Despite the way the sacred author of St. Matthew's Gospel chose to place in the mouth of Jesus the interpretation his community (riddled with defections and craziness) happened to need, I'd rather stop where scholars think Jesus' own words would have stopped: with the parables, themselves. Scholars tell us that the "interpretations" given the parables, although placed on the lips of Jesus, actually came from the early Church. I guess I'm somewhat convinced it's probably true, for we rarely see Jesus condemning anyone, outright. He can rant, now and then, about certain sorts of sins–usually arrogance, stinginess, lack of concern for suffering, strict religion that lets law get in the way of people's well-being, and things like that, but rarely if ever does He condemn a person. He even forgave those who killed him! So, saying God in His eternal love will burn the evildoers doesn't sound a lot like Him. On the other hand, there is much to be said for holding out an "incentive" for better behavior! So, who knows for sure? But, today, for the sake of saying something I haven't said before, we'll stop with the parables, themselves. OK?
The Kingdom of God is like a man who sows wheat, but an enemy comes and sows tares, and then the wheat and the tares grow together, and one dare not "rip out" every single tare for fear of pulling up the wheat by mistake. Do you know what that sounds like to me? It sounds like ME, MY life. And, I'll bet it sounds like yours, too. We all sense that we were created with love and vast possibility for greatness and goodness, and we all sense that we haven't always lived up to our potential, don't we? It's as if when God blessed our creation, it was only "wheat" that was there...but, ah, the "enemy" has sown tares, there, too. And we have both growing in our lives: the good and the noxious, the kind and the malicious. St. Paul once sensed something of the sort when he said something to the effect, "The good that I want to do, I don't do, and what I don't want to do, I do!" Who doesn't "know" the truth of this? But, look at the gentleness of the parable: God let's it all grow: the good and the goofy; rather than "destroy" the "project" we are creating of our lives, He tolerates our ambiguity, and at the end, He'll find a way to get rid of/destroy our ugliness, and reward our goodness, letting it shine. What a gentle way of talking about the Judgement!
Or, "the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed...smallest of seeds, yet becomes huge, and shelters (fragile) birds of the air." Don't you sense how "small" you are? I do. I know that in the long and the short of things, I'm not at all noteworthy. History will never remember who I am (unless I do something truly terrible!) and one small human being in a world of 6 billion, almost none of whom know my name, I have SO LITTLE influence. Most of us are like that, don't you think? Yet, look at the gentleness of the parable: that which is small, becomes "large" in its own right, and shelters the fragile. Each one of us "shelters" a lot of folk in a lot of different ways. Jesus is pointing out to us that in spite of our "smallness" we will do great things, even if no one remembers them. We are the "nesting place" for the fragile of the world, and that is truly a great and noble calling, I feel "lifted up" just thinking about it!
The parable of the yeast can be two-edged: yeast was often a symbol of corruption (which is why only UNleavened bread is used for Eucharist/Passover), but it can also be a symbol of "rising" to greatness. The flour can rise to feed the world.......or at least a lot of people. Or, in the negative side, a nice thing like flour can become "puffed up," and cause gas to the eater! Both a hope and a warning, contained in that gentle parable that compares God to a woman in her kitchen, cooking. Think of YOUR mother in your kitchen cooking: didn't she, by dipping into her life experience, try to spur you to greatness, and warn you off from trouble as she cooked and chatted with you? This is a truly lovely image of God....creating feasts of nourishment for us as He/She warns us of what could happen to us if we don't listen! Just like Mom! Filled with love.
These parables, today, call forth greatness in each of us. They place before us the "dream" and the "hope" of God for us. We've been created with great Grace, and tolerant freedom, and a call to rise to the heights by sheltering those fragile and hurting, and never being "puffed up" and arrogant about life, or goodness or God. These are too holy for arrogance. They call forth humility, and a deeper striving for an elegance of living that walks softly on the earth and leaves peace in its path. May we, each, find that elegance, and may we each leave much peace (shalom) behind us, as we move along our path. And may God bless you all.+
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