The Kingdom Is ...

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52                                                                                                                      July 26, 2020 

            One of my sweetest memories of my kids when they were little, and there are many, is when they would bring me bouquets of dandelions. They did not yet understand that these were weeds; something most people thought was a nuisance. No one had enlightened them on the human-made difference between a flower and a pest. All they saw was a pretty yellow flower that no adult minded them picking, and one that they were sure their mom would love. And she did.

            I would admire them as if they were two dozen roses, then put these tokens of my children’s affection in water and let them adorn the kitchen counter till they finally wilted away. That process never took very long.

            But as dutifully as I adored this precious gift of dandelions from my babies, I worked just as dutifully to get them out of my yard – the dandelions, not my children. How many hours have I spent pulling dandelions and creeping Charlie and other various and sundry weeds from yards and around the flowers that I do my best to coax into bloom? More than I can tell you. I’m not the best gardener, but I love it. I look forward to the day when I can try my hand at raised beds, and other flowers and other vegetables than the cherry tomatoes currently growing on our deck. And I know that when I am tending to these flowers and vegetables of my imagination, that I will once again spend time pulling weeds. And I will pull them with great determination.

            Which is why this first parable from this list of parables in our gospel text this morning always throws me for a loop. While we may enjoy mustard on our hot dogs, a mustard seed was not something that a farmer would deliberately or intentionally plant amongst his or her crops. The mustard plant was an invasive weed. It would spread and grow, robbing the crop that was deliberately planted of nutrients and eventually life.

            The mustard seed was an invasive, destructive weed, yet Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to this weed. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed? This seems especially strange considering Jesus’s words of separating the wheat from the chaff, and in letting the weeds grow among the good seed. He did not always speak in praise of weeds, but in this parable, the kingdom is the weed. The second parable Jesus told may not seem quite as confusing on the surface, but when you dig deeper it is just as troubling.

            The kingdom of heaven is a like a woman who adds yeast to three measures of flour. Why is this troubling? We think yeast is good. During this pandemic and the lockdowns all around the country, yeast became a precious resource. People were suddenly baking bread in great quantities, and when you did venture out to the grocery store, it could be challenging to find any yeast. But in the biblical context, yeast was not necessarily seen as a good thing. More often it was a contaminant. David Lose wrote that in the scriptures, a reference to yeast was often a reference to the pernicious nature of sin.

            While our translation of this reads that the woman added the yeast into the flour, a more literal translation states that she “hid” the yeast. She hid the yeast – a contaminant – in a large measure of flour, and the whole thing became leavened. The kingdom of heaven, according to Jesus, is like this yeast. It is hidden in the flour until it grows and grows and leavens the whole mix. Let’s just all say a collective, ‘Huh?”

            Often the interpretations of these parables go with the small to the large. The kingdom of heaven is like the tiny mustard seed. But even though it may start out infinitesimally small, it grows and grows and becomes a great tree. That great tree will attract birds of every kind, who will come and nest in its branches.

            The kingdom of heaven in is like yeast added to a great quantity of flour. It will grow and bloom and leaven the whole thing, and as my colleague in our Zoom lecitionary group said,

            “When that happens, you have to bake bread. You can’t ignore it.”

            While the small to the large is fine, and that idea will come out in other gospel texts, it is hard not to see that Jesus’ parables about the kingdom are not only about small to large. If the kingdom of heaven is like a weed that will grow and spread and take over, then there will be those who will try to uproot it, pull it out, push back against it? Right?

            If the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that is hidden in flour, then there are those who will see the whole mix as being spoiled, as something that was not meant to be leavened in the first place.

            It seems to me that in these first two parables, Jesus may be giving his disciples and anyone who wants to follow him a warning: the kingdom of heaven won’t seem like a kingdom to some. But it will have deep roots, and it will leaven all of the flour. It may start off small, but it will grow to such a massive size, that it will not be able to be toppled. It may start off hidden, but it will leaven all the flour. It will not be ignored.

            However, Jesus does not end the parable telling with only these two. The kingdom of heaven may start off small and grow large. But it will also be something that you will willingly give up everything you have, everything you own, to be a part of. It will be like a treasure hidden in a field. The one who finds the treasure will not just take it but will buy the whole field too. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who seeks out fine pearls, and when he finds one pearl that is so surpassing in beauty and value and worth, he will sell all the other pearls he owns just to have it. And the kingdom of heaven will be like a fishing net that caught an abundance of fish of every kind. Yes, there will be some fish that are bad, but there will be an abundance of fish that are kept.

            The kingdom of heaven is …

            What do we do with all these parables? Are we disturbed by them? Do we find hope in them? Do we celebrate them? Do they give us pause? Yes. Yes to all of the above, and probably many more choices I have yet to think of.  I wonder if Jesus is offering so many parables about the kingdom, not to overwhelm those who hear him, but to show that the kingdom of heaven is beyond the full scope of their imagination. But that does not mean that they cannot or should not try to imagine it, even if it is a limited vision at best.

            The kingdom of heaven does not fit neatly into any one parable, any one description, so Jesus offers several descriptions. Which one resonates with you? Which one captures your imagination? And while you’re at it, as Karoline Lewis challenged, which picture of the kingdom does your imagination conceive?

            When you think of the kingdom, what do you envision? Spend some time this week thinking about this question. Let your imagination loose. When you think of the kingdom, what do you imagine?

            Is it a wonderful feast set on a table that has space for everyone? Is it a garden where everyone can work the soil, tend to their crops and harvest in peace? Is it a world free of hunger and violence and strife? Is it a world where children can live free of anxiety and fear and suffering? Is it a world where dandelions are no longer weeds, but just one more flower among many?

            When you think of the kingdom of heaven, what do you see? What do you hope for? What do you imagine? Whatever the answer you may give to that question, the good news is that the kingdom of heaven is in our midst. It is growing. It is spreading and blooming and becoming lush and welcoming to birds of all kinds. And in a world that seems as far from the kingdom as ever, that is good news indeed. The kingdom is. Thanks be to God.  Alleluia. Amen.