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This message was first delivered as a homily in July 2020.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (NTE)

31 He put another parable to them.

‘The kingdom of heaven’, he said, ‘is like a grain of mustard seed, which someone took and sowed in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when it grows it turns into the biggest of the shrubs. It becomes a tree, and the birds in the sky can then come and nest in its branches.’

33 He told them another parable.

‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven,’ he said, ‘which a woman took and hid inside three measures of flour, until the whole thing was leavened.’

44 ‘The kingdom of heaven’, Jesus continued, ‘is like treasure hidden in a field. Someone found it and hid it, and in great delight went off and sold everything he possessed, and bought that field.

45 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls, 46 and who found one that was spectacularly valuable. He went off and sold everything he possessed, and bought it.

47 ‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea, and collected every type of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen brought it to shore. They sat down and selected the good ones, which they put into a bucket; but they threw out the bad ones. 49 That’s what it will be like at the close of the age. The angels will go off and separate the wicked from the righteous, 50 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

51 ‘Have you understood all this?’ asked Jesus.

‘Yes,’ they answered.

52 ‘Well, then,’ he said to them, ‘every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his storeroom some new things and some old things.’

It is puzzling for a reason. Jesus uses parables to get past our rational, judgemental, egoic minds. Parables are a language of the heart using symbolism and story to help us relate at a deep soul level. Jesus teases our minds into insight rather than communicating with simple illustrations and pat answers. We are invited to discover, and to own, what we find. In a sense, these are little mysteries where we notice the kingdom itself is also a Mystery and the central teaching of Jesus.

I wonder what we can unearth in this series of stories that each shed light on the “kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven is known as the “Kingdom of God” or the ‘‘Reign of God” which draws our hearts and our eyes from looking out yonder somewhere for a kingdom of heaven that will be fulfilled someday to notice the right-here, right-now, God-life that is with us – to the nearness and here-ness of God.

I think it is important to note that Jesus uses fairly common everyday experiences as well as some profound ones to show God at work on earth. He often conceals and then reveals. Jesus draws our attention to a tiny seed that grows into a nesting place, some yeast that leavens some bread, and an everyday fishing net, to the extreme experiences of discovering an unexpected treasure and a much sought-after jewel being found.

Each of these puzzles shows something that is concealed in the soil, the flour, the ground, and in the clam or the shop, where-ever the Pearl was waiting. The greatness of the Kingdom is concealed and then revealed in the small and in the grand things of life. I wonder what discovery or insight we may bump into today or may be found as a part of our search?

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