Saint James UCC of Hamburg, NY

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-46

Preached by Rev. Robert Matlack
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Surprise! Most of us love surprises. I know that I do, and I suspect that you may as well. Oh, they can be hard to wait for when we know that they're coming. We get impatient. We get excited, but there's something special, something thrilling, something wonderful about a surprise.

The reason I'm talking about surprises is that there's a sense of surprise, of wonder, about the parable of the mustard seed. There's this tiny little seed, and it grows into an amazingly large plant. Of course we aren't really surprised about that. We've seen it happen before. We all know what result we expect when we plant a seed. But imagine if you took a young child, showed the child a mustard seed and then pointed to a full grown mustard plant, imagine how surprised that child would be that such a large plant could come from such a tiny seed.

I remember when my children were young. We would have them plant seeds in the garden, and they would get all excited about seeing them grow. They weren't concerned about what the end product was - whether it be a flower or vegetable. They would just get all excited about seeing something wonderful happening in their garden. They had a genuine sense of surprise that from a tiny dried up seed a big plant can grow.

There's a very real sense in which this amazing, yet everyday occurrence, is gift. God has created the world in such a way that seeds will grow into large plants or even trees. That is a real gift. Imagine if that didn't happen. Imagine how barren our world would be.

Now we've learned how to help that process along by providing the right amount of water, the right amount of heat and light, and the right amount of nutrients in the soil. We can help the process along, but it is God who still makes it happen. Without that incredible seed - the water, the heat, the light, the nutrients wouldn't be any help at all. You and I just can't make it happen without God's help.

Every time a plant grows, it's a gift from God. I know that instinctively, because I'm not very good at growing plants. My wife is much better at it than I am, but if I plant something and it grows, it has to be awfully determined. It's the kind of plant that will survive in spite of the care that it's received. But, even when all of the conditions are absolutely perfect, even in a greenhouse with the best care imaginable, it's amazing that a seed grows. It's amazing that it has everything that it needs to bring new life out of a dried up, puny little seed.

The parable reminds us that that is what the kingdom of God is like. It's like a mustard seed. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed because it has experienced this amazing growth. Remember back in December when we celebrated Jesus' birth. We talked about a tiny baby, born in a manger, in rude and humble surrounds because the inn was full - and there was no room for him there. From that tiny beginning the church has sprung.

Even during Jesus' ministry there were many times when it seemed like a tiny beginning. There were discouraging times, such as when Jesus visited Nazareth, and the people didn't want to believe, because they knew him as a child growing up in their midst, not as their Savior. There were discouraging times when people were more interested in witnessing flashy miracles than in hearing the truth of God's love. There were discouraging times when the Pharisees tried to trap Him, or when even His closest followers misunderstood, or when the crowds turned against Him and shouted Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Yet Jesus never let these things stop Him.

When you think about it, what a surprise it is that from those tiny beginnings has grown the church of today, where in communities all around the world people gather to worship, just as we do today. In communities all around the world people strive to be faithful, people try to love God with all their hearts, they try to learn what it means to live as God's child. And yes, there is so much more to be done to bring the Kingdom of Heaven in all it's fullness and glory. There is a long way to go, but it is surprising and amazing that we have come this far when you think about those tiny, humble beginnings.

We know that the church is a gift from God, just as the growth of a seed is a wonderful gift. Many people have worked to nurture that gift, to tend the garden and to see that water and light, that heat and nutrients are provided. Many people have worked hard indeed. But just as with the seed, our efforts by themself would not be sufficient. The growth of the church is God's gift, because it is God who has taken the efforts of Christians over the centuries. It is God who has blessed these efforts and made them grow into what we have today. And yes, the work that lies ahead of us is great indeed, but a part of the promise of this parable is the promise that if we try, if we really do our best, God can take our efforts, insufficient as they are, and produce great and wonderful results. For this kind of amazing growth is truly a gift from God.

Sometimes we wonder why we should bother. Is it really worth it? Maybe someone else will do it if we don't. There are so many other things that we're busy with, that we just don't want to take the time. Jesus says, "the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field."

Jesus reminds us that the kingdom of heaven is also the most precious thing we can gain. Everything else seems empty when placed beside it. All of the things we work so hard for, all of the things we spend time doing, in comparison are empty and worthless. The man in the parable willingly sells everything that he has in order to buy the field, or in the other parable, in order to buy the pearl. He is willing to give up everything that he has in order to gain that one thing. That is what the kingdom of God is like.

Years ago, before the Soviet Union broke up into independent states, and before the freedom that they have today existed there, one Soviet citizen wrote a letter to the editor of a very popular magazine, expressing anger that at the age of 30 and only then by accident had he been allowed to read the Gospels. He was outraged and wrote, "What a treasure they have been hiding from me!"

In the Bible, in our own faith, in this church and the people of faith who surround us, we have a priceless treasure, a treasure that has the ability to change our lives as we experience the power and the wonder of God's love for us.

Yet, just as with the seeds that grow around us, we often lose our sense of wonder, our sense of surprise, our sense of appreciation for the gift. These are gifts that have been and continue to be there for us. We take them for granted and forget how special they are.

In Jesus Christ God has offered us the chance to be a part of God's Kingdom. It is an amazing gift, a gift that is precious beyond compare. Yet it is also a gift that we often take for granted, feeling that we're too busy right now with other things, even as we trust that the gift will still be there when we're ready.

God offers us this wonderful precious gift, knowing that some of us will turn away from it, but also knowing that tiny seeds planted in our lives have the potential for bearing wonderful fruit. For when we are the fertile soil in which those seeds can grow, then God takes our lives and blesses them, allowing things to happen that are far beyond our own efforts. Let us appreciate God's gift today. Let us be among the grateful, who are thankful today for God's wondrous gift of love!

Amen.