Monday: “Sowed Good Seed” - Matthew 13: 24-30
Have you ever had something that you put a lot of time and effort into go sideways? No one ever has everything that they do turn out perfectly. And yet… in the case of this particular farmer, it was not his fault. He did all of the right things. He planted the perfect seed. Yet, someone choose to do something evil against him.
What should be done in the face of the presence of evil in the world? I’m not sure that any of us have an answer for this powerful question. Our human instinct seems to be to eradicate all evil, but Jesus does not give that as a solution in this parable. He doesn’t tell the neighbors to attack the one who snuck in and did what was evil. He doesn’t even tell the neighbors to come and help pull up the weeds!
It seems as if Jesus is reminding us that in combating evil, we can sometimes get swept up in the evil itself. What an unsettling thought. Our human agency, even when seeking to do what we think is right and true, can have unattended results - like pulling up the good crop with the weeds. Because we do not know all, as God knows all, our actions can have ripple effects that can become harmful, even to what we planted in the first place.
Jesus seems to be inviting us to see with different eyes - Kingdom eyes. And not to rely on our own sense of knowing, but to trust in God, in order to seek first the ways - including peace and timing - of the Kingdom of God.
What is your first response when evil is done unto you? How would you have reacted if you were the farmer in this parable?
Prayer: Loving God, you call us to a different way of thinking and living when we accept the invitation to be part of your Kingdom. Reminds us what that means, even when the costs are high and the road is hard. Let us seek you and your heart first, O Lord. Amen.
Tuesday: “Mustard Seed” - Matthew 13: 31-32
Hanging in my office is a small necklace that a dear sister in Christ got me for Christmas one year. It has the figure of a mountain and a tiny mustard seed held together under glass. Whenever we hear about mustard seeds in scripture that is often the first scripture that comes to mind - having faith the size of a mustard seed that can move mountains.
But that is not the image or teaching of the mustard seed that Jesus brought to this particular parable. Instead, he talked about a small mustard seed finding its way into a field and the next thing you know the farmer who did the planting had huge plants - large enough that animals came to seek them out.
This is the shortest parable of Jesus. In fact, it almost read more like a proverb (wise saying) than a parable (a story). But either way, the message remains the same - there is power in even a little. There is especially power in the Word upon which the Kingdom is founded. The Kingdom of God is not about being the wisest, tallest, or most accomplished. Instead, it is a place where what seems insignificant to the world actually means a lot. And it is here that the hope of even a mustard seed can be found.
What does it look like for you to plant and share mustard seed hope today?
Prayer: Lord, we confess that it is easy to think that bigger is better. That more is the way of the kingdom. But we recognize that this is confusing the kingdom of the world with your Kingdom. Forgive us, O Lord, and lead us anew to the things that matter most and let our faith be planted there. Amen.
Wednesday: “A Little Yeast” - Matthew 13: 33
It is easy to look past something of the beautiful details found in parables simply because we do not find ourselves in the same place and time as the first hearers. Case in point, Jesus speaking about a woman who had sixty pounds of flour and a little bit of yeast. Unless we are an avid baker, it is easy to think “wow, that’s a lot of flour” instead of remembering. Remembering that Sarah used fifty pounds of flour in Genesis to prepare a feast for unexpected visitors. This woman is making a feast worthy amount of bread, not just a single loaf.
A little bit of yeast is all that was needed, even for this immense amount of flour, in order to transform it. The same is true with the Kingdom of God in our lives. While we may often look for big, complex, flashy moments, the truth is that the Kingdom of God becomes known and recognized more often through the every day moments that are transformed in unexpected ways.
Tell of a time that God did something extraordinary with an ordinary moment in your life.
Prayer: Lord, let us seek to see with your eyes and heart in a way that truly opens us up to the unexpected. Give us renewed sight and transformed lives that proclaim your Kingdom come. Amen.
Thursday: “Parables” - Matthew 13: 34-35
So why did Jesus speak in parables? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just come right out and say what he wanted to say? Perhaps it may have been easier, but that does not mean that it would have been wiser.
Parables, in connecting Kingdom teachings and values with the everyday lives that people knew and lived, allowed for truths to be opened to people that were in plain sight.
But plain sight that they didn’t necessarily want to see or respond to.
The same is true for us today as well. We may say that we want Jesus to speak his truth to us plainly, but are we really prepared to hear and respond with open hearts? Especially if what Jesus is teaching us is radically different than what we have been taught by the Kingdom of the world?
What is one thing that you learned from the world that is not true in the Kingdom of God?
Prayer: Lord, we thank you to you continue to speak to us gently in ways that we can hear, receive and respond to. Thank you for not giving up on us, O Lord! May you speak, for we are listening. Amen.
Friday: “Explained” - Matthew 13: 36-43
When Jesus left the crowd he was sharing these parables with and it is just him and his disciples, they asked for clarification. They were confused by some of the things that Jesus had just taught (and aren’t we all!)
Jesus was trying to help them, as well as the crowds, truly sense how close the Kingdom of God is and what it requires of us. In other words, are we willing to truly participate in the work of the Kingdom of God?
It is so easy to react by setting ourselves apart or thinking we are better than other people, including the crowds and the disciples. It’s our destructive tendency - we claim good for ourselves and project bad onto others.
But Jesus invites us to set these distractions aside and instead do the holy work of tending to our own spirits and proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
What distracts you the most form the work of the Kingdom of God?
Prayer: God, remind us of our call. Remind us of our work. And allow us to set aside all the detracts us from it. Amen.
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