"Treasures, pearls and suspended coffees..." Sunday 27th July Mt 13:44-52

I recently wandered into a café in Dublin that was selling ‘suspended coffees’. This is where you buy a coffee and then buy another one ‘suspended’. Then someone who can’t afford to buy a hot beverage can come in and ask for a ‘suspended coffee/tea’. It reminded me of one of today’s parables, the treasure in the field. 'Suspended Coffees' gave me a tiny glimpse of what the world looks like when we take this Kingdom of God stuff seriously. It brings great joy, especially when it is unexpected. Sometimes there are hidden treasures of God’s kingdom going on right under our noses (remember the mustard seed revolution parable from last week?.

Over the last few Sundays we have heard Matthew 13 and the parables on the growth and development of God’s Kingdom. Today we are told what to do when we find it. It may be unexpected; it may be the result of a long search and journey, but once found, nothing else matters. We are driven by our desires. It is what we desire most that effects what we do and the choices we make in life. In both parables the finder responds wholeheartedly and in complete surrender. We should ask for the ability to make the radical decision for the treasure. Jesus tells us that there is only one thing worth pursuing at any cost – that is the Kingdom of God. And JOY is one proof of its presence.

(Find your nearest suspended coffee: www.suspendedcoffees.com )

The Mustard Seed Revolution: 20th July Mt 13:24-43

The mustard seed parable is often explained away by stating how God takes a tiny seed and makes a big tree out of it. There is, as usual, a lot more going on here. Matthew strategically places the mustard seed parable in the middle of a story about gardening. Jesus surprises his listeners by telling them not to cut the weeds out of the wheat. The mustard seed’s growth could also be compared to wild weeds that grow through cracks in footpaths or a vine that vigorously takes over an area.. There is an ancient text which forbade planting mustard seeds in Palestinian gardens because the shrub takes over, like how yeast works its way through dough! It is wild, out of control, and attracts unwanted birds. Author and activist, Shane Claiborne, compares it to kudzu, a wild vine that could blanket entire mountain areas, smother trees, even crack cement buildings.

People of Jesus’ time may have preferred the image of the lofty ‘cedars of Lebanon’ to explain God’s kingdom, where the nations could build nests like the eagles do. Now that image may have gotten a few cheers from the crowd! Mustard plants however, only stand a few feet tall. Jesus is turning the ideals of power and triumph on their head again. The image we have here is of the unwanted, detestable birds who find a home in this little shrub which cannot be curtailed. It will grow even where it is not wanted.

The Parable Experience – Engage (Sunday 13th July; Mt 13:1-23)

Parables are not simply a ‘story with a moral’; they are much more than that. Parables speak to the heart and command an alertness to all that is said and all that is unsaid. We need to pay attention to the detail, but must also be careful not to miss the hidden meaning in the parable experience. And it is an experience. The parable does not end once we are finished hearing or reading it. It stays with us; disturbs us; forces us to ponder. Parables should awaken our senses.

This Sunday's parable highlights the various ways that we do not allow God’s word to penetrate deep into our hearts and minds. Jesus tells the disciples: “The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen”. Jesus emphasises the enormous harvest that is waiting for those who really ‘open their ears’.

Recently, I saw a YouTube clip of a 40 year old woman who was able to hear for the first time thanks to cochlear implants. It was an emotional clip to watch and she cried and laughed and shouted with joy. She explained how “the switch-on was the most emotional and overwhelming experience of my life”. If we are open to the parable experience, if the soil is truly receptive, perhaps the Word can affect us in the same way. In the coming Sundays we hear the parables of Matthew 13. Perhaps we can hear them again for the first time.

40 Year Old Woman hears for the first time: http://time.com/41427/watch-the-emotional-moment-a-40-year-old-deaf-woman-hears-for-the-first-time/

“All you who are weary” Sunday July 6th (Mt 11:25-30)

Jesus had little success with the ‘professionals’ of his day. Yet in this Sunday's Gospel He bursts into a prayer of thanksgiving for revealing wisdom to those who are considered ‘infants’. In the context of these chapters of Matthew, it is stressed that the poor are the only ones who truly understand the wisdom of God and they do so under the weight of great oppression and demands placed on them by the religious authorities. For example, the ‘wise’ place their particular interpretation of the law on the ‘ritually unclean’ by excluding them from meals (9:10-13) or place restrictions on the Sabbath that ignore human need (12:1-14).

Jesus wants people to leave aside these oppressors and learn from Him; find rest in Him. His focus is on mercy, compassion and love. This passage shows the tenderness with which Jesus welcomes and accepts. Jesus knows the reality of people’s suffering. He is not saying that there are no burdens in life; but that he will help people to find wisdom. This wisdom gives consolation, tenderness,

acceptance and the rest for which the soul yearns.

“Lowliness is humility, and that means down-to-earth realism. I accept myself as the raw material God has chosen to work through. For God can use me if I am ready to be me. God cannot do much with me as I wish I were, and even less with me trying to be someone else. In supple strength and cheerful self-acceptance lies the secret of a calm and restful spirit.” (William Yeomans)