Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

He 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.’

The Parable of the Yeast

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.’

Three Parables

‘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.

Treasures New and Old

‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And 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.’

What is the kingdom of heaven? Jesus tells us that it is small, hidden, mysterious and generous. There is a time sequence here which covers both discovery and its outcome. Jesus may be speaking of the kingdom of heaven as something that was arriving and appearing to his contemporaries. Yet, we must say that it is always arriving, always being discovered by individuals and it is not taking over; it is part of an ecosystem – a shrub amongst other shrubs. It is also in relationship – the birds rest in its branches. It does not result in Christian countries, institutions, denominations – these are quite different things.

Key to Jesus’ message, throughout all that he says, excepting the rather different Gospel of John, is the small things that make a big impact. I suspect that is not how we read Scripture or theology most of the time. I think we should be careful in making too much of small things and particularly of treating Jesus’ parables and imageries as allegories. However, I was struck by today’s selected text which mentions the woman with the yeast. We should always note the women in the text because there is a great risk that they disappear into the background of otherwise male texts. What struck me is that the woman is God. The kingdom of heaven is God’s kingdom  – this is better understood as the place where God is at work rather than where God is ruling – and God is busily mixing yeast into the world until God’s raising effect is everywhere. I do believe that we should hold onto and be looking for female imagery in relation to God, because God is not a bloke in the sky. God herself (noting that the Methodist Church ascribes no gender to God) is a challenge to patriarchal attitudes.

 Blessings as we pray that we might find the Kingdom of God in the little things and the “little” people of this earth.  Be safe!  Be well!  The Spirit has come!

To Ponder:

• How do you feel about the use of female imagery for God?
• What does the kingdom of heaven look like to you? How would you describe it?