In today’s gospel, Matthew 13:24-43, we have a continuation of last week’s gospel in which we are presented with three new parables comparing the kingdom of heaven to a field planted with wheat and weeds, a mustard seed and yeast. Wheat, weeds, seeds and yeast were common, everyday images for the people listening to Jesus. As I have reflected on these images over the years it occurred to me that with the exception of weeds and yeast many people here in Peachtree City may never have seen a field of wheat or a mustard tree. A number of years ago I tried to come up with a few more relevant images like popping corn or a tweet. They didn’t work very well. However, today as I reread the gospel an entirely new idea smacked me in the face. The kingdom of heaven is like anything that grows and matures. The message is that the kingdom is not static or stagnant. The kingdom of heaven is in constant movement growing, expanding, adjusting just like we are.
On a microcosmic level most of the cells in our bodies are growing and dividing all the time. They don’t stop until we die. We don’t feel or see our cells changing but we know it is happening. And on the macrocosmic level the universe in which we live is constantly expanding. Again, we don’t feel or see the expansion of the universe but we “know” it is happening thanks to Dr Edwin Hubble (and Buzz Lightyear).
OK, come back to earth, Fr Murphy, what does this mean for us? All of us are invited to become citizens of the kingdom. The choice is ours. However, with heavenly citizenship comes responsibility. If yeast is stale it provides no leavening and so we throw it away. If seeds don’t germinate, nothing grows. It’s the same for us. If we want to be active citizens of the kingdom of heaven, we must nurture the yeast, the seeds and our faith. Last week’s first reading from Isaiah 55:10-11 sums it up: “Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” The kingdom of heaven is fulfilling the word of God. This is something we pray for every time we repeat the Our Father, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9-10). As we go about our daily lives here in Peachtree City, let’s all remember our responsibility to live up to the challenge.
With a love that is both powerful and patient, O God,
you sustain the growth of the good seed your Son has planted.
you sustain the growth of the good seed your Son has planted.
Let your word, like a mustard seed,
bear rich fruit within us,
and like a little yeast,
produce its effects throughout the whole church.
Thus may we dare to hope
that a new humanity will blossom and grow
to shine like the sun in your kingdom
when the Lord of the harvest returns
at the end of the age.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
bear rich fruit within us,
and like a little yeast,
produce its effects throughout the whole church.
Thus may we dare to hope
that a new humanity will blossom and grow
to shine like the sun in your kingdom
when the Lord of the harvest returns
at the end of the age.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN
