Lectionary 17; July 27, 2008; Bethel Lutheran Church, Rochester.
Matthew 12:31-33,44-52.

Dear Friends in Christ, Grace to you and Peace, from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. AMEN.


Years ago I used to visit an elderly woman named Marie. As an illustration of her advanced age, she remembers growing up on a “poor farm” that her parents managed for a county in Iowa. That concept and term have long ago disappeared from our culture. It was a system of welfare in those days a century ago. Those who were so poor that they needed the county’s assistance lived and worked on a farm for their subsistence living—a poor farm.

Marie was a delight with whom to visit, even if her hearing was such that I nearly had to shout in order for her to hear me. She had wonderful stories that drew me to an era of which I knew little. Eventually her health became so tenuous that she needed to move to a nursing home for her own safety. While she grew increasingly out of touch with reality, her story telling became even more vivid. She could blend her entire life into ten minutes. One minute she could be a child riding in the sleigh to her grandmother’s house for Christmas. The next minute she could be a mother herself wondering where her children were. The next minute she could appreciate her current surroundings and understand that she was in a nursing home. One had to pay attention every second for clues as to what decade we might be visiting.

One year I had a pastoral intern named Chris. He participated fully in the ministry of the church, including visiting those in nursing homes. In his initial visit to Marie, he was flabbergasted at Marie’s visiting style that left him in the dust. Even though he was warned, Chris had no idea what was happening. After one sequence of rapid-fire experiences, Marie asked Chris, “Do you know what I am talking about?” With a chuckle, Chris said, “No, Marie, I don’t know.” And in a moment of clarity, Marie said, “Well, go ask that nurse in the hall. She thinks she knows everything.”

Chris’ answer was an honest one. He really didn’t know what she was talking about. Contrast that with the answer the crowd gives to Jesus in our lesson this morning from Matthew. Jesus has just delivered a long series of parables. Earlier in this chapter we read that the crowd was so large that Jesus had to get into a boat and teach the people who standing on the shore. When he gets done with no less than seven parables, five of which are in our reading for today, he asks the people, “Have you understood all this?” Are you surprised that the crowd answers, yes, they understand? Maybe they are like the nurse in the hallway who thinks she knows everything.

In the face of Jesus’ teaching, I believe I might be more like Chris. If Jesus asked me if I understood everything, I think I would say no. What about you? What if you had been in the crowd on the shore that day?

 A farmer sows seeds on many different kinds of soil. Some soil is good and some is bad. Check. Got it.
 The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sows good seed in his field, but weeds invade the field. Check. Got it.
 The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Check. Got it.
 The kingdom of heaven is like yeast. Check. Got it.
 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. Check. Got it.
 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. Check. Got it.
 The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. Check. Got it.

Do you understand all this? Are you kidding? It is like listening to Marie’s rapid-fire stories, and hers are not in a logical sequence like Jesus’ stories. This is like the proverbial drinking from a fire hose! Jesus throws so much into his teaching for the people. Do they really understand it all? Even the disciples earlier ask Jesus why it is that he speaks in parables, and Jesus talks about the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom. What does that sound like to you? Like the people will be able to get every nuance of every parable?

I am afraid that isn’t the case, and the people were overestimating their level of understanding. In fact, we Christians have been studying the stories for 2000 years, and we are yet discovering new and exciting things about the way in which God is working in his world through new insights into the parables.

That may be the effect of Jesus’ last proclamation in our reading for today. “The kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

We have plenty of interpretations of the parables that go back to Bible times. In fact, there are two interpretations by Jesus himself in this thirteenth chapter of Matthew that we have read in the previous two weeks. We do not lack for wisdom that has come down to us through the ages.

But, frankly, what matters as much is what this information means to you today. You can read all the fine sermons in the world. You can read commentaries on the Bible and understand all that has been written about a parable. But ultimately the question is, “What does this mean for you?” Are you able to bring out of the parable what is new for you as well as what is old?

I love to read what great Lutheran theologians and preachers like Gerhard Forde, Ed Markquart, and Brian Stoffregen write about the parables. But ultimately, it comes down to what the parable says to each one of us. What is the newness of life that comes to you out of these stories of Jesus?

What does the pearl of great price mean to you? The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls… Please note it doesn’t say that the kingdom of heaven is the pearl of great price, it is like the merchant searching for that great pearl.

I could tell you what that means to me. I could tell you what it means to other preachers and theologians. What I can’t tell you is what it means to you!

Are you out there searching for your great pearl? And, if so, what is the pearl? Are you chasing after some holy grail that always remains just out of your grasp? Do you invest all your time in the comforts of this world—comforts that eventually slip away from us. Is the big retirement account your pearl? Maybe it is your family—a family that grows and eventually forms new families.

What is the pearl for you? What is the journey of searching for you? Do you understand? I wish that I could say that I totally understand. But I am on a journey; a journey of faith, and my understanding grows in the grace of Christ. Each year, I pray, a little more. A little more. I need to let the yeast of God work in the wheat of my soul. I need to let the mustard seed of faith mature into its fullness.

And I am not going to ask the nurse in the hallway. I am going to continue to study the Word within the people of God. This place called Bethel is my valuable laboratory. God has assembled fish of every kind in this place. I pray that I am wiser and more faithful every time I come together with you.

What about you? What do you understand? AMEN.