Both of our readings this morning reminded us that Scripture is a gift from God to help us and encourage us in our faith. In our reading from Romans Paul encouraged the church in Rome – ‘if God is for us who can be against us’.

And then our gospel reading from chapter 13 of Matthew’s gospel began with the parables of the mustard seed, the yeast, the buried treasure and the pearl and it is these parables which I would like to reflect on this morning.

It is generally agreed that Matthew’s gospel was written to reassure the early church that Jesus was the Messiah who was prophesied in the Old Testament and really was the Son of God. Jesus was now the only true way to God.

And to help the early church be good disciples of Jesus, Matthew’s gospel contains important building blocks of Jesus’ teaching.

The early part of the Gospel records what we call the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus calls on his followers to love the poor and the marginalised and this teaching is quoted in the message in our beautiful window on my right.

The Gospel then ends with a call from Jesus to his disciples to spread the good news throughout the world and what is known as the Great Commission.

And right, bang, in the middle of the Gospel in chapter 13 comes this barrage of parables describing what the Kingdom of Heaven is really like - the parables of the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, the yeast and so on – it is like Sunday School on Steroids.

But why is it in the middle? I believe it is in the middle because it was the central core of Matthew’s message, the heart of Matthew’s message – he wanted people to know who Jesus was; to know what it was like to be in Jesus’ kingdom; and to follow Jesus.

So let’s look at that message in more detail. 

In our lives we have ambitions, desires to achieve. We want to be successful. We want to get the ‘biggest bang for our buck’. When we serve God we might think that we need to do things that are big, impressive and full of immediate impact. Because that is what the world expects. But Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God isn’t like that. He is saying that God’s Kingdom is like a small amount of yeast which we kneed into bread to make a hearty loaf. Or like a mustard seed which was tiny but was capable of growing into a tree ten foot tall. ‘Though the mustard seed is the smallest of seeds, when it grows it is the largest of plants and becomes a tree’. I believe that Jesus is saying that sometimes we have to start small and not only do the things we think will bring the biggest results, because - it is God who will take these small things and use them - but in His time and His way and often in ways we could never foresee - ‘My ways are not your ways’ says the Lord in Isaiah - Who would have thought this little seed would grow into a tree ten foot tall. The Christian singer Natalie Layne has a beautiful song called ‘Amen’ in which she struggles with why God works this way and how to see God’s work in what she calls this ‘crazy world in which we live’.

But she resolves it in the following words which I have found helpful this week in thinking through these parables: ‘In the little things I see the way God works things out… Every day I say Amen to ways people are helping people, making space at the table…’

So, firstly, the small things you do for God matter in his Kingdom. The small things you do for God matter in his Kingdom.

Let’s hold onto that as we come on to these next two short but thought- provoking parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl. 

In the parable of the hidden treasure Jesus focuses on the ‘joy’ which the man finds when he discovers the treasure hidden in a field. A joy which is so great that he sells everything to buy the field in which the treasure is hidden. [What we are not told is how he explained that to his wife when he got home.]

And then in the parable of the pearl when the businessman finds the pearl and he is prepared to sell everything to buy it. What is going on here? I believe that Jesus is saying that once we have experienced the joy of His Kingdom we will want to do anything to keep it and help others to experience it too. It is not like a business where we try to match a return to how much we are prepared to invest. His world, His Kingdom does not work like that. Sometimes God will something big from the small things we do and sometimes he will create something small from the big things we do. It is not our job to determine the outcome – that is God’s role. But one thing we can be sure of – What God creates will be precious in His Kingdom. What God creates will be precious in His Kingdom.

And a short illustration as we finish.

Later in my career I spent some time working for a Christian emergency relief agency called Medair and it was always tempting to look at emergency relief through commercial goggles - which new projects might have the biggest impact for the resources available. But we tried not to look at projects this way but to consider how to reach communities which might otherwise have been forgotten but whose needs were just as great - those who were hardest to reach (often with the help of our charity of the month Mission Aviation Fellowship which would fly Medair teams to these remote places). Kenya example - we didn’t know anyone loved us until you came - we didn’t know anyone loved us until you came.

And it is that love which when we encounter it, is the hidden treasure in the field which the man finds and sells everything to buy. It is that love, which is the pearl that the businessman sells everything to buy and which is at the core of this Gospel and God’s Kingdom.

So what is it we can take away in our spiritual backpack this morning?

BE ENCOURAGED AND KEEP GOING!

Many of you are planting ‘mustard seeds’ and we see them all around in the life of our church and you may well have encountered God’s love because someone else planted a mustard seed for God. And as you go out into our community there is plenty of potential to plant more mustard seeds in our community here in Marden so that our community can find the treasure and pearls that are God’s love.

But remember - you may have hoped that the results may have been bigger, faster, more impressive but don’t worry. What happens to the mustard seeds is God’s work – he will take these small things and use them for His Kingdom. And keep going even when it is hard and this world tells you it is not worth it. Because this world will tell you time and time again that it isnot worth it – don’t believe it – keep going.

The small things you do for God matter in his Kingdom. What God creates will be precious in His Kingdom.

And I leave you with the way one Christian summed up this journey – do what you believe you are being called to do and leave the rest to Almighty God.

Leave the rest to Almighty God.

AMEN