Eighth Sunday after Trinity
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Readings:1 Kings 3: 5-12 and Matthew 13: 31-33 and 44-52
The Queen of Sheba, according to chapter 10 of the first Book of Kings, came to test King Solomon with hard questions. When she told him all that was on her mind, he answered all her questions; there was nothing that he could not explain to her. The wisdom of Solomon was legendary. In fact, that later chapter relates that ‘the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.’
That wisdom came after Solomon’s plea to the Lord, which we heard earlier. “Give your servant an understanding mind to govern your people; able to discern between good and evil.” And the Lord was pleased with this plea, because Solomon had not asked for long life, riches or the life of his enemies, which most rulers would want. In those days long life and riches were signs of God’s favour and goodness. We don’t tend to think in the same way today. We don’t consider the rich are necessarily better people than the poor, and we don’t usually consider that those who live longer do so because they have been virtuous.
Remember that Solomon’s request for this gift of understanding came after the Lord had specifically asked him, “What should I give you?” His answer makes it clear that he already possessed, at least in part, what he asked for. So would you rather be wise, or rich?
One of the short parables that makes up today’s gospel concerns ‘the pearl of great price.’ A merchant in search of fine pearls, on finding one of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Maybe we all dream of finding treasure, or maybe of finding that crowning item that would make up our collection of rare stamps, or antique clocks, or the Morgan car we’ve always wanted, or whatever it might be. I remember searching secondhand bookshops for years to find a particular title. I told the bookseller that I’d been looking for that book for a very long time, and he said, “You’ll miss that now you’ve found it, and will have to start searching for something else.”
There’s no indication that the merchant who bought the pearl of great price went on looking for others. Indeed, as one wag has pointed out, he had no money to do so, as he sold all that he had in order to acquire the special one.
All these short parables today are attempts to describe the kingdom of heaven. Jesus gave dozens of examples of what the kingdom of heaven was like. How curious it is that something so fundamental to Jesus’ ministry needed explaining. But then, how would you describe ‘wisdom’? It is difficult to say, but you can see the results of a wise decision that someone has made. Maybe the kingdom of heaven is like that. Is it here, or still to come? At one point Jesus said, “The kingdom is among you!” Elsewhere he suggests it’s still to come, or not yet fully realised. I said last week that the expression ‘kingdom of heaven’ means how God works here and now; and the way God works is not the way we do.
But we can gain some general ideas about the kingdom from these short stories or sayings. The writer Jane Williams suggests that the first impressions of the kingdom gained through the parables are of unpredictability and excitement. When I read that, my first thought was “Is that my experience when I go about my Christian life day-by-day: unpredictability and excitement? Is that the experience of our church worship Sunday by Sunday – unpredictability and excitement? And by unpredictability I don’t mean wondering whether the sound system will work properly or if the candles will burn out during the service!
Looking at the first of the parables Jesus offers today, who would have thought that the mustard seed, so small, could grow into the greatest of the shrubs? Who would have thought that the yeast could amass such a huge amount of dough? Actually, we’re not surprised about that because we know about it. The point is that other things that we are not so familiar with may also behave like that. Don’t discount small things until you know what they are capable of. Don’t think about big things as though they never had small beginnings. And think a bit more about the mustard seed. It grows rampantly, seemingly from nowhere, into a tree eight to ten feet high. Then it does something life-giving; it offers shelter and shade.
Another lesson from these parables is that the kingdom unfolds slowly, almost unnoticed. In an age when nobody likes to wait, and communication is instant, we forget that some of the best ideas and the most important things that happen to us unfold slowly over a period of time. The kingdom grows slowly, almost unnoticed, but it has a great power of transformation. It grows through small acts of service or kindness. They may seem small, but their effect can be transformative. Maybe you know ‘The Starfish Story.’ An older man is walking along a beach after a great storm. Thousands of starfish have been washed ashore and are stranded. The man comes across a young boy methodically picking up the starfish and tossing them back into the rolling waves. Approaching the boy, the man rather disparagingly says, “There are miles of beach and countless starfish; you can’t possibly make a difference. The boy bends down, picks up another starfish and hurls it into the sea. “I made a difference to that one” he replies. Inspired by the boy’s perspective, the man bends down, picks up a starfish, and joins in.
The Kingdom of heaven is worth searching for, and sacrificing for, like the pearl of great price. Its transformation may not always be pleasant; it can be disturbing, just as the fermentation of yeast is in the dough. The last parable of the little group we’ve been thinking about today – of the net full of fish, starts in the hope of plenty, but has a sting in the tail. There will be a time when the good and the bad will be judged, and the bad tossed back into the sea. On a personal level, let us pray for the gift of discernment; sometimes in our daily living we seem to have no discernment at all; we take on board the good and the bad and carry them around with us. To be part of God’s kingdom we have to begin to get rid of all that is destructive or against the life of the kingdom.
Many people will look out of the window, see the mess the world is in, and say it’s obvious that the Kingdom of Heaven hasn’t come. The parables, in their different ways, suggest answers to the puzzle, perhaps the only sort of answers we can ever give. The tiny seed will grow. The leaven will work through the lump. The treasure is at present hidden, but those who find it will know its worth. Maybe this is the understanding and wisdom that we should ask for; the same sort of understanding and wisdom given to Solomon.
Many people are attracted by the teachings of Jesus who don’t acknowledge him as Son of God. It’s up to us to proclaim the kingdom he came to bring. He changed lives and brought about transformation. He turned upside down the values of the age with a new wisdom. He helped the downtrodden and unimportant to see that they were children of God – precious and loved. He challenged the injustices of power and wealth, and saw through the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day. This was the Kingdom of Heaven breaking out and taking hold; and its growth continues today – God’s work in progress.
So may we ask for wisdom and understanding to discern the growth of the Kingdom and to work for it, in the world at large, and within ourselves; to rejoice when wholesome change and transformation takes place; and to have the faith which believes that great things will happen in the future, as seeds which God may have sown through us come to fruition.