“Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed...” If you have been following our gospel readings these past few weeks, you will remember that Jesus is on the beach, in a boat, put out a bit, preaching and teaching to a crowd that has gathered there on the shores of Galilee. There are farmers and fishermen who have come to hear him preach...and so he tells them parables of the gospel which they will understand..

Pentecost 11, Proper 12A

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"Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed..." If you have been following our gospel readings these past few weeks, you will remember that Jesus is on the beach, in a boat, put out a bit, preaching and teaching to a crowd that has gathered there on the shores of Galilee. There are farmers and fishermen who have come to hear him preach...and so he tells them parables of the gospel which they will understand...one about a farmer who sows seed extravagantly on beaten path, in the briers, on rocky soil and on good soil. Another parable he tells is about a farmer who sowed good seeds, then an enemy came and sowed weeds among his wheat. But now Jesus is looking out across the crowd who have come to hear him, and he sees others, so his parables become expanded. To the farmers in the crowd that day, He says: The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny seed, when you plant it, bury it in the ground, it grows to become the greatest of trees. To the women who were there listening to the teacher, He says: The kingdom of heaven is like a bit of leaven, a lump of yeast, which when worked into the flour, the whole bowl of dough becomes alive. Perhaps there were some in the crowd who were always looking for their lucky break, to them He said: "the Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day you will stumble upon it...when you do, sell all you have and buy that field." There were some business men in the crowd, whom He told: "The kingdom of heaven is like a great pearl, sell all you have and buy that pearl." And to the fishermen who had pulled their boats in beside him, He said: "The kingdom of heaven is like your fishing nets... cast them out and when you pull them back in, they will be full of fish."

Very briefly, I want to look at the three points I believe we can find in each of these parables: First of all, in the diversity of the parables...in the diversity of all the people who had gathered there to Him...in the diversity of all the people who are here today... I believe Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of heaven is for ALL PEOPLE. There is nobody who should be left out. The kingdom of heaven is for fisherman, farmer, housewife, baker, merchant, banker...even treasure hunter.... all who seek God and his rule, His reign in their life. The kingdom is OURS...right now. It doesn’t matter who we are, or where we are in our journey, God’s kingdom is for US. It is not for a privileged few, or only those who can understand it, nor for those who deserve it. It is for us, our neighbors, our families, our enemies... for everybody. Jesus includes all of us in His kingdom.The second thing I notice in each of these parables, is that upon finding His kingdom, we find great JOY. The kingdom is not something we "possess", but rather something which possesses us. Something which overcomes us. I am reminded of the feeling I had at the birth of my children...all of a sudden, I had a joy which is indescribable...not because I "had" and new child, something which was "mine", but I was a new person, I was a "parent", I was overcome with JOY. So it is in the Kingdom of God. You don’t obtain the "kingdom", you become a new person because of the kingdom, and you are overcome with JOY. Something happens in HERE (heart). The kingdom of heaven will bring us great JOY, like the joy of smelling fresh baked bread, or winning the sweepstakes, or getting a new job, or catching a fish.

Finally, our parables, I believe, tell us HOW to find the Kingdom of heaven. If we listen closely, Jesus is telling us HOW to find such a treasure, such Joy. He is saying, that if we are going to find his kingdom, and the joy, peace and fulfillment that it brings to our lives,...then we are going to have to be willing to"let go" of some things in our life we may be holding on to. We may have to "bury" some things, perhaps "sell all that we have" in order to buy that field, or pearl of great value. We have to cast out the net, before we can pull it in. This is not a denial of "grace". The kingdom still comes to us as a gift, but there may be some things we are holding on to which are keeping us from receiving with open hands what is being offered to us. We cannot "buy" the kingdom, but if we are holding on to something in our life, that we refuse to let go of, then we may not be able to grasp what is there for us. Do you remember the story of the monkey trap? It is very simple to trap a monkey....you simply put a walnut inside a closed cage. The monkey will slip his open hand into the cage to take the walnut, but with the walnut closed in his fist, he cannot remove his hand from the cage. And the monkey will not let go of the walnut. He is caught. What are you holding on to that has you trapped?...that keeps you from living in the kingdom of God?

And we cannot live in the kingdom of heaven if we make only a partial commitment to God. We’ve got to scatter our seed recklessly and generously. We must cast our nets out into the deep. We must sell all that we have and buy the field. It takes full committment to live in the kingdom.

I am reminded of the story of the young boy who went to visit his grandparents on their farm one summer. He wanted to help his grandfather work on the farm, so his grandfather got him up early the next morning before the sun had come up. The little boy helped his grandfather feed the chickens and gather the eggs. They fed and milked the cows. They slopped the hogs and washed down their pens. Finally, they heard the bell ringing from the back porch of the house calling them to breakfast. His grandmother had prepared a wonderful breakfast of ham, eggs, pancakes and cold milk.

After the little boy had finished his breakfast, he pushed back from the table and announced he was going back to bed. "Back to bed?", his grandfather questioned. "I thought you wanted to help me work on the farm?" "We’ve been working all morning," the little boy whined. "That’s not work!", the grandfather answered, "That was simply the chores, the things which have to be done....the work is out in the fields."

Many of us think that coming to worship on Sunday morning, or saying our daily prayers, or reading the bible is the work of the church, or will find us the kingdom. Coming to worship, saying our prayers and reading the bible are simply our "chores" as Christians. The real work of the Kingdom is what is happening out in the fields, through those doors, out in the world the rest of the week...the rest of our lives. Only when we are willing to give God all of our lives, bury the seed, work the leaven, sell all we have, cast the net...only then will we find the real JOY of living and working in the Kingdom.

1. The kingdom of heaven is for all of us. It is OURS. 2. And when we find it, it will give us a JOY beyond our imagination. 3. But we will only find it when we are willing to "let go" of any other gods, idols, treasures which we are holding on to. Then we will discover, then we can receive the joy which the world cannot give. This is the Kingdom of heaven. AMEN.