,
can fill my belly full as much as bounty. The promise that the kingdom of God
is not only in someday, but that the kingdom
of God is in the smallest
of every day.
It is a hard thing to trust, but like any promise, the more
we lean in, the more we check back to watch it grow, the more God will sustain us.
Therefore, as Jesus said to the disciples, he also says to you, “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.” Go and
go likewise, let us prepare for the kingdom
of God, someday and
everyday.
