Matthew 13:
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When we contemplate God's kingdom, we are called into a practice of discernment, of identifying and validating together what we as followers of Jesus hold dear--and what in our world is contrary to how we are called to live together. This is paradoxically how we invest in heavenly treasure, neither by taking care of ourselves at the cost of nor by acquiescing our ethical integrity to the whims of a deeply broken human family. Rather it is by our discerning, both individually and as a community how God calls us to live together that affects the way God's kingdom emerges. We look at scripture and are shaped in our understandings by how Christ shows us to live. We look at our lives as individuals and discern how God asks us to change. We look at the world and search for where God's Spirit is already moving. We listen to the voices of those with whom Christ identified calling out for justice, and we let go of the fears that stop us from doing the work we are called to do.
Abundant and transformative God, help us to see that your kingdom does come at a cost, that we must die to our sinful selves in daily repentance, to see your world emerge anew each day. Amen.
Ryan Pusch, '17
Awaiting first call in the Southwest Pennsylvania Synod
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."...
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;
46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;
48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes."
52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." [New Revised Standard Version]
31 Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches.”
33 And he told them yet another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.”
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls. 46 On finding one very valuable pearl he went away, sold everything he owned and bought it.
47 “Once more, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the lake, that caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen brought the net up onto the shore, sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away. 49 So it will be at the close of the age — the angels will go forth and separate the evil people from among the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will wail and grind their teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. 52 He said to them, “So then, every Torah-teacher who has been made into a talmid for the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a home who brings out of his storage room both new things and old.”
(Complete Jewish Bible)When we contemplate God's kingdom, we are called into a practice of discernment, of identifying and validating together what we as followers of Jesus hold dear--and what in our world is contrary to how we are called to live together. This is paradoxically how we invest in heavenly treasure, neither by taking care of ourselves at the cost of nor by acquiescing our ethical integrity to the whims of a deeply broken human family. Rather it is by our discerning, both individually and as a community how God calls us to live together that affects the way God's kingdom emerges. We look at scripture and are shaped in our understandings by how Christ shows us to live. We look at our lives as individuals and discern how God asks us to change. We look at the world and search for where God's Spirit is already moving. We listen to the voices of those with whom Christ identified calling out for justice, and we let go of the fears that stop us from doing the work we are called to do.
Abundant and transformative God, help us to see that your kingdom does come at a cost, that we must die to our sinful selves in daily repentance, to see your world emerge anew each day. Amen.
Ryan Pusch, '17
Awaiting first call in the Southwest Pennsylvania Synod
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."...
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;
46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;
48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes."
52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." [New Revised Standard Version]
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