Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States - Lutheran Seminary's God Psause "Moved by the Promise" for Friday, 25 July 2014 - Read Matthew 13:31-3331-32 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it.”
33 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises.”(The Message)
I'm struck at this parable's notions of worth and value. The parable addresses our worldly understanding of worth by using the images of treasure and rare pearls. It points to the value of God's kingdom once again. In both illustrations the finder has found something she recognizes as more precious than everything she currently has or owns. She takes decisive and hasty action to ensure ownership. Selling everything so that you can buy one thing might seem like an absurd course of action; yet in the kingdom of heaven it is not absurd at all. For me the best commentary on this parable is found in Philippians 3 when Paul states, "I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."
Jesus Christ, thy kingdom come and let all things pale in comparison to knowing you. Amen.
Sean Forde
Port Saint Lucie, Fla.
Master of Divinity , 2005
Matthew 13:31 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;
32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."(New Revised Standard Version)
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