The Sermon given by the Revd Brian Morris on 24th July, 2011
The Fifth Sunday After Trinity

In this morning's Gospel reading ( Matthew 13.31 - 33,44 - 52) our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ is preaching and he is using parables to get his message across to the people. On this occasion he mentions a mustard seed, yeast, treasure, a pearl and a net.

But is it a seed? Is it yeast? Is it a treasure? Is it a pearl? Is it a net? It is all of those things, but at the same time it is none of them. It is the kingdom of heaven. Each simile refracts off its reality like a beam of light shining on the different faces of a diamond, each reflecting a little of its beauty, each catching something of the essence of what it is to be a diamond, but none of them able to convey its complete magnificence.

The kingdom of heaven is like seed. It seems so little, so dead, so hopeless when it is first planted in the heart of a person's life. How can the idea of God grasping the heart, the mind and imagination compete with the daily realities of trying to make a living? How can this mustard seed compete with the mortgage as a fact of life? How can one moment's act of commitment to a dream of what might be overcome the reality of what actually is? How can the possibility of peace match up to the reality of helicopter gun ships smashing cities to pieces? How can the tiny fragment of hope that men, women and children throughout the world will be fed and find justice be maintained when every month brings fresh reports of crop failure, of famine and starvation?

The kingdom of heaven is like seed. It is a reality which when planted actually begins to grow and take over more and more of a person's life. It may begin with a conversation with a friend, or when its truth breaks through whilst reading a novel, seeing a film, or even walking through mengeham It may be a moment in worship or in private prayer. It is that moment when the words of scripture cease to be a story in a book or words on a page, but laid alongside the story of our life, suddenly interacts with it, illuminates it, takes hold of it, grasps it. The seed is planted It is a tiny thing. But it grows. It is irresistible. What seems to have begun in the mind begins to take over the whole life. Anger, despair, resentment and bitterness are burnt up like the list in the morning sun. Hurt and pain are wrapped in love, and life is different. It is as if we are born again.

Seeds are indestructible. They can be trampled on, marched over by armies, bombed, buried in ancient tombs. But they still grow. The kingdom of heaven is like that. Once it has been grasped it does not matter what the world tries to do to it. Peace may be shattered by years of war. Communities may be torn apart. Injustice may be piled on injustice. But the possibility of things being different is not destroyed. The dream stays alive to inspire new generations of those who will work to make the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The kingdom of God is like yeast. Without yeast, flour and water and salt remain a sticky mess. But with it the mixture takes on a life of its own. It is secret and silent. We cannot see what it is doing, we can only see the difference it makes. A letter is written, an encouraging word is said, a gift is given in secret. A couple whose relationship is on the edge of breaking down resolve to try again. No-one knows but them, but by their new beginning their world becomes a slightly different and a slightly better place not only for them but for all who know them. Someone makes a stand for truth and a whole chain of lies and half truths is brought to an end and people feel that they can breath again in a purer atmosphere. Private prayers turn into public actions.

The kingdom of heaven is like yeast. It crept into the world through a stable door. It affected the lives of twelve radically different men. It changed a Pharisee called Paul and began to spread through the world undermining the commonly accepted values. Slaves whispered to each other in the market place, 'Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord!' and their whispers undermined an empire and turned the world into a different place.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. The one who comes across it by accident in the daily round of life and work sells everything else he has and goes and buys the field. Once it is discovered everything else is worth- less. The things that used to be so important to us are no longer so. The values which drive daily life become changed. Power, wealth and sex cease to be the gods which drive our life and find their proper place in the order of things. They become our servants rather than lords over us. These things are no longer the obsessions which cause us to strive after them in order to find satisfaction for ourselves. They become instead the means by which we can make life have meaning for others.

The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great price. It is not always found by accident. There is a persistent rumour amongst the people of the earth that God is alive. There are those whose life is about making a search to establish the truth of the rumour. They pray, they read the scriptures, they listen to the stories that other tell of their journeys of faith. They keep quiet times. They make pilgrimages both actual and imaginary. They wonder at what has been done by saints in the past and rejoice when they see women and men allowing their faith make a difference now. They delight when good is done. They rejoice in the truth. They laugh at pomposity and reject all false religion. They are like merchants dealing in pearls until they find the one worth more than all the others put together. The kingdom of heaven is like that. The search is worth making. The journey is part of the fun of being a Christian..

The kingdom of God is like a net. The fisherman does not keep all his catch. Some is edible and some is not. In the presence of God's goodness we know ourselves to be self serving. In the presence of God's grace we know ourselves to be self important. In the presence of God's outgoing love we know ourselves to be self centred. The search for the kingdom of heaven is not something to be taken lightly. If we do not search for it, it searches for us, catches us and sees right through us. In the end it is this which determines whether our life is worth living.

The kingdom of heaven is a seed, it is yeast, it is a treasure to be stumbled across, it is a pearl to be sought. Finally, It is a net which seeks us and sorts us out.

AMEN