The Pastor’s Page
October News Letter
You’ve all heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Nowhere is that truer than in the realm of religion and theology. Some things, like God and heaven, are beyond what human words are capable of expressing. So, it’s no wonder that Jesus’ favorite method of teaching was in parables—stories that are meant to open our eyes to the heavenly realm that is beyond the power of words to describe. Through his parables, Jesus is painting pictures in our minds and offering us a glimpse into the kingdom of heaven.
Over the summer months in our gospel readings we heard many of Jesus’ most beloved parables. Jesus’ parables are so popular because they’re fun; they invite us to use our imaginations and delight in the wonders of God’s kingdom. In every parable Jesus is making the very same point: that the kingdom of heaven “is near at hand,” it is all around us for those “with eyes to see and ears to hear.”
The great poet, Milton, summed up well what a parable expresses in his classic poem Paradise Lost:
What if Earth
Be but the shadow of Heaven,
And things therein
Each to the other like,
More than on earth is thought?
To Jesus, earth was “but the shadow of Heaven.” Jesus was able to look everywhere around him and see the shadows and reflections of heaven in the seemingly mundane events of everyday life. Just as a shadow is a two-dimensional reflection of a three-dimensional object, so our world may just be a three-dimensional reflection of a higher spiritual realm. Many theologians have surmised that heaven is all around us, but invisible to our eyes. And this is not just theological speculation; scientists and mathematicians have proven that higher dimensional worlds—worlds of five, six, and even more dimensions exist all around us, but are invisible to our three-dimensional eyes. Science fiction stories abound with such speculations. These ideas of other dimensions can actually give us some insight into how the kingdom of heaven can be all around us, but invisible and hidden. Every one of Jesus’ parable begins with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .” And then Jesus goes on to show how a seemingly ordinary event in this world is but a reflection of the way things are in heaven.
In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus is telling us that the kingdom of God surpasses our wildest dreams and expectations. Like the farmer who plants a mustard seed, the tiniest of all seeds, and ends up with a tree, so the Kingdom is growing all out of proportion to its tiny, insignificant beginnings. It began with a baby in a manger and a tiny band of disciples who believed he was the Messiah. But out of these tiny, insignificant beginnings has grown a tree of tremendous proportions, a tree that 2,000 years later has branches spreading out into every nation on earth.
In another parable, Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a woman mixing yeast into a batch of flour. The Kingdom, while all around us, is hidden just as the yeast is hidden in the dough. We can’t see the yeast, but the bread is fuller and richer because of it, just as the world is fuller and richer because of the presence of Christians within it. Like the mustard seed, the Kingdom grows imperceptibly. Like the yeast in the dough, the Kingdom grows in tiny, unnoticed ways—through friendship, through words of kindness and forgiveness, and through the outstretched helping hand.
In another parable, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom is like what happens when someone finds treasure hidden in a field. That lucky person goes and sells everything he has in order to buy that field. Likewise, Jesus says that finding the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who is constantly searching for the finest pearls. After finding one pearl of incomparable worth, the “pearl of great price,” the merchant sells all he has in order to acquire that one pearl of incomparable value.
Can’t you just picture the pearl merchant welcoming his friends into his home, then, in hushed tones, inviting them to come into the back room see the new pearl he bought? Carefully he unwraps it and says, “Look at the beauty of this pearl! I have searched all my life for a pearl as perfect as this. Isn’t it incredible?” Then, picture the farmer in the field hitting a large pottery jar with his plow and finding glistening treasure inside. Picture him jumping up and down, hugging his mule, dancing all the way home! Jesus’ parables talk about a heart-pounding, spine-tingling, mind-boggling thrill of a lifetime—discovering the kingdom of God.
Unfortunately, Christians don’t often seem to feel quite that joyous about their faith. Many Christians find attending worship a dutiful routine rather than a magnificent opportunity to get a glimpse of heaven each week and experience the greatest joy we can know in this world. As we resume our in-person worship this month, perhaps the long time away will enable us to more fully appreciate the great treasure we have in worship and in having fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I truly believe the old saying that in every dark cloud there is a silver lining. And in the dark cloud of the covid pandemic maybe the silver lining for the church is a renewed appreciation for the treasure we have in worship.
Jesus’ parables invite us to look in the ordinary to find the extraordinary. We can find God’s presence and a foretaste of heaven in ordinary, earthly things like the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. We can catch glimpses of the Kingdom in the everyday things of this world, but one day we shall see it revealed in all its glory. For now, we can see God most fully in Jesus. Jesus himself is our great treasure, the pearl of great price. He came to show us the kingdom that is here now, and to give us a glimpse of the kingdom that is yet to come. As Jesus’ disciples, it is our duty to let our lives become pictures of the kingdom, so that others can discover the priceless treasure to be found in being a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
Over the summer months in our gospel readings we heard many of Jesus’ most beloved parables. Jesus’ parables are so popular because they’re fun; they invite us to use our imaginations and delight in the wonders of God’s kingdom. In every parable Jesus is making the very same point: that the kingdom of heaven “is near at hand,” it is all around us for those “with eyes to see and ears to hear.”
The great poet, Milton, summed up well what a parable expresses in his classic poem Paradise Lost:
What if Earth
Be but the shadow of Heaven,
And things therein
Each to the other like,
More than on earth is thought?
To Jesus, earth was “but the shadow of Heaven.” Jesus was able to look everywhere around him and see the shadows and reflections of heaven in the seemingly mundane events of everyday life. Just as a shadow is a two-dimensional reflection of a three-dimensional object, so our world may just be a three-dimensional reflection of a higher spiritual realm. Many theologians have surmised that heaven is all around us, but invisible to our eyes. And this is not just theological speculation; scientists and mathematicians have proven that higher dimensional worlds—worlds of five, six, and even more dimensions exist all around us, but are invisible to our three-dimensional eyes. Science fiction stories abound with such speculations. These ideas of other dimensions can actually give us some insight into how the kingdom of heaven can be all around us, but invisible and hidden. Every one of Jesus’ parable begins with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .” And then Jesus goes on to show how a seemingly ordinary event in this world is but a reflection of the way things are in heaven.
In the Parable of the Mustard Seed, Jesus is telling us that the kingdom of God surpasses our wildest dreams and expectations. Like the farmer who plants a mustard seed, the tiniest of all seeds, and ends up with a tree, so the Kingdom is growing all out of proportion to its tiny, insignificant beginnings. It began with a baby in a manger and a tiny band of disciples who believed he was the Messiah. But out of these tiny, insignificant beginnings has grown a tree of tremendous proportions, a tree that 2,000 years later has branches spreading out into every nation on earth.
In another parable, Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a woman mixing yeast into a batch of flour. The Kingdom, while all around us, is hidden just as the yeast is hidden in the dough. We can’t see the yeast, but the bread is fuller and richer because of it, just as the world is fuller and richer because of the presence of Christians within it. Like the mustard seed, the Kingdom grows imperceptibly. Like the yeast in the dough, the Kingdom grows in tiny, unnoticed ways—through friendship, through words of kindness and forgiveness, and through the outstretched helping hand.
In another parable, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom is like what happens when someone finds treasure hidden in a field. That lucky person goes and sells everything he has in order to buy that field. Likewise, Jesus says that finding the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who is constantly searching for the finest pearls. After finding one pearl of incomparable worth, the “pearl of great price,” the merchant sells all he has in order to acquire that one pearl of incomparable value.
Can’t you just picture the pearl merchant welcoming his friends into his home, then, in hushed tones, inviting them to come into the back room see the new pearl he bought? Carefully he unwraps it and says, “Look at the beauty of this pearl! I have searched all my life for a pearl as perfect as this. Isn’t it incredible?” Then, picture the farmer in the field hitting a large pottery jar with his plow and finding glistening treasure inside. Picture him jumping up and down, hugging his mule, dancing all the way home! Jesus’ parables talk about a heart-pounding, spine-tingling, mind-boggling thrill of a lifetime—discovering the kingdom of God.
Unfortunately, Christians don’t often seem to feel quite that joyous about their faith. Many Christians find attending worship a dutiful routine rather than a magnificent opportunity to get a glimpse of heaven each week and experience the greatest joy we can know in this world. As we resume our in-person worship this month, perhaps the long time away will enable us to more fully appreciate the great treasure we have in worship and in having fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I truly believe the old saying that in every dark cloud there is a silver lining. And in the dark cloud of the covid pandemic maybe the silver lining for the church is a renewed appreciation for the treasure we have in worship.
Jesus’ parables invite us to look in the ordinary to find the extraordinary. We can find God’s presence and a foretaste of heaven in ordinary, earthly things like the waters of baptism and the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. We can catch glimpses of the Kingdom in the everyday things of this world, but one day we shall see it revealed in all its glory. For now, we can see God most fully in Jesus. Jesus himself is our great treasure, the pearl of great price. He came to show us the kingdom that is here now, and to give us a glimpse of the kingdom that is yet to come. As Jesus’ disciples, it is our duty to let our lives become pictures of the kingdom, so that others can discover the priceless treasure to be found in being a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
