Rev. Davide Cantarella

25.11.2012

Matthew 13 – the Parables of the Kingdom 

The theme of the Kingdom of God has been much on my mind in the last few months.

As you know the idea of the Kingdom of God stands at the center of Jesus' proclamation as reported in the Gospels – especially the first three Gospels.

So it certainly meant a lot both to the the authors of those Gospels, and to those who received the written Gospels in the early decades of Christian history.

Interestingly enough, the Gospels spend a lot of time giving us information about the Kingdom, but this information is far from being clear and immediate. In fact, much of what the Gospels say about the Kingdom is wrapped up in parables, metaphors and all kinds of other figures of speech. Figures of speech that maybe were clear 21 centuries ago, but are not all that clear today.

So, we can talk about the Kingdom of God all day long; we can hear series of sermons on the Kingdom, we can even pray "may your Kingdom come”, but if we don't have a clear idea of what the Kingdom is, then we cannot understand much of what Jesus says in the Gospel, because much of what Jesus says has to do with the Kingdom.

So, before we start, some important things need to be said about Jesus, Scriptures, and the idea of the Kingdom of God.

The Scriptures tell us a story. At first it is a story of God creating the world. It is a world where everything has a place and everything is just perfect. So, in the beginning we read this story of harmony, and beauty, and love, and close relationships. It's a beautiful story. But it lasts only 2 chapters.

In fact, already in the third chapter of the Bible we read that human beings disobeyed God and ruined most of the good work that God has done. It is because of that event that things like hatred and envy and anger and sickness and death are now part of our lives.

That's a little depressing, of course. But that's not the end of the story.

Indeed the rest of Scriptures tells us the story of God working to free creation from the problems humans caused. So, everything that God does from that point on has one goal – the redemption of creation. The choice of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then the people of Israel was meant exclusively for one goal – the redemption of creation. There would come a day, God said, where everything will be again put in its place. There would come a day when peace, and justice, and harmony, and beauty and love would once again make up our life. There would come a day when God will be the only King and will establish a Kingdom.

The first part of the Bible, what we call the Old Testament, is the story of God announcing His future Kingdom, and of His people longing and waiting to see this Kingdom come.

Everyone in Israel desired to see this new Kingdom – the young and the old. The hope that one day the Kingdom will come gave them strength during difficult days. When their enemies would humiliate them, the Israelites persevered. They waited for the Kingdom. They were sure God, sooner or later, will destroy all enemies and fix all wrongs. So they waited. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. Century after century.

So, when this man called Jesus appeared and said, "The Kingdom of God is near”, you can imagine there was quite a bit of commotion. And when Jesus started performing miracles, then the excitement grew even more. And many people thought, "That's it! It's happening! The Kingdom!”

So, a lot of people followed Jesus everywhere to figure what's next. And one day, after Jesus had a lot of arguments with the Pharisees because they thought He is not from God , they followed him to the shore of a lake. So, he got into a boat, had the crowd sat down on the shore, and started telling them stories. Stories about the Kingdom.

The first story he told is the story of a farmer sowing his seed and spreading it all over. Part of the seed falls on a footpath, only to be eaten by birds. Part of the seed fell on shallow, rocky soil so, instead of going deep and then spring up, it sprang up very quickly. However the lack of deep roots caused the plants to die when it got hot. Part of the seed fell on pretty decent soil, but the soil also had thorns and, when they grew, they chocked out the good seed. Finally, part of the seed fell on good soil, and it returned thirty, sixty, and even one hundred times what was sown.

A pretty easy story to understand, according to Jesus. However, it does not look like the disciples understood much. So Jesus gave an explanation of this parable. The various soils are a symbol of the different recipients of the message of the Kingdom. Some people don't get it at all; some people get it, but it does not sink in very deeply; some people get it, but it's overcome by other priorities in their lives; some people get it, it sinks in, and it changes everything.

What strikes me in this parable is that it seems Jesus had brutally realistic expectations of the way people receive the Kingdom. He did not seem to expect that everyone would accept the Kingdom. Rather, he seems to say that some people will never get it. They hear the message of Jesus, but it goes in one ear and comes out the other. So nothing changes.
Some people will hear the message and get excited; and they want to serve and get involved. A lot of quick and visible leaves; but that message stays on the surface. It does not sink deep. So there will be no fruit. And when things get difficult, their weak faith dies.

Some people will receive the message of the Kingdom, but it will never be a priority in their lives.  Their lives are too crowded, and the Kingdom is just one of many things. They are not bad people. But the seed planted does not do anything because it has no room to grow.

And then there are others that hear about the Kingdom and they get it. And it changes everything in their lives. And then it starts changing everything in the lives of people around them. And it keeps growing, and it produces fruit. And it's exciting.

And most important, the fruit in their lives more than covers the seed that just went wasted. Thirty, sixty, even one hundred times.

So – what kind of soil are you? Are you road? [comes one ear, comes out the other] Are you rocky soil? [lots of excitement, but when things get different your faith goes into a coma] Are you thistles? [too many things in your life. The Kingdom is not a priority] Or are you good soil that gives fruit?

The next story Jesus tells is the story of the wheat and the weeds.

Again we find a farmer who goes out and plants good seeds. The good work of the farmer is in contrast with the destructive work of his enemy, who comes at night while everyone is sleeping, and plants weeds among the wheat. The weeds planted were probably darnel, which bears a close resemblance to wheat until the ear appears. Wheat has value, but darnel is a nuisance, because it needs to be separated and thrown away. It cannot be eaten – the result would be an intoxication similar to drunkenness and in some cases even death.

So, at first nothing was noticed, but as time went by the farmer's servants noticed that the field had both wheat and darnel.

So, what to do? Should they be uprooted immediately? "No”, said the farmer, that won't work. Unfortunately darnel has stronger roots than wheat, and they grow so intertwined that by pulling one the other may come up as well. The better thing to do is to wait until harvest. Then the growth of the wheat will be complete, and the separation won't involve risk.

As in the case of the previous parable, here too we have a private explanation of the parable to the disciples.

The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed. The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one. The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

What does this story teach us about the Kingdom? Essentially it teaches us that in the world are people who look like they belong to the Kingdom, and speak as if they belonged to the Kingdom. They go to church every Sunday, but are like darnel - their fruit is bad and they prevent others from growing. And you know me well. You know I do not criticize other pastors. But there are pastors and preachers, who may even have a large following, and publish books, and be famous, considered "anointed”. They can be and do all that, and still be like darnel. Their fruit is poisonous and they prevent good fruit from growing in the lives of others.

So, the question for us is, are we fruit that feeds others, or fruit that makes other feel sick?

Jesus then goes on to tell two other stories:

This time he says that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It's a pretty small seed – the diameter is about 1 mm – but it gives birth to a reasonably large plant, whose height can reach 6 meters and is nearly as wide as it is tall.

The essence of this parable seems to be the contrast between the rather small beginnings and the rather impressive results for such an insignificant beginning.

The other parable is similar in essence. Here the Kingdom of God is likened to the yeast that a woman uses to make the dough. Yeast was usually a piece of dough set aside from the previous batch, which had fermented and turned acid.

In this parable the contrast seems to be between the small amount of leaven used and the large amount of flour – 3 measures is, I think, somewhere in the 30 Kg range. You would immediately recognize that 30 Kg of flour is an enormous amount. Indeed Jesus is highlighting the incredible effect of just a small amount of leaven, and how, given enough time, it can invisibly affect an enormous quantity of dough.

Alright – so what do these parables teach us about the Kingdom?

They point to the Kigdom's ability to start small, but reach surprising results. A small seed gives birth to a large shrub where lots of birds can find refuge. A small amount of leaven causes a large amount of dough to rise, that can feed a lot of people.
The Kingdom always starts small – started with one man – but with amazing results.

And it grows in mysterious ways. Even though we know chemical and biological processes and can explain much, it still amazes us that a minuscule seed can give rise to a tree, that a little tiny bit of fermented dough can penetrate an enormous fresh batch and make it rise. We do not see what happens under the ground. We do not see what happens inside the tough. We only see the results, and are amazed.

This is often the case when small, tiny seeds are planted in people's lives (or leaven is "hid”); words and acts of love and grace. Prayers and silent tears. Seeds are planted, but you can't see what's happening inside that person. At times years go by and we can't see anything. And then BOOM! Suprising results! And how did that happen? Only God knows.

Also, the Kingdom is found in the ordinary. Planting seeds and making dough were ordinary, daily things for the Israelites. Often, when we think of the Kingdom, we think of power, glory and supernatural experiences. But the Kingdom is found in everyday life – in mothers loving children for the sake of Christ; in children taking care of parents for the sake of Christ; in humans forgiving one another for the sake of Christ; in words of encouragement spoken for the sake of Christ; in an honest day of work for the sake of Christ; in giving your seat on the subway for the sake of Christ. Normal, everyday things. But they become supernatural because they are done for the sake of Christ. We bring the Kingdom, the supernatural, glorious, powerful presence of God, when we do what we do for the sake of the King.

So, what are the signs of the Kingdom in your life? What are the things that you do for the sake of the King? Where are the mustard seeds that you planted?

Jesus went on to tell more parables. We are just going to look at two more.

Jesus says the Kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it, and then sold everything to buy the field.

Or the Kingdom is like a merchant of pearls. He looked around and found a great one. So he sold everything and bought it.

These two parables say essentially the same thing. The value of the Kingdom is much greater than anything we may need to give up for the Kingdom's sake. And not everyone around you will understand that. Some people may think you are fanatics. Why give so much time to God? Why so much devotion? They see the field, and they don't think it's worth that much. Because they cannot see the treasure.

And yet, there are times when some of us doubt whether this Kingdom is worth pursuing. Because at times it demands much of us. It demands a patience at times we don't have. A kind of love that at times we don't have. A degree of honesty we are not always able to offer. Self-discipline, obedience, purity, vulnerability. Is the Kingdom worth all that? Because there are so many treasures out there that claim our attention – the Kingdom of relationships, the Kingdom of career, the Kingdom of money, the Kingdom of sex. All these Kingdom call to us and make lots promises and no demands. So, is the Kingdom of God worth everything you have and everything you are? Is the Kingdom of God for you a much greater treasure, a much more precious pearl?

Summarizing, the story we find in the Scriptures is the story of God announcing His Kingdom. In Jesus, this Kingdom comes near us, and the invitation to enter is made to each one of us. God wants us to receive His Kingdom, but He wants us to do not carelessly, as if it was nothing, but with a sense of responsibility. Specifically, in the parables of Jesus as found in Matthew 13 we are invited to ask ourselves four questions:

1.     Is the Kingdom of God the greatest treasure in my life, the most important thing?

2.     What are the things I do for the sake of the King? What are the mustard seeds I plant?

3.     Am I fruit that feeds others, or fruit that is detrimental to others?

4.     Does the message of the Kingdom bring fruit in my life? Or it goes in one ear and comes out the other? Or am I too busy? Or my faith has short roots and my spiritual life is like a rollercoaster?