“The kingdom of heaven is like this …” That is how many of Jesus’ parables begin and his introduction makes clear that the parables are told not to impart general spiritual truths but to help us recognise the kingdom of heaven when we see it.
In these parables (Matthew 13. 31-33, 44-52) Jesus tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a seed, a portion of yeast, a hidden treasure, a fine pearl, a fishing net, and a storeroom containing both new and old items. As a result, in this post I’ll be saying that the kingdom of heaven like the growth of the Church, the influence of William Wilberforce, the development of Redbridge Voluntary Care and the Redbridge Night Shelter, providing the St John's Children’s Holiday Club and Community BBQ free of charge, and the diversity of the Anglican Communion.
The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast are both to do with small things that have a big impact. Jesus describes the mustard seed as being the smallest of seeds but it grows to become the biggest of plants; a tree in which birds can make their nests.
The phrase a ‘mustard seed’ has entered our language as a little idea that grows into something bigger and that is of course literally what happened with the Jesus movement itself. It was a relatively small grouping of obscure people that died when its founder, Jesus died, but which, following his resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost grew to become the largest religion in history and also within the world currently.
The story of the yeast gives us a different way of understanding the kingdom of God through a growth that is not just in terms of size but also in terms of influence. The yeast does not become large but its effect in the dough is to cause it to rise. In this story the kingdom of God, although small, is the catalyst for change and development. One example of this would be the work of William Wilberforce and his friends to abolish slavery, something we looked at in last year’s Lent course. There a small number of people inspired by their Christian faith caused a large effect in the world and the lives of those in slavery through their sustained campaigning work over many years. Redbridge Voluntary Care and the Redbridge Night Shelter, both of which grew from small beginnings cradled in churches in this borough (including our own) have grown to become independent organisations contributing more widely to the life of the borough. They, too, are examples of these parables in action.
Next, we read parables in which the kingdom of God needed to be searched out and in which to gain the kingdom of God involved giving everything we have. In these parables the kingdom of God is like a treasure and a fine pearl; both precious and beautiful. How can we understand this aspect of the kingdom? We could say that the kingdom is both precious and beautiful because it is the place where people live as God intended us to live. It is a place of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control” (Galatians 5. 22-23). It is a place where there will be “no more death, no more grief or crying or pain” (Revelation 21. 4).
Such a place is indeed worth searching for and giving everything for. In fact, it can only be gained by giving up everything we have. As Jesus said on a number of occasions, “whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17. 33). We only find and enter the kingdom of God when we give up our selfish grasping after life for ourselves and what we can get out of it. That is why for us to provide a holiday club and community BBQ in the coming week for free is a sign of the kingdom of God. We are not just saying to the local community that we care about the community and want to do things in it and for it but are also modelling a different way of living based on giving what we have to create signs of the kingdom of God in our world and community.
Finally, Jesus tells two parables that show the inclusivity of the kingdom of God. In the parable of the fishing net, the kingdom includes both the good and the bad; while in the parable of the storeroom the kingdom of God contains both the old and the new. You might say, “that’s all well and good but the parable of the fishing net is about the good being kept and the bad thrown away.” You would be right, but it is important to note that that judgement is God’s judgement and is carried out at “the end of the age.” In the meantime good and bad are both in the net together and we don’t know which is which. So, we have to trust God’s future judgement and not attempt to pre-judge people now.
In this parable, and the parable of the weeds, Jesus is commending here the aspect of Anglicanism that, it seems to me, has always been its great strength and glory; its holding together from its inception of ‘catholics’ (with a small ‘c’) and protestants and in more recent centuries its holding together of the diverse streams that have developed within those traditions – anglo-catholicism, evangelicalism, liberalism, the charismatic movement and so on. By holding these things together now we show our humility (in that we know we can’t judge rightly ourselves) and trust in God’s ability to judge rightly (and perhaps surprisingly) in future.
These parables suggest that the kingdom of God has small beginnings but major influence and effects. They suggest that kingdom of God reveals how human life should be lived but requires us to give up our selfish ways of life in order to find it. And they suggest the kingdom of God is found in communities that are inclusive, humble and trusting. The Christian Church and this church of St John’s have at their best been signs of the kingdom of God in the world and this community. The challenge for us is to learn from those good examples of the past and present and continue to do what Jesus did and create signs of the kingdom of God in our own day and time.
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Sixpence None The Richer - Melody Of You.
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