Of Pearls, Fields, mustard seeds, and a baptism
Sermon for Pentecost IX, 2023, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY
Text: Matthew 13:31-33,44-52
This morning’s Gospel reading has several short parables in a row that Matthew intends to use to illuminate aspects of the kingdom of God. Maybe they are about faith, how a small faith can still have great worth. Maybe it is about our relationship with God, where God would give up everything to keep a relationship with us alive. There is no common thread through these parables, no hidden message to be discovered that opens the heavens and the angels sing hallelujah. Each of the parables in the reading is a treasure itself found in God’s kingdom, a treasure that leads us to discover something new or something we didn’t think had any value. We are surrounded by yeast and flour, mustard seeds, fields, and pearls. But, those things won’t look like what we expect them to look like in our lives because they are metaphors. That is the challenge of reading these parables, to look for the kingdom of God without knowing what they represent. We also have a baptism this morning, the second one in as many months. We are going to baptize Prophecy, the daughter of Wallace and granddaughter of Lori, both of whom were members of this parish some 20 years ago. The challenge this morning is to find how and where baptism fits, or is found within one or more of these parables.
When I think of Prophecy, who is six years old, I think of the parable of the mustard seed that grows into a bush and is a home to birds. She could begin as a mustard seed and grow into a mature person who naturally gives a home, or a safe place to the people around her. But that’s too easy of a metaphor, and it has no real depth. She could also be flour, with the yeast of her family and this community gathered here this morning added to her, and she would rise to become someone who serves those in need of emotional, or spiritual support. But that is too much about us deciding who she will be. Prophecy could also be a pearl of great value, where everything is given up for her, but that unfairly makes her the center of attention, and ignores the others in her life with whom she has a relationship. So, the parables don’t seem to work as applied to a person, but they do work when we see them describing the kingdom of God as Jesus mentions, a kingdom that Prophecy is a part of as we build it here on Earth. We are continually discovering what the kingdom looks like as we build it with fellowship, love, and inclusion.
The parable that I haven’t mentioned yet is the parable of the field. There is a treasure in that field, and it doesn’t matter if it’s hidden or it’s lost, but it’s out there and we want to find it. As in the parable, we buy the field, meaning that we decide where we will look for the hidden treasure. The price that we pay is time, time spent searching through the field, but a funny thing happens while we are looking for the treasure. We discover things in that field, interesting things that we stop at and examine. Over here is a stream, with clear running water and fish swimming in it. Over there is a gravel pit with geodes and rough gemstones scattered in it. And beyond the gravel pit is a grassy hill where you can see all of the field that you’ve purchased. Little by little, we realize that there are other treasures here in the field, things that we wouldn’t have even considered because they weren’t that treasure that we thought was so valuable.
So it is with Prophesy, that as she grows, we will discover hidden treasures that she has, things that we didn’t expect to find. As with the field, we may not see them right away, or at all, which means that it takes more than one person, more than just Wallace, to discover these treasures. Though the faces have changed, we are still the welcoming community that Wallace once knew, and we are called to commit to helping Prophecy discover the treasure of knowing who God is, what Jesus means to us, and what it means to be a part of St. Paul’s and the larger church. We are committing to both Wallace and Prophecy that we will be here for them and support them. We will not leave either of them out alone in the field to search for the kingdom by themselves, but instead we will invite them to be a part of our life here, and help them find a place in this congregation. We will search the field together. If we are to think of Prophecy as a mustard seed, we will nourish her and help her grow into who God sees her as. If she is flour, we will help her rise to be the best that she can be. If she is a pearl of great value, it is because of what she brings to the world from within herself.
When I think of Prophecy, who is six years old, I think of the parable of the mustard seed that grows into a bush and is a home to birds. She could begin as a mustard seed and grow into a mature person who naturally gives a home, or a safe place to the people around her. But that’s too easy of a metaphor, and it has no real depth. She could also be flour, with the yeast of her family and this community gathered here this morning added to her, and she would rise to become someone who serves those in need of emotional, or spiritual support. But that is too much about us deciding who she will be. Prophecy could also be a pearl of great value, where everything is given up for her, but that unfairly makes her the center of attention, and ignores the others in her life with whom she has a relationship. So, the parables don’t seem to work as applied to a person, but they do work when we see them describing the kingdom of God as Jesus mentions, a kingdom that Prophecy is a part of as we build it here on Earth. We are continually discovering what the kingdom looks like as we build it with fellowship, love, and inclusion.
The parable that I haven’t mentioned yet is the parable of the field. There is a treasure in that field, and it doesn’t matter if it’s hidden or it’s lost, but it’s out there and we want to find it. As in the parable, we buy the field, meaning that we decide where we will look for the hidden treasure. The price that we pay is time, time spent searching through the field, but a funny thing happens while we are looking for the treasure. We discover things in that field, interesting things that we stop at and examine. Over here is a stream, with clear running water and fish swimming in it. Over there is a gravel pit with geodes and rough gemstones scattered in it. And beyond the gravel pit is a grassy hill where you can see all of the field that you’ve purchased. Little by little, we realize that there are other treasures here in the field, things that we wouldn’t have even considered because they weren’t that treasure that we thought was so valuable.
So it is with Prophesy, that as she grows, we will discover hidden treasures that she has, things that we didn’t expect to find. As with the field, we may not see them right away, or at all, which means that it takes more than one person, more than just Wallace, to discover these treasures. Though the faces have changed, we are still the welcoming community that Wallace once knew, and we are called to commit to helping Prophecy discover the treasure of knowing who God is, what Jesus means to us, and what it means to be a part of St. Paul’s and the larger church. We are committing to both Wallace and Prophecy that we will be here for them and support them. We will not leave either of them out alone in the field to search for the kingdom by themselves, but instead we will invite them to be a part of our life here, and help them find a place in this congregation. We will search the field together. If we are to think of Prophecy as a mustard seed, we will nourish her and help her grow into who God sees her as. If she is flour, we will help her rise to be the best that she can be. If she is a pearl of great value, it is because of what she brings to the world from within herself.
As we recite the prayers and renew our vows of baptism, we all make a commitment to Prophesy to help her find and live in the kingdom of God. She needs us to walk with her, guide her, and listen to her, so that she knows what living in the kingdom is all about. The vows that she will make are the foundation of the kingdom: participating in the life of St. Paul’s, admitting her mistakes and receiving forgiveness, living the life Jesus calls us to live, loving others as she is loved and helping them with their needs, and searching for justice through recognizing the dignity of every person. On that foundation is built the kingdom that Jesus describes through this morning’s parables and among others we find in scripture.
If we have understood all of this, then we will, as Jesus points out, have trained for living in the kingdom like the head of a home, bringing out the new along with the old. The new is a new member of this community, Prophecy, and a new understanding of what the kingdom of God is like. The old is her mother’s history with us, and the age-old promise of not just forgiveness of sins, but the beginning of a shared life in this place through baptism as well. Together they help us understand the nature of the kingdom as it is in this sanctuary and beyond in the world. The old provides the context of our life together at St. Paul’s and the new is what we discover and welcome into this life. We are so much richer for these treasures and for having Wallace, Prophecy, and Lori join us. Welcome, Prophecy.
Great sermon
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