Date: 18 Jul 2002
Time: 08:47:43
What one thing would I give up everything I own to have? Finding that "one thing" changes us. Finding God in the depths of our hearts changes us forever. I heard the confession of a dear woman who admited for the first time that she needed the forgiveness of God and it totally changed her life. Once she knew she needed God's love --everything was transformed and she became a new person. The old sinner was gone now she was willing to share in God's work. She had to give up her pride in order to realize she needed forgiveness. What do we have to give up to realize that I have the ONE I need? priest in Iowa
Date: 19 Jul 2002
Time: 09:46:38
Priest in Iowa, I like your approach to the treasure from a spiritual vantage point. Your comment brings to mind all the people who have traipsed through our garage this week looking for that treasure in our periodic family garage sale. A few of these shoppers are so driven, determined that they "garage sale" like it's a life and death enterprise. But they are more like me than I want to admit. I have sometimes daydreamed about acquiring great wealth. The fantastic stories of people opening up the back of an old framed picture bought for a pittance at a garage sale only to discover a priceless copy of the Declaration of Independence hidden there has spurred me to open up old pictures just in case. We are so prone to imagine stumbling onto great wealth unexpectedly. Isn't it ironic that in God's economy NOT owning things makes us wealthy because we are free of the bondage of of materialism? St. Francis and Mother Teresa found the pearl of great price and they like Jesus died without owning any property. Is this gospel Jesus' economic advice to us as affluent Americans today? Deacon in Ohio
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 05:20:27
What exactly does the verse 52 mean? This has always puzzled me.
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 05:52:25
Eric in KS
Verse 52 struck me, too. I was wondering if it might be suggesting that the parables bring both old wisdom and new insights --perhaps in response to changing times or circumstances. A "scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven" -- would that be like one who is vocational about the writings and teachings (as opposed to one who is there for the paycheck)? Maybe it connects with the I Kings passage and Soloman's prayer for wisdom? Or could we take it even further, and understand it as the scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven as being one like an artist who brings music to life as opposed to a novice who only plays notes and chords and scales; or in other words as one who has that intuitive grasp of the "spirit of the law" that pervades and gives birth (due to necessity) to the "letter of the law."
I'll be looking forward to others' comments on this, and on the importance of Jesus' question in verse 51 - "Have you understood this?"
Janice in Ks
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 06:15:57
I'm glad the disciples "got it." I'm struggling, myself. Does anyone else notice that in this collection of 4 parables there are 2 different messages? The first 2 (seed and yeast) seem to say a little goes a long way. The second 2 parables(pearl and fish) seem to say scrap the much and hold on to the little.
So, which is the Kingdom; rampant increase, or weeding out, or both? Is the master of the house the one who holds up for consideration both that which has stood the test of time and also the "new thing", celebrating both increase and stability? I'm shooting from the hip, here. Love me enough to correct me if I'm wrong. tom (back)in TN(USA)
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 09:05:06
Eric - I had another thought about verse 52. Do you suppose it could be about being trained to see the sacred in the secular, about thinking theologically about common things? And perhaps is an invitation to us, then, to look around and see the kingdom of heaven surrounding us. . . Still pondering in Ks. --Janice
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 09:54:17
Eric, I don't claim to know exactly what vs 52 means but for what it's worth here is what I think.
I think that the treasure of a scribe is the writings that the scribe is a "keeper" or "steward" of- being trained in the preservation and transmission of. To be trained for the kingdom of heaven (and this is maybe reaching) would be to view the all sacred writings now through the lens of the Christ event. ( Before his departure, Christ opens the minds of his followers to be able to see him in the Scriptures)
The Hebrew Scriptures then take on different meanings for Christians than they do for Jewsih people. For Christians the treasure of Christ is "buried" or contained in the Hebrew Scripture but not evident to non-Christians.
Pr.del in Ia
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 11:05:48
Bill Loader at Murdoch Univ. in Australia has this to say about v. 52:
"3:52 has Jesus go on to speak of the scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven. Just as Jesus taught with authority and not as their scribes, according to 7:29, so the disciples are to be better scribes, but scribes nevertheless (so also 23:34). The good scribe or interpreter is one who both draws on tradition (scripture) and draws on contemporary experience as a parable of God's reality in the world, thus on both old and new."
Makes sense ... sort of.
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 12:25:58
Could the theme be "surprises." Surprise is when the mustard seed grows into a large plant from a small seed. Surprise is when the man gives all he has to buy the field with the treasure. Surprise is when you see what kinds of fish you've cught in a net. God's kingdom is often a surprise. We don't always like that surprise, but we are surprised nevertheless. Lutheran Interim Pastor, Illinois
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 12:29:36
Solomon seems to show us how we can best deal with God's surprises. Prayer is the best way. He is overwhelmed (as we often are also) by the enormity of the job ahead of him. He asks God for the wisdom to execute the job to God's glory. Note also when Solomon later tries his own methods to rule Israel, he causes the rift that eventually splits the kingdom into North and South and imports idolatry that ruins the worship of the true God. Lutheran Interim Pastor, Itasca, IL
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 12:32:47
I suspect verse 52 speaks of the teaching of those given the gift of teaching and also those given the gift of preaching. These people must bring both old and new insights out of God's Word for all to hear. This is only good teaching and preaching. Other gifted people might also bring old and new insights and abilities to the Church. We are presented with quite a challenge here. Lutheran Interim Pastor, Itasca, IL
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 13:13:25
I have an idea! If we go with the idea that the kingdom of God is like a surprise, why not surprise our church members? I am thinking about putting a silver dollar in one bulletin, maybe a gift certificate for a pizza in another,and I have to come up with some other things. Then as part of the sermon I could ask people how they felt about the surpises they found. What do you think? PH in OH
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 13:18:58
Tom in TN-
To pick up on and expand your thoughts? I?ve been struggling, too, and can see two sets of two parables with two different points. (why not sets of three? we like threes, don?t we!)
Anyway, a way to look at all this is that the seed and yeast (or sourdough, which is an even richer image of ?like growing in like?) are images of growth from small beginnings. The pearl and fish images illustrate the great value of what (or more properly whom) we seek as we grow.
The application, then, is that we in the church are called by God to seek growth beyond our current smallness? not for self-aggrandizement but for the sake of the valuable souls God wants us to reach on his behalf.
BTW, growth is not just in numbers. I?m using these parables along with the normal summer slump to encourage the use of a spiritual gifts inventory to prepare our members for ministry as the busier fall comes again.
Steve in Delta, BC
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 13:24:27
I'm going to send this again and see if I managed to clean up the format- please disregard the multiple post! Thanks for your patience!
Tom in TN-
To pick up on and expand your thoughts- I've been struggling, too, and can see two sets of two parables with two different points. (why not sets of three? we like threes, don't we!)
Anyway, a way to look at all this is that the seed and yeast (or sourdough, which is an even richer image of 'like growing in like') are images of growth from small beginnings. The pearl and fish images illustrate the great value of what (or more properly whom) we seek as we grow.
The application, then, is that we in the church are called by God to seek growth beyond our current smallness- not for self-aggrandizement but for the sake of the valuable souls God wants us to reach on his behalf.
BTW, growth is not just in numbers. I'm using these parables along with the normal summer slump to encourage the use of a spiritual gifts inventory to prepare our members for ministry as the busier fall comes again.
Steve in Delta, BC
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 15:42:45
Steve in Delta, BC, commented, "BTW, growth is not just in numbers."
Right! Check out Loren Mead's book "More than Numbers" from the Alban Institute. He does a good job discussing the other sorts of "growth" (e.g., spiritual maturity) that we are called to do.
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 15:46:28
I've never been a three-point kinda guy, but it looks to me like we do have three sets parables here:
1. Mustard seed and yeast -- small things yielding big returns.
2. The value of the small things (treasure in field, pearl of great price) warrants the effort put into finding them.
3. The effort requires some discernment, sorting through a bunch of stuff, some worthless, to find the good (sorting the catch of fish).
I probably would have arranged them in a different order, but hey, Matthew didn't ask me to edit his work.
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 18:16:34
I like the 3-pointer. I now realize I miscounted the parables. there are 6, 3 pairs! Seed and yeast, are things which were intentionally worked into the soil and flour to get an increase. The treasure hidden in the field and the pearl hidden in a shell were fortuitous discoveries, surprizes, and opportunities siezed upon to get unexpected riches. The fishermen and the householder were those who sorted the good and bad, the new and old to find and hold onto the best. Having seen things grow in the past, and finding new surprizes all around us in the present, keeps us looking toward the future with confident hope and expectation. How's that? tom in TN(USA)
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 19:50:28
What is new and what is old.
Old wine is good. New wine is not. Which is the treasure?
New clothing is good. Old clothing can be tattered and worn (out). Which is the treasure?
Some things become more precious with age, and their meanings sometimes change. A photograph of my mother means so much more now that I can no longer look upon her face. The old scriptures now mean so much more now that they are interpreted, or redefined, by Christ.
Still treasure... the scriptures are old, but Christ is new, dramatically new to the disciples, and to us?
Michelle
Date: 22 Jul 2002
Time: 21:33:49
O.K. Pastor mary in Ohio is HYPER! (ADHD self diagnosed haha! ) I had Volunteer Chaplain duty today...so de-esculating! Scool of Christian Missons this week TOO Getting ready to study Mexico and the Scandulous Message of James-Faith w/o works is dead. I was thinking about the biblical patriarchs and how if they were like, today they'd have have their own TV Show and Theme Song haha, so, here's a few examples! Adam and Eve-"Bye Bye miss american pie drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry- them good ole boys drinking whiskey and rye- saying this will be the day that I die! Don McClean version (not Madonna's); the serpent's-"I'm on Fire" by Bruce'the boss' Springsteen; 4him's-half of my blood is Cain's Blood, half of my blood is able's; Enoch-"Rapture" by Blondie; Methusalah-"He's an old hippie" Bellamy Brothers; Noah-"Rain" by Modonna; Ham,Shem and Japheth-"There's got to be a morning after Posiden adventure" ; Abraham and Sarah-"Faith" George Michel; Ismael-"BORN TO BE WILD!"; Issac-"Family Tradition" Hank JR; Jacob-"Do the Velcro Fly-(leah and rachel get it) by ZZ TOP; Esau-"Rough Boy" ZZ TOP; Leah and Rachel-"Girls just wanna have fun"Cindi lauper;Joseph-"Sharp Dressed man" ZZ top Moses-"You light up my Life" with Shekinah Glory!;Rehab-"I'm looking for a new love" by jodi watley; Ruth-Love will find a way-Amy Grant-Gill;Deborah and Huldah- I am woman! by helen reddy; Saul-"Drive me crazy" Brittany Spears; Witch of Endor-"Ghostbusters!" by ray parker JR; David-"HERO" by Bonnie Tyler; Michal-"Infatuation" Rod Stewart; Delilah-"Betty Davis Eyes" Jezabel-"Devil with the blue dress on" Ahab-" Our love's in Jepardy"; Daniel-"It is Superstition writing on the wall" Stevie Wonder; OK That's it... Just thought modern spin on some patriarchs...sermon in somewhere...maybe to use with your teens...Pastor Mary OH
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 03:54:08
A poorly retold tale from the Hasedem (sic) Deke in TX – Pace e Bene
Isaac was a poor Jew among poor Jews. He had a dream that there was a treasure under the bridge in the city. Things were so bad in Isaac's household that Isaac thought, "I'll follow my dream for there is little for my family to eat."
After a few adventures he made it to the city and sure enough, there was the bridge of his dreams. It was heavily guarded. Isaac thought that he would wait until night and the moon to set.
In the dark of the night he made his way under the bridge to the spot where the dream treasure was buried. A cold wind blew off the river as Isaac scraped at the hard ground. Above on the bridge one of the guards heard the noise and came down to investigate.
Ivan was amused to see the ragged man digging in the river bank in the middle of the night, "Ho! What do you thing you are doing, Jew?"
Isaac, thought, "I was so close, maybe he will share." " Sir, I had a dream that there is a treasure buried here."
Ivan laughed out loud, his guffaws echoing from the far side of the river, "You stupid Jew, why if I was as stupid as you, following a dream, this very minute I'd be in the hut of a man named Isaac who has a treasure buried under his stove. It's just a dream, get out of here, I would arrest you but for the fine joke. Go on, Fool, before I change my mind!"
Isaac left this city and returned home. When he got there things were as bad as ever but no worse. He held out his hands to the cold dead stove to the wry amusement of his wife. And then to her surprise he shoved the stove over with a mighty heave,leaving a trail of cinders and clinkers.
"What do you thing your doing, Old Fool?" "Hush, Woman, Help with this stone."
Together they pried up the stone that the stove had sat upon beyond memory. Isaac scooped up the dirt under the stone unearthing a chest. Inside was a king's ransom in gold and jewels.
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 08:56:14
From a sermon by Barbara Brown Taylor “It is a lot to digest at one sitting, but the striking thing about all of these images is their essential hiddenness-- the mustard seed hidden in the ground, the yeast hidden in the dough, the treasure hidden in the field, the pearl hidden among all the other pearls, the net hidden in the depths of the sea. If the kingdom is like these, then it is not something that is readily apparent to the eye but something that must be searched for, something just below the surface of things waiting there to be discovered and claimed... It seems like we ought to start (looking) some place really holy, some place really extraordinary... Unless of course God has resorted to the oldest trick in the book and hidden it in plain view. There is always the possibility, you know--that God decided to hide the kingdom of heaven not in any of the extraordinary places that treasure hunters would be sure to check but in the last place that any of us would think to look--namely, in the ordinary circumstances of our everyday lives--like a silver spoon in the drawer with the stainless, like a diamond necklace on the bureau with the rhinestones--the extraordinary hidden in the ordinary, the kingdom of heaven all mixed in with the humdrum and ho-hum of our days, as easy to find as an amaryllis bulb in the dark basement that suddenly sends forth a shoot, or a child’s smile when she awakes from sleep, or the first thunderstorm after a long drought, all of them signs of the kingdom of heaven, clues to all the holiness hidden in the dullest days. Jesus knew it all along. Why else would he talk about heaven in terms of farmers and fields and women baking bread and merchants buying and selling things and fisherman sorting fish, unless he meant somehow to be telling us that the kingdom of heaven has to do with these things, that our treasure is buried not in some exotic far off place that requires a special map but that “X” marks the spot right here, right now, in all the ordinary people and places and activities in our lives." Jeff in NJ
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 09:00:51
Pastor Mary, ease back on the caffiene, babe. Ha! Loved your top 40. Keep them coming!
Deke, There's no place like home. There's no place like home! Thanks for the story. Magi in the Middle
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 10:33:57
About v. 52-- from the IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament: The law and wisdom were often compared with treasure (and sometimes wtih a pearl); scribes, who were specially conversant with the law, naturally had the "old" treasure, and the message of the kingdom gave them something new. ... Some scholars have suggested that Matthew's Gospel addresses especially Christian scribes whose vocation is to disciple the Gentiles to the greatest teacher, Jesus." (p. 84) So, I suppose they had the old, the law; and the new, in the Kingdom of Heaven. the old and the new together.
I'm thinking of ancient/future type things... the old story in new skin; the continuation and new growth of the seeds that have been planted in the past. One of the churches I pastor is embarking on a new journey and just got a jumpstart-- God planted a seed and the vision is bearing fruit! I want to build this on the vision that they have pursued in the past... just some thoughts.
E in PA
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 11:08:58
I neglected to say that this is my third and final sermon in a series called "sowing seeds." That's why I'm focusing on the mustard seed. (first one: Sowing seeds: good soil; second, "weed or feed," and third, "from small to great."
E in PA
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 12:39:09
Jesus never said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is exactly this or that.” The Kingdom of Heaven is elusive. It is beyond description. No word can accurately define it. No image can full portray it. No, the Kingdom of Heaven may be like this or that. It may possess some of the qualities of a fine pearl or a vast treasure. But it is not any of these things. The Kingdom of Heaven is not something to be described, as much as it is something to be experienced.
The greatest truth is not that the kingdom of heaven is like anything, but that the kingdom of heaven IS! The Kingdom of Heaven was ushered in with Jesus Christ and will be fully realized at the final harvest when God will rule over all creation and every knee will bend and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Kingdom of Heaven is a reality and we are invited to participate in the kingdom that is present and in the kingdom that is to come.
Some early thoughts from Pastor John in CT
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 18:06:46
Regarding verses 51 & 52:
Eugene Petterson has a refreshing translation in the "Message." It reads: Jesus asked, "Are you starting to understand all this?"
They answered, "Yes."
He said, "Then you see how every student well trained in God's kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it."
Living in rural Maine, this makes a lot of sense to me, and I even know some general store owners who can do this!
Isn't this what we in pastoral ministry are called to offer? What ever people need when they need it, whatever Scripture can apply to one's situation, whatever Word of comfort, or challenge needs to be available at a moments notice. We are to be students, well trained!
A W-G rocky coast Me.
Date: 23 Jul 2002
Time: 19:11:11
I'm beginning to see God as the pearl merchant. Each one of us is the treasured pearl of great value, for which God sold everything. We have been bought at the cost of the infinite becoming finite in the person of Jesus. The transformation from divinity to defenseless human infant seems like giving everything up to me. Just thoughts. Please comment. Peace. Mike in Saskatchewan
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 03:16:13
Mike in Saskatchewan,
Mike, you got it. I have heard this text preached many times and the point was about what we found in salvation. The real truth is the "pearl of great value" that God sees in you and I.
JJ in LA
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 06:49:51
v 52! Could it be the treasures of "anamnesis" and the treasures of "prolepsis"? Incarnational, sacramental spirituality of discovering "Christ within, the hope of glory", of re-living and living the life of Christ the Way, of recovering and recapitulating the treasures of Covenant-making history, revitalized by the Exodus in discovering our contemporary desert, or being baptized again in the Reed Sea, of the anticipatory opening up of past, present, and future before the "kairos" of God's Kingdom come in "realized eschatology" (as witnessed from OK last week). Liturgical theology, as well as aesthetic-spiritual theology, I believe is "rich" in what it has to offer today "for today"! Yet, strangely I also experience a chaos, a confusion, in a dichotomy, in that various forms of "praise???-contemporary???" worship as well as so called "traditional" worship formality, do not begin to connect with this richness of Biblical and Traditional Revelation nor the "Wounded G-D" at work in the dawning Kingdom where justice is rolling down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream in the midst of "abandoned-suffering" humanity sitting outside the gate of the temple-sanctuary. "Hidden treasures" of a dawning Kingdom that comes in us, with us, without us, in spite of us...Is not this the source and resource we have to draw from in the hermeneutical task to which we are called? We are so powerfully rich to work for the transformation of the self-system (our own and others) as well as the transformation of the social-historical-cultural systems of the world and yet perhaps the Church remains frozen, peripheral, as a "paralyzed force" in the face of political-economic-religious-family structures and forces today! Re-reading and praying through T. S. Eliot's "Hollow Man", "Waste Land", and "Chrouses From the Rock" may help in my state of confusion. Or, it may only cause me to enter the deeper realization of "How long, O Lord?" which Isaiah asked of G-d in the 6th Chapter only to hear of a burned over lanf again and a smoldering burning stump in which resided the "Holy Seed"! (PaideiaSCO reflections and confusions in north GA mts)
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 09:34:25
I am considering the greed that drove the man to hide the treasure and then take advantage of the owner to buy it.
In our world this doesn't seem ethical. In theirs, it was at least questionable and the subject of rabbinical discussion.
But God gave us the desires and emotions and the drive that lead to greed. He just didn’t give them to you so you’d be greedy. He gave them to you so you could desire a relationship with him as much as a greedy man wants money. That’s what the feelings are there for.
Whenever they are misdirected.... When they are aimed at gathering treasures or aimed at getting rich, they are aimed the wrong way.
They should be aimed at knowing God and serving him.
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 09:35:24
OOPS, forgot to sign what I wrote about desires and greed GC in IL
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 09:58:46
Not so much as a comment on the text as a worship idea: I plan on having different readers stand up where they are and read one of the mini parables as if they were arguing for their position. Then I will ask the congregation if they "have .. understood all this?" (I'll probably have to ask the question twice, telling them after the first time that they should answer out loud either 'yes' or 'no')
For the sermon structure I will be talking about the great love stories of history like Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, Jacob and Rachael, God and us, the pearl of great value.
Steve Hermes Cascade MT.
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 10:40:26
Perhaps historically, vs. 52 means that the Evangelist is recording this message as a scribe trained for God's Reign contributes new material (Matthean redaction) and old (the Jesus parables as told by himself and as preserved in tradition.)MDH
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 10:48:36
Steve Hermes, please tell me more. My sermon thoughts around this scripture are about love. I heard an Anglican pastor in the Maritimes preach regarding how much Jesus loved God. And that these parables were an excpression of this love...A love that, like the seed and the leaven may start out small (it only takes a spark) but becomes all consuming.
When we have even a taste of this love, it begins to touch every part of our lives and we, in turn, are enabled to touch the lives of others. In fishnet terms, many are drawn in.
Can you add to this? Or subtract from it?!
iv in British Columbia
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 11:57:32
"A scribe trained for the kingdom" When there is something wrong with my van, I can read my owner's manual, or take a wild guess -- but I will save time and frustration by taking it to a trusted mechanic who knows what to look for to correct the problem. I should know better (after all, my father owned a gas station with 3 service bays), but I lack the training of that mechanic.
When I have a health problem, I can check the first aid book or try a folk rememdy -- but I will save time and frustration if I go to a doctor who has been trained on what to look for to restore my health. I should know better (after all, my grandfather was a doctor) but I lack the training of that doctor.
When I need something fixed at the parsonage, I can read the do-it-yourself manuals -- but I will save time and frustration if I get ahold of the handy worker in the church who knows what to look for to make things right. I should know better (after all, one of my brothers is a maintenance supervisor for an apartment complex) but I lack the training of that handy worker.
I remember reading somewhere that most anyone can do 90% of the work doctors do -- but that it is the 10% that makes them worth their money. When it comes to matters of faith, most people could do 90% of what we do as clergy -- but it is that 10%, knowing what to look for after being firmly grounded in the scriptures and traditions (the old treasure), and yet open to the movement of the Holy Spirit and the revelation of Christ-in-our-midst (the new treasure), that sets us apart as "scribes trained for the kingdom." Christ has challenged us to see God in common things, common people, common living, so that we might have the common faith, and live as members of the kingdom now.
OLAS
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 14:22:48
I haven't had a chance to start reading here yet (though I've printed out a bunch and hope to get to scanning thru it tonight). . . . However, reflecting on the passages in Matthew, I've got a loose framework for where I'm going (and a title, too), as follows:
TITLE: "Jesus Christ: International Man of Mystery"
The mystery of the Kingdom of God.
Clues to the mystery -- the parables.
The greatest mystery ... Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!
-- Are you ready?
-- Are you ready?
-- We know not the day nor the hour. That's a mystery, too, Jesus said.
Still somewhat early ... I may yet go another direction. I preached this 3 years ago, and dealt generally with all of the parables in the text. I may need to focus in more sharply on 1 or 2 this week (leaning toward the yeast). "Come, let us keep the Yeast?" . . . Looking forward to seeing what else has been posted so far.
--- Dave K. in Ohio
P.S. to MTSOfan and Unitedfan . . . I was amused by your exchange last week. I had long assumed MTSO was a "Methesco" flag, but was glad to see someone "call the question." I, too, went to United. UTS may have its shortcomings, but our football team (the Fighting Theologians?) can whip yours any day of the week. ;-)
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 14:46:17
The first reading fascinates me. All of us do what Solomon is doing in our text - he struggles to find wisdom. We know as pastors that wisdom can sometimes seem like a rare commodity in God's distribution of gifts. I know I am often baffled when confronted with certain ethical decisions (homosexuality being one among many).
This week as we sit down to write our sermons we are again in need of wisdom to discern what God is saying. Commentaries will provide the knowledge, but something else is needed to find wisdom. But what is that something else?
How many times have we struggled to find clever words that might touch at least one life Sunday morning, only to be speechless? I have sat in front of my computer for hours at a time wondering what I am supposed to say. I can almost hear the ticking of the clock get louder as Sunday morning is fast approaching and still I have nothing on my page. So what to do?
A seminary professor once gave me advice. He said the best thing we can do when we are at a loss for words is to pray. I've often thought, in desperation, that I don't need pray right now I need words. But somehow prayer always seems to work. Either I find the words that appear like water into wine, or I find the acceptance that this Sunday won't be my best sermon but I will give it my all anyway.
My point is that as we struggle for wisdom, whether writing a sermon or facing life's challenges, we have the ability to do what God has said, "ask".
I Kings gives us the answer to both Solomon's dilemma, as well as our own dilemma in understanding the Gospel. It says in I Kings 3:5 "ask what I should give you."
God wants us to ask. Imagine that! What a great message for a person faced with a difficult decision. God says that we should ask. This will be foolishness for those who are looking for quick answers, but will appear as wisdom to those who listen to God.
We may not have the answers to everything, but God gives us the ability to make wise choices. God invites us to ask. But the trick here is to listen. Wisdom is not attained only by sages and gurus, it is attained even by babes willing to listen.
Have you understood all this? If not just ask God.
A new pastor from the Jersey Shore...<+><
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 15:30:07
Finally getting around to reading the NIB commentary on this passage. Interesting note about the yeast parable. Seems that "three measures" of flour would make enough bread to feed 100-150 people! (It is equivalent to about 10 gallons!) It is also the amount of flour Sarai used to make cakes to feed the three "angels".... Thus, the commentator says, the focus here is on "the surprising, miraculous extravagance of the coming kingdom."
Makes sense to me!
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 15:43:14
PH in OH,
Splendid idea... I LIKE it ... what do we "pursue" as our treaure... do follow our hunger... or are we pursued by it.
My son found out for himself the difference between being followed by a police officer... there is a great difference between THAT and being PURSUED by that police officer. He got his first speeding ticket... don't know if I can use HIS story... at least I'll ask before and if I do use it. :?)
What "drives" us? What "treasure" is found hidden in the rummage sales of our lives?
Good thinking PH and others... I think it's early...
thinking on these things...
pulpitt in ND
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 15:45:27
PH in OH, (Second try)
Splendid idea... I LIKE it the IDEA about hiding some "treasures" in the bulletin for worship ... what do we "pursue" as our treaure... do follow our hunger... or are we pursued by it.
My son found out for himself the difference between being followed by a police officer... there is a great difference between THAT and being PURSUED by that police officer. He got his first speeding ticket... don't know if I can use HIS story... at least I'll ask before and if I do use it. :?)
What "drives" us? What "treasure" is found hidden in the rummage sales of our lives?
Good thinking PH and others... I think it's early...
thinking on these things...
pulpitt in ND
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 18:28:09
A W-G, I was going to mention "The Message",the new Eugene Peterson version. I just picked it up at Annual Conference this summer and have been delighted as read with fresh eyes and ears this dynamic retelling of the old, old story.
I like what the variety of parables says about Jesus the teacher. When he tells one to the planter he then turns and tells it again in terms of the cook. Here's one for the ploughman and here it is again, but for the merchant. This one the outdoorsy fisherman can get, and here it is once more for the domestic householder. No one gets left out. All have a chance to be in. Like Father, like Son. tom in TN(USA)
Date: 24 Jul 2002
Time: 19:04:38
Just a thought, suppose that the field is the human heart, and that the treasure (soul?or Jesus?) is "found" and buried by God in our hearts, and He pays the ultimate price to purchase the field and the treasure (heart and soul).
This is what I like about parables is that there are so many angles that they hit us. It has been really interesting reading the various takes of the others on this site as we work through this section of Matthew. Deke in TX – Pace e Bene.
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 06:09:10
In addition to the information about the 3 measures of flour making enough to feed 100-150 people, the NIB also points out how in these parables Jesus uses commonly known symbols and then turns them upside down.
In the parable of the mustard seed, he takes (there is some conjecture in this one) the image of the imperial tree which symbolized empires including apocalyptic imagery of the coming kingdom of God and turns it upside down by making it a mustard plant. The mustard plant is no great tree. It generally gows 2 to 6 feet tall and under extraordinary circumstances may reach 10 feet. So describing the mustard plant as a great tree is in itself a great surprise.
The second image is that of yeast. In Jewish traditions yeast is almost always presented as a symbol of corruption. But Jesus turns it around and presents it in a positive light and uses it to describe the kingdom of heaven.
This all comes from the NIB page 309.
As with the parable of the sower, there is an awesome extravagance in the kingdom of heaven! Seed for all kinds of soil! A mustard seed that grows into a tree! Bread to feed 100-150! The kingdom of heaven is beyond our wildest expectations and dreams!
I appreciated what Sara in GR said about last weeks gospel in the 1999 postings about us not having to wait for the kingdom, we're in it now! We're the wheat and the weeds growing in the field, that's the kingdom and the kingdom is now. But at the same time we have to be aware of the harvest that is coming and work to be wheat and work to help others be wheat. As I saw last weeks parable the goal at the end of the age is to not have any weeds to burn. Such extravagance!
Some very interesting stuff to chew on! Mark in WI
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 08:48:26
I like the sense of excellence - the pearl, the treasure. We seem to have lost that great sense in worship these days. Under the guise of led by the spirit, we have lost the giving our best to the master. The pearl means something, it means the best. Nothing but the best. a pastor on the plains
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 10:11:23
I like Brown Taylor's comment about the treasure being hidden in plain sight. Jesus asked the disciples if they understood. I'm not sure they did. I wonder if the treasure, the pearl, etc. Jesus is speaking of is simply and profoundly himself standing before them, but they don't "see," don't understand. revkate in oregon
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 12:04:28
I vaguely remember a story from my youth about a king would as so proud and confident of his security and boasted that nothing could be stolen from his Kingdom. He also offered a challenge to everyone that anyone catch stealing would suffer the harshest of punishment, but if anyone could successfully proved that they stolen and had gotten away with it, they would share half his kingdom. There was only one way in and out of the castle and that avenue was guarded by security with special powers of perception.
One day a little boy left the kingdom pulling a little red wagon full of sand. The guards scrutinized the lad and one with special touch perception in ran his fingers through the load and finds nothing being stolen, another with extra vision skills (the ability to see through things) stared into the sand but sand. Finding nothing, they let the boy through.
The next day the lad departed the kingdom again this time with a wagon full of gravel. The guards repeated the search process and finding nothing allowed him again to pass.
This went on for several days with various types of worthless loads- though the guards grew increasingly suspicious they could not find that the boy was stealing anything of value from the kingdom.
Finally the boy requested an audience with the king claiming that he’d been able to steal from the kingdom every day. The king saw the boy and called in the guards. The guards testified that the boy had came through their watch every day but swore on their honor that the boy was lying and had taken nothing except for sand, gravel, dirt and the like.
And the boy said, “Yes, but I’ve also stolen a wagon everyday.”
Pr.del in IA
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 12:17:13
Hello all...
I was talking to my secretary about my sermon title..."Ruammage Sale Faith"
We got to talking about "Rummage Sale Treasures" that we had experienced... she told about our church rummage one year in which she found a "beautiful piece of slag glass"... "Slag glass?" I inquired... it is then she told me about the refuse of glass blowers and how at the end of the day they created something from the "left overs".
Some are critical of the term "slag" because of its association with the refuse from iron smelting.
Still if you think about it... what do we do with our "slag" at the end of the day? How do we create something beautiful out of the "left overs" of our lives.
To put it another way... "the Kingdom of God could be compared to a piece of glass slag"....
Still working out the details... and glad to be able to THINK OUT LOUD!
Blessings,
pulpitt in ND
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 14:38:36
Hi, In one portion of the sermon I am planning I will explain a zoetrope, then I will say something about There are 6 parables in the verses selected for today, all of which start with “the kingdom of heaven is like.” Well, what? What is the kingdom of heaven like? To answer that question I want you to quicken your understanding, I want you to make your understanding of the kingdom of heaven to come alive in a new way. The way we will do this will be a little like making little drawings of the meaning the kingdom of heaven and putting those little drawings in a zoetrope or a moving picture machine.
Listen as I read just the first part of each statement Jesus made about what the kingdom of heaven is like: · The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed · The kingdom of heaven is like yeast · The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field · the kingdom of heaven is like …fine pearls; · the kingdom of heaven is like a net [with]fish of every kind · the kingdom of heaven is like …treasure [that ]is new and…old.
Notice that in each of those statements the kingdom of heaven is like some THING; like an object—a seed or a treasure. But if you look more closely you will notice that the kingdom of heaven is really more like an action associated with the thing. For example: The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour. So if we look for the life, the action in the parables we find that the kingdom of heaven is: · like planting a mustard seed that grew · like working yeast into the bread and causing it to rise · like finding and buying treasure that is in a field · like finding and buying a pearl · like catching fish in a net · like bringing out treasures new and old
Action is important. Planting the seed, working the yeast into the bread, buying the field, all of these require action....
Hope this is helpful to someone. In His Name, Leon
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 16:48:52
Just seems like treasure is often lost, squandered, stolen, hoarded or hidden. What will we do with treasure found? Nancy-WI
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 16:50:44
Thanks for the insight Leon... someone at our Tuesday AM text study made the same observation... the "Kingdom of Heaven is like... ACTION!"
blessings,
pulpitt in ND
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 17:18:34
As a UMC... I sometimes enjoy the website by our http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=5160&loc_id=1,32,52
Here is what they say... about the Matthew reading: Who is the scribe Jesus describes? Is Matthew the scribe and is he thinking of the very work he is doing as he narrates and shapes this gospel? Are you, the preacher, the scribe whom Matthew is describing? What is the treasure out of which you and Matthew draw the old and the new? What does it mean to faithfully bring forth what is old? What is new?
still looking for the buried treasure in this text...
pulpitt in ND
Date: 25 Jul 2002
Time: 18:16:30
I have been especially gifted by the postings this week. Thank you all. I like the idea of the surprises in the bulletins. My children's sermon will be titled, "Telling Stories," because this is what Jesus is doing. The other message will be, "The Kingdom."
What is it about the kingdom that it inspires such enthusiastic action? Isn't this THE question?
Michelle
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 02:05:46
In a post last week, I mentioned Robert Farrar Capon’s books on the parables. He looks at five aspects ... Catholicity, Mystery, Actuality, Hostility and Response.
I’m looking at the mustard seed and the yeast this week ... where both parables score highly on the first three counts.
Catholicity,The kingdom is everywhere in both parables Mystery, It is hidden ... the small seed, and the hidden yeast and, Actuality, It is happening in front of our eyes the plant is growing, the bread is rising.
A lot of what follows is straight Capon, with some other stuff mixed in!
1 The kingdom is not just the seed or the yeast, it’s the whole thing ...
2 The yeast is there in the flour right from the beginning of the process . In terms of God's activity in the world, when was the ‘yeast’ put in ? When Christ came in the incarnartion ?... NO. From the beginning of time, the Eternal Word has been present with the Father, and in the world, although hidden. It’s all to do with the mystery of Christ ... hidden but now revealed .. in Colossians 1:25 Paul says he has been sent to ‘present the WORD of God in its fulness - the mystery that has been kept hidden for generations’
As I write this I am getting excited ... about this mystery of Christ, the eternal word who is eternally at work in the whole world, saving and bringing his life.
(For more on this see another of Capon's books, 'The Mystery of Christ, and why we don't get it)
In these two parables, Jesus is talking about himself ... (surprise, surprise!) He is the mustard seed, he is the yeast. The Kingdom of God is the whole deal ... the field, the bread ... but without Jesus, it is nothing.
On another tack ... A while ago, I tried to come up with some images for the kingdom ...here's one I like, you may have others.
The kingdom of God is like a man (or woman) who makes a pot of coffee, NOT INSTANT .... but fresh, percolated coffee.
This scores quite well on some of Capon’s criteria
Catholicity ... the kingdom is the whole pot (world)
Mystery, It is hidden ... the bean is ground .. and imparts flavour to the whole pot (not to mention the aroma)
and, Actuality, well yes, it’s there to enjoy!
Hostility ... there’s not much that is stopping the coffee from brewing, but we must give it time.
Response ... Well I’m going to drink it, I don’t know about you.
Grace and Peace. Rev Ev in Bev UK
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 07:58:53
Dear Rev Ev in Bev --
Thanks so much for adding your post on Capon and aspects of the Kingdom, including MYSTERY ... this dovetails perfectly with the mystery theme I alluded to in an earlier post the other day. I'm going to focus on the mustard seed and the yeast, in particular -- and will likely find a way to quote Capon reference on this.
Dave K. in Ohio
p.s. -- thanks to all for the stimulating food for thought posted this week. May God's Spirit move through all of our messages this week to touch the hearts of the people!
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 10:30:18
Sorry this is coming on Friday. It’s been a busy week and this is the first time I've had available to "contribute" (and I use the word loosely)
My Title for the sermon this week is "The Gospel according to antiques road show" If you are familiar with the PBS show, people come to get their antiques appraised. Every once in a while someone comes saying “ I bought this toy train set for a buck at a garage sale" only to find that it is worth $10,000 at auction. Their expressions are priceless. I picture our pearl finder in the same way.
What is it about the "kingdom of god" that makes the people in Jesus' stories react so incredibly? Some of us have felt the joy and incredible worth when the reality of God's kingdom strikes us. Yet some of us walk through a "worthless field" everyday kicking the pearls as if we are breaking up dirt clauds. What do we consider value? Love the stealing the wagon story
Mark In SW Washington
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 11:10:06
HELP!
It is late Friday afternoon and I find myself really desperate! It is hard to put your mind around all these parables of the kingdom and do them justice. It would be wrong to isolate any one of them and focus only on it. To seek to interpret the parable takes us away from story and from the mundane where the parables have their home. How do we take something so natural, so profane, so lacking in "God talk" and bring it into the sacred stage of church? How do we understand the Kingdom of God? Where do we find it? How do we take these argricultural metaphors and interpret them in this industrial information age which has lost it "ground" its soil. We no longer plant mustard seeds, we no longer discover treasure by digging in a field, we rarely make bread, we are far away from the merchant who discovered the pearl of great price, we don't throw nets anymore into the sea to draw fish of every kind. We usually do our sorting before we catch the fish (with our politically and religiously correct notions regarding homosexuality, feminism, the war, etc.
How do we embrace the kingdom? What is the kingdom like for us ....? (certainly not like unwanted spam that comes to us daily!)
tom in ga
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 12:05:03
tom in ga. writes:
It is late Friday afternoon and I find myself really desperate! It is hard to put your mind around all these parables of the kingdom and do them justice. It would be wrong to isolate any one of them and focus only on it.
* * *
I don't think that's necessarily true, Tom, that it's wrong to focus on just one -- or even on one pair of these parables. I wouldn't limit yourself in that way. If there's one (or two) that resonate with you this week, in particular, why not give them the focus? Certainly, the entire passage will be read, and you can allude to the others in your message, but I don't think it's wrong to narrow your focus to 1 or 2. (Just my humble opinion)
-- dave k. in Ohio (who will be focusing mainly on two of these -- the mustard seed + the yeast).
p.s. to Mark in SW Wash. --- I think the "Antique Road Show" idea is clever, and one that a LOT of people will be able to instantly relate to.
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 12:23:51
I've decided to turn this into a sermon series for August. I've been doing a series on "sowing seeds". This week's sermon will be the end of the seeds series and the beginning of a series called "Eyes on the Kingdom," or something like thies. This week I will preach the mustard seed, although I will read the whole passage. Then in the coming weeks I will preach on the following parables and relate them to each other. I just couldn't let them go without exploring each one in depth! E in PA
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 12:24:12
I've decided to turn this into a sermon series for August. I've been doing a series on "sowing seeds". This week's sermon will be the end of the seeds series and the beginning of a series called "Eyes on the Kingdom," or something like that. This week I will preach the mustard seed, although I will read the whole passage. Then in the coming weeks I will preach on the following parables and relate them to each other. I just couldn't let them go without exploring each one in depth! E in PA
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 12:49:49
About yeast being largely a negative image in 1st-century Judaism - what if Jesus is alluding to the "subversiveness" of the gospel? The "yeast" of the Kingdom is usually seen as an unwelcome intrusion into reality by the powers of the world! Maybe the Kingdom is being compared to a presence which the world fears and despises, but cannot stop! Still just speculating on this myself. Ken in WV
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 14:12:44
I'm as desperate as my bother tom in ga....
Last Monday a long-time member of the congregation, a week before his sixtieth birthday, and a year after taking early retirement, died ten days after injuring himself on a motorcycle (lost control taking a curve too fast). He was in a coma from brain damage from the accident on...
He left three grown children from a first marriage, two with children of their own, a second wife (15 years his junior) and a four-year-old daughter.
I've been spending a lot of time with them this week helping them work through the death, plan the requiem (which is Monday), and writing my funeral sermon ...
Finished with that, I come back to this gospel and its many parables and find myself asking the same question tom has ... "The Kingdom of God is like ...." what? How do we describe the kingdom of God for people to whom mustard is a vinegary yellow condiment, bread is a styrofoam object in a cellophane wrapper, treasures are Wall Street stocks of variable value, and pearls are out of fashion?
Just wondering....
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 15:11:37
"ml in pa" from the "previous discussion in 1999" spoke of things which were common to all the different items in the parables. for instance, "ml" said that
1) they were all hidden before coming to light 2) our hands were invovled in revealing the treasure 3) all items were from daily life
I beleive that there is a fourth commonality.... [except for the treasure in the field :( oh well]
4) they all need H20; ie, water...the seed needs water to grow, the yeast needs water to survive and the pearl needs water for the oyster to produce it and the net needs water for there to be fish to be caught
To me this was an intentional idea from Jesus who once said that He was the source of living water.
Yes, the treasures need to be revealed, and yes, the treasures can be had and used in our daily living. But, without the presence of God they are but treasures which are like material possessions--we can't take them with us when we go to meet our Maker!
The treasures of the kingdom of God are treasures the heart of God through Christ, and from our heart and the Holy Spirit, these treasures are given for the hearts of others.
Which brings me to a fifth common element amongst these diffirent items in the parables...
5) their true value isn't made real until they are given away
Like the gift of God to us in Christ Jesus, it isn't until He is incorporated into or made part of our entire life that we see His true value in coming to us. Similarly, these treasures from the parables, when combined with the gifts of other things or other people around us, all which are nourished and fed by the Living Water, only then do they truly show how much of a treasure they really are.
God's gifts to us aren't to be hoarded or hidden. Thye ought to be made available to all and more importantly, His gifts, like the gift of His Son to the world which He loved--given freely, with no conditions
some songs come to mind...
"A penny isn't lucky until you give it away..."
or
"Pass it on..."
Pastor Dave in BC Canada
PS thank you so much for everyone's postings I have come to value the insights of this web site greatly and wish I had the wisdom and bravery to contribute more often
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 15:16:55
PH IN OH I love the idea of the surprises in the bulletin - especially when you consider finding the KOG in unexpected, ordinary places. I might try it with $1 bills in a few bulletins. Ironically, my sermon title is "You Might Be Surprised...." REVJAW
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 15:17:10
PH IN OH I love the idea of the surprises in the bulletin - especially when you consider finding the KOG in unexpected, ordinary places. I might try it with $1 bills in a few bulletins. Ironically, my sermon title is "You Might Be Surprised...." REVJAW
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 15:24:17
To "tom in ga" and Eric in KS and any others who ask like Eric and tom:
"...asking the same question... 'The Kingdom of God is like ....' what? How do we describe the kingdom of God for people to whom mustard is a vinegary yellow condiment, bread is a styrofoam object in a cellophane wrapper, treasures are Wall Street stocks of variable value, and pearls are out of fashion?"
to that question I found this neat piece from the "previous discussion in 1999"
Marting Franzmann, in his book "Follow Me: Discipleship According to St. Matthew" [CPH 1961] has something similar. Permit me to share it. Luther once said, “’When God begins a thing, it always looks as if nothing will come of it.’ and believe it and adore it. ” [p. 113] “Jesus gave His disciples a profoundly religious appreciation of the word....’The poor have good news preached to them’ (11:5)...Both the parable of the Sower and the parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat picture the coming of the Kingdom as a coming by the word.... ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of man’ (13:1-9, 18-23, 24-30, 36-43). The disciples learned, as Elijah once learned, that the LORD is not necessarily in the great and strong wind which rends the mountains and breaks the rocks in pieces, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire; the LORD is in ‘the still small voice’ (! Kings 19:11, 12). He comes to men in a word that men can contradict and shout down. “The disciples learned that God’s great beginnings take the form of insignificant unspectacular beginnings... Jesus expounds the coming of the Kingdom in farm and kitchen metaphors ... and emphasizes the coming of the Kingdom in insignificance, like the mustard seed, which is the smallest of seeds, like the dab of leaven which a housewife puts into her dough (13:31-33).” [pp. 118-119] “The leaven works imperceptibly but also irresistibly toward a total penetration, a fully achieved goal -- ‘till it was all leavened” (13:33).” [p. 120] “It comes to this: the Messiah is a Servant (12:17-21), and the Kingdom is a ‘secret’ (13:11). The splendor of the Messianic fulfillment begins with the very opposite of splendor, with a Servant-Messiah whose only weapon is the word...who goes the insignificant way of ministry to men whose ruined and desperate lives make them like the bruised reed and the smoldering wick (12:20). [p. 121] Stan in No. Wis.
from Pastor Dave in BC Canada
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 16:51:20
to "pr. del in IA"
just a little musing about your story of the little red wagon which I think was excellent.
What if it had a different ending....
Finally the boy requested an audience with the king claiming that he’d been able to steal from the kingdom every day. The king saw the boy and called in the guards. The guards testified that the boy had came through their watch every day but swore on their honor that the boy was lying and had taken nothing except for sand, gravel, dirt and the like.
And the boy said, “Yes, but I’ve also stolen... ...a statue of YOU!"
everyone in the court and the king was amazed because as far as they knew there was no statue of the current king! So they demanded "Let's see this statue!"
The boy brought it the next day into the court under a sheet. When he lifted the sheet he revealed a beuatiful statue that he had made using the dirt and gravel of the kingdom. The end.
The boy had used the perceived "non-valuable" items and produced a valuable item which contributed to the whole of the kingdom. The boy had stolen seemingly useless things but when put together they were a valuable gift.
Pastor Dave in BC Canada
PS so much for not being brave about contributing--althoguh the jury's still out about the wisdom therein!
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 16:59:02
oops...forgot to add that the value in the items stolen wasn't in the items themselves but in how they were used.
Pastor Dave in BC Canada
Date: 26 Jul 2002
Time: 23:06:28
I have in my home a jewelry box shaped like a treasure chest. A jar of pickling spice contains mustard seed. A jar of yeast for making bread in my bread machine sits in my refrigerator. I have a string of pearls passed down as a family heirloom. And on the wall is a fish net (of the decorative variety). I will bring them with me to the pulpit--but they are all just stuff. Most of it is of little worth, and even the pearls are not extremely valuable.
But what happens with the unvalued in the stories told by Jesus? The potential is in how the unworthy is valued. The Kingdom of Heaven is after all, that which is desired beyond everything else, and it can come through things as everyday as a field is everyday to a farmer, as yeast is everyday to a housewife, as pearls are everyday to a pearl merchant, etc, etc, etc... as mustard seed is everyday to a pickle-eater!
I also intend to get to how the Kingdom can permeate the world, but I have miles to go before I get there.
Michelle
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 05:57:43
What a wealth of contributions this week! Thank you all. I sometimes feel it's important to step back from all the details of the Gospel, and hear the bigger message. In this week's reading, we too easily can get caught up in the details of each parable. While I think it's important to help people understand the activity of each object involved, ie. the meaning of each parable as it relates the nature of the Kingdom of God, I also think we need to look at and explore why Jesus would fire out at his disciples all these examples of what the Kingdom is like. It's as though Jesus were drawing pictures for them so that in the world around them, they too might come to recognize the Kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed, "is at hand".
For Christians in the year 2002, the stories (parables) are important because we too need to be alerted to the sacred so often hidden in the secular. I am grateful for the quote from the sermon written by Barbara Taylor Brown. I think it's helpful to give a few examples of the glimpses of the Kingdom that we ourselves have encountered, examples of how God's Kingdom has broken through in our lives. - Just one of the Sheep
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 07:10:09
I'm thinking that Rebecca Wells' book LITTLE ALTARS EVERYWHERE may offer some sermon-building ideas to go with this passage. --Janice In Kansas
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 08:25:24
THIS IS VERY LATE-BUT-in my study of this passage, I read somewhere that it was common practice to bury valued items in the ground, especially if a country was at war and armies were advancing. It was not viewed as dishonest to find a treasure and then buy the ground around it so it would legally be yours. IF someone owned it and wasn't selling it, then no one would be taking advantage of anyone THE OTHER THING is to focus on how dishonest this may be takes away from Christ's tow themes of recognizing the value and giving everything for it. IT would have been dishonest to take the treasure and run. STAN in TN
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 10:33:44
Some great insites this week. Think I am working with surprises.
A thought though: Do we not need to be careful about how we work with the Hebrew texts? We need to be careful to not discount them or read into them things that were not ment to be read into them. We need to let them speak for themselves and then we can glean from them the riches, and surprises, that they hold for us. Just a thought. Shalom to all. Rev. Nancy in NE
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 11:57:07
STAN in TN,
Interesting observations about the honesty of buying the field. It would be dishonest to take from someone else's field. It would be wrong to bury your stuff in another's ground, too. So if the seller didn't know of the treasure, surely it wasn't his. Unless it was buried by a father before going off to war, for the children to have after peace was re-established.
But why was this guy digging around in a field he didn't own to begin with? Was he a migrant worker doing labor for an absentee landlord who didn't realize the value of what he owned to begin with? That sounds a little like a jab at the Jews who let the gentile Christians walk off with the treasure God put in their midst, the kingdom "at hand." Just some Sat. afternoon musings. tom in TN(USA)
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 13:46:15
Jeff in NJ
Thanks for the Barbara Brown Taylor quotes... good stuff... that will preach in Fargo! ;?)
pulpitt in ND
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 14:01:56
Help, I need some hymns to go with the idea that the kingdom is at hand, all are included, and we are to go tell them in terms they can understand. And, no, pastor Mary in OH, I can't use pop music. I need ones in the hymnal(UMH, 1965). Any ideas?
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 14:42:39
Saturday sermon planning in progress...
I enjoyed Eric's in KS comparison to how things are so predictable... in some ways... and unpredictable in other ways...
Still, God's Kingdom thrives in the midst of our losses... the KOG can be compared to... for me... I got a note from a Social Worker... she went on a home visit, spur of the moment visit... a young father who has "adopted" 9 children of Native American decent... he is NOT N A... in her words...
Found myself on the couch in an old delapidated 3-bedroom trailer this afternoon visiting with a guy covered in tatoos and with hair down to his butt --- just the sweetest father figure to 9 little Native Americans. I just went to observe the kids but ended up doing therapy with this guy. He was unearthing his whole criminal history to me. He was so gentle and loving with these little kids -- it just choked me up. God is everywhere :) N. A. kids tend to be rather stand-offish with strangers - particularly non-Natives. They all had to give me hugs before I left. To be able to help get these prescious children to safety -- it's an incredible job I've found. Benefits that can't be measured ;)
Or my secretary who found a "treasure" at a church rummage... or my custodian, Susan who...
Susan told about vacationing next to her grandfather?s place? normally she stays away from the fields there as there are usually a large number of rattle snakes? she decided for the hills instead and as she approached the hill she noticed something white shining through the earth. They started digging?and found a huge red Montana Agate? which is the most sought after kind of agate?
In other words, God's Kingdom still comes in many forms, because WE COME in many forms...
pulpitt in ND
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 15:27:38
I haven't had much time to read your comments as yet. I had a funeral yesterday morning and a wedding this afternoon that have taken time to prepare and conduct as you will also have experienced. However, I wanted to share with you a story from the funeral. I did not know this woman of 83 years. I was covering for a colleague who is away on holidays, but how the family shared with me allowed me to minister to them. Apparently Bertha was one who roganized and when she was diagnosed with cancer she started planning her funeral. Her son, who lived with her, woould often chat with his mother about this. While she was in the hospital she mentioned that it always seemed that when people went to the graveside, when they came back, many others had already left, so there wasn't always that much of "a party." So she wanted to the service, then lunch, and then we would go to the cemetery. Her son wondered what would they do with her while this happened, to which she replied: "I'll wait." Her 82 year old brother is preaching tomorrow as a lay preacher. The sermon he wrote on this Gospel reading is dedicated to his sister. What I was able to gain from this, is the story of a woman whose faith in God her "Maker" and in Jesus her Lord, was leaven to her life, that her life grew to include so many others of family, friends, church and community, as she lived a life in service to others. So she could indeed "wait" for there she has received an even greater treasurer in her death, because of her life. Have a good day tomorrow, everybody. Rev. Tim, Ontario, Canada
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 15:57:53
Dave in BC Canada "pr. del in IA" I liked the wagon story and "Dave's" surprise ending... that will preach...
Thanks all,
pulpitt in ND
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 16:16:40
Someone said...
"Help, I need some hymns to go with the idea that the kingdom is at hand, all are included, and we are to go tell them in terms they can understand. And, no, pastor Mary in OH, I can't use pop music. I need ones in the hymnal(UMH, 1965). Any ideas?" Hope this might help... I know it's late...
Here's what I'm using on Sunday...
From the Faith We Sing of the UMC...yikes, are you saying you use the 1965 version of our UMH? Hmmm... just noticed that... anyway... I'm using 2132, 2001..."We Sing to You, O God" (Tune of "Rejoice the Lord is King")
Gathering Hymns...
Seek Ye First... #405 1. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Alleluia, alleluia! 2. Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you. Alleluia, alleluia!
Hymn #2132 "You Who Are Thirsty"
You who are thirsty, come to the well and drink from waters flowing. You who are hungry, come to the bread and eat of his holiness. You who are tired, find rest. You who are weak, find strength. You who are thirsty, come to the well and drink. He will freely feed all of them who are weak. He will quench the righteous thirst of all who humbly seek.
Opening Hymn # 2001 "We Sing to You, O God" (Tune of "Rejoice the Lord is King") 1. We sing to you, O God, the Rock who gave us birth, let our rejoicing sing your name in all the earth. To you, O God, let songs be raised, in joyful hymns, our feast of praise. 2. We wandered far from home out in a desert land, you shielded with your love our fearful pilgrim band. You kept us safe within your arms and sheltered us against the storm. 3. You bear us through the world, an eagle to her young, who rises on her wings and bears us toward the sun. We ride the vaults of light and air and trust in your unfailing care. 4. O God, eternal God, we hide within your wings, the everlasting arms to whom our praises ring. Your word is true, your way is just, you are the God in whom we trust.
(Hymn following the Children's Sermon) #643 "When Love Is Found"
1. When love is found and hope comes home, sing and be glad that two are one. When love explodes and fills the sky, praise God and share our Maker's joy. 2. When love has flowered in trust and care, build both each day, that love may dare to reach beyond home's warmth and light, to serve and strive for truth and right. 3. When love is tried as loved ones change, hold still to hope though all seems strange, till ease returns, and love grows wise through listening ears and opened eyes. 4. When love is torn and trust betrayed, pray strength to love till torments fade, till lovers keep no score of wrong, but hear through pain love's Easter song. 5. Praise God for love, praise God for life, in age or youth, in husband, wife. Lift up your hearts, let love be fed through death and life in broken bread.
Closing Hymn #480 "O LOVE THAT WILT NOT LET ME GO" 1. O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, that in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be. 2. O Light that followest all my way, I yield my flickering torch to thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine's blaze its day may brighter, fairer be. 3. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow thru the rain, and feel the promise is not vain, that morn shall tearless be. 4. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from thee; I lay in dust life's glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red life that shall endless be.
pulpitt in ND
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 16:51:37
Well, folks.... my sermons (yes, sermons) are done.
With regard to the one for Sunday, I owe you all a great debt ... I was just not coming up with anything. Then I read through every post here (up through 5:30 p.m. CDT Saturday) and came up with something and incorporated some of your thoughts (lets, by honest ... a LOT of your thoughts) into a homily for tomorrow. It's posted on the net at http://www.stfrancis-ks.org/subpages/asermons/proper12-a-rcl-2002.htm
The other sermon (which I wrote last night) is for the requiem for my friend Lisle on Monday morning. It is also posted at http://www.stfrancis-ks.org/subpages/asermons/hites-requiem-homily.htm
Blessings, Eric in KS
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 18:25:29
Thinking of vs. 52, here's my take - What is "old" is the missio dei, the mission of God, which is the kingdom of God, of heaven, of shalom. What is new is the new community: Jesus, announcing its presence, and calling it forth in the Twelve and their descendents, the new Israel... This is the mission of the church - to point to the Kingdom, to look like, smell like, taste like, the Kingdom.
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 18:55:28
I've been on "vacation" this week and am trying to pull it all together at the last moment. I was struck by the small things becoming way larger than expcted. I think of God's kingdom seeming so insignificant - one man, 12 disciples, some women - and yet it is big enough to include everyone, not just some special people, but everyone who believes! this to me is the old and new. for today i would think of the old and new as the old established members of our congregations being able to open up and include new ones and new ways of worship and whatever else it takes to get the word out.
blessing and peace, rachel
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 19:53:29
DAVE K in OHIO
TEXT: Matt. 13:31-33, 44-52
TITLE: "Jesus Christ: International Man of Mystery"
CONTEXT: Union Chapel UMC
DATE: July 28, 2002 (10th Sunday after Pentecost)
My wife likes mysteries. I mean, she really likes mysteries. She has for as long as I've known her. In fact, when she returned from the School of Christian Mission Friday afternoon, I put "Murder She Wrote" on the TV -- just to make her feel at home. Earlier this month, I got Janet a birthday present at a place called Puzzles Plus in Beavercreek. The item I got her is a combination of a jigsaw puzzle and a murder mystery -- and as you work the puzzle it gives you clues to solving the mystery. They warn you, however, that the picture on the box is not the same as the puzzle. . . . Now I enjoy watching mysteries on television, but I could never have the patience for something like that!
I guess there are all kinds of mysteries. Perhaps the greatest mystery of all -- at least to many people -- is the mystery of the universe itself. A story is told about Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., whose son, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., became famous as a U.S. Supreme Court justice. But Oliver Wendell Sr., who was a doctor and a writer, also was a well-known figure in his day. Because Holmes Sr. was a physician, he was interested in the use of ether, and how his patients felt under its influence. To gain a better understanding, he once had a dose administered to himself. As he was going under, in a dreamy state, a profound thought came to him. He believed that he had suddenly grasped the key to all the mysteries of the universe. When he regained consciousness, however, he was unable to remember what the insight was. Because of the great importance this thought would be to mankind, Holmes arranged to have himself put under ether again. This time he had a stenographer present to take down the great thought. The ether was administered, and sure enough, just before passing out, the insight reappeared. He mumbled the words, the stenographer took them down, and Holmes went to sleep -- confident that he had succeeded. Upon awakening, he turned eagerly to the stenographer and asked her to read back what he had uttered. This is what she read: "The entire universe is permeated with a strong odor of turpentine." . . . Something tells me that fell short of the great cosmic wisdom Holmes thought he had latched onto.
If Dr. Holmes really wanted "the key to all the mysteries of the universe," he would have done much better by simply opening this book, the Holy Bible. Within its pages, he would have found the answers he was looking for by reading about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the greatest clue we have in solving the mystery of what God is up to in this universe. Because of Jesus, we know that God is building a Kingdom of Love -- and that he wants all of us to be part of it. From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus put tremendous importance on this Kingdom. We see this in the Gospel of Mark, where the first words the Lord speaks in Chapter 1 are these: "The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" In the Gospel of Matthew, this same kingdom is a dominant theme throughout (though in Matthew it is referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven).
In today's lesson from Matthew -- and elsewhere -- Jesus uses parables to shed light on the nature and meaning of this Kingdom. These short stories are clues to the great and wonderful mystery of the Kingdom of God. There are no less than six parables packed into the 12 verses of today's Gospel passage. The tiny mustard seed that grows into a great tree ... the small amount of yeast that permeates and brings life to a large quantity of flour . . . the treasure hidden in the field . . . the pearl of great value . . . the fishing net cast into the sea . . . and finally, the master of the household who brings out of his supply both what is new and what is old. The Lord uses each to make a powerful point about the Kingdom of God. The first two -- the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast -- are both about small things which work imperceptibly, but which eventually yield amazing returns. First, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like the tiny mustard seed, which grows against all expectations into an enormous tree, a safe and sheltering home for the birds of the air. Then, he says the kingdom is like a baker's yeast that works invisibly yet relentlessly into the flour, expanding it, penetrating every part of it, to make bread. In these and the other parables, there's something going on that's basically hidden from our eyes, whether it's the seed growing underground . . . the yeast working within the flour . . . the treasure buried in the field ... or the net, lowered into the sea. A great, mysterious force is at work in God's unfolding Kingdom. This force is not to be confused with "the Force" of the Star Wars movies, nor are we talking about some lighter-than-air New Age concept. We are talking about Jesus himself -- the Risen Christ -- alive in our hearts today by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the mysterious force working deep within our lives As the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the yeast demonstrate, "a little Jesus" in the human heart can have a tremendously powerful effect on a person's soul. . . . And as for the individual, so for this world, too, does the Gospel have a leavening effect.
If we want to experience the Kingdom of God, we've got be willing to spend time with Jesus Christ . . . We've got to build a relationship with Jesus through prayer and worship, through the study of God's Word, and by associating with other believers. Finally, if we really want to experience the Kingdom, we have to invite him into our hearts and give our lives to him -- holding nothing back. Remember the one who found the hidden treasure in the field? What did he do? He went and sold everything he had and bought that field. He gave up everything so he could have the one thing that really matters -- access to the Kingdom of God. Jesus is that hidden treasure in our lives. Or remember that merchant who was in search of the fine pearls, and upon finding the one of great value, he also went and sold everything that he owned, so he could have the one thing that really matters -- access to the Kingdom of God. So many people are out there searching in the world, looking for something or someone that will make them feel whole, or at least satisfy them for a time. But there's only One whose presence in our lives can truly make us whole and satisfy us for all time. Jesus is the One -- the perfect pearl so many of us are still searching for in this life.
If you have Jesus Christ in your heart, then the Spirit of Christ is alive in you this very day, and -- through the body of believers -- the Spirit of Christ also is alive and active throughout this world. Christ and his love and grace are all around us -- and within us (Luke 17:21) -- like a vast treasure hidden in plain sight. But we can't experience this miraculous Kingdom unless we are born of the Spirit.
A relationship with Jesus Christ is the gateway to the Kingdom of God . . . and Jesus himself is the pearl of great price; he is the treasure hidden in the field. Is this treasure hidden within you? Are you willing to dig a little deeper to find the one thing -- the only thing -- that can bring lasting peace and joy to your life? Jesus is the answer to all the puzzles of the universe, and to the mystery of our lives in this world. Don't try to work the puzzle without him -- because you'll never be complete. Amen.
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 19:56:43
Hey, pulpitt in ND --
How far are you from Devil's Lake, and the Spirit Lake reservation? I'm going with a group of clergy to the Spirit Lake reservation in mid-August for a mission trip, in conjunction w/ Dakotas Area Disaster Relief and Christian Services International. Never been to the Dakotas before!
dave k. in ohio <><
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 20:38:51
dave k. in ohio
http://mapquest.com/rtp/routeoverview.adp?rtpid=3d4366c0%2d00230%2d04147%2d400c2525
a little over 3 hours...
pulpitt in ND aka pulpitt@702com.net http://faithumcfargo.com
Date: 27 Jul 2002
Time: 20:39:41
dave k. in ohio
http://mapquest.com/rtp/routeoverview.adp?rtpid=3d4366c0%2d00230%2d04147%2d400c2525
a little over 3 hours...
pulpitt in ND aka pulpitt@702com.net http://faithumcfargo.com
Date: 12/5/2003
Time: 1:41:28 AM
I have been studying these verses for about one month. the Bible study topic "How does God view our lives." What I seem to be perceiving is that God viewa our lives by how we receive His Word in the context of time. The womans bread divided into three parts {The Word-bread,manna-The body of Christ.} There are also three parables of the Kingdom of Heaven. The last pertaining to many fish This was not hidden, the treasure and the pearl were, the fish are harvested. In previous verses Jesus speaking about the people He was addressing the people in His time, then He spoke of Prophets of old longing to see the day, then He speaks of a future generation Harvest of wheat at end of the age. Jesus tells us to look at the parables as a whole. The mustard seed How large the population of the Kingdom grows from it's inception, through time. I have about twenty pages of notes concerning this parable and time, all for a Bible study. How does God view our lives. I don't know why I'm stuck on this chapter, but still searching now in the commentaries. vicki ma