one good big fish

Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44,45)

We could have it all. And have it slip away. We could make a fortune. And lose it. Or we could have it in our hands the whole time and never grasp its meaning. That is part of what is happening here: Jesus tells stories, brief vignettes, about people who get it. Who get the meaning of what they have, what is right in front of them. It’s not that they always had it and never knew it, not these people with the field and the oyster. It’s that when it is presented to them, they know its worth. They know it is worth more than everything else that they had. And so they give it all up, set all that aside, to have that one great good thing that is the true prize.

In the Gospel of Thomas, an ancient text not in our Testaments, the illustration was drawn from fish. A fisherman goes down to the sea and casts in his net: when he pulls it out, he finds he’s caught lots of little fish and one good big one. So it is with the kingdom of heaven. Everything else is set aside, not because it is unworthy in itself, but because next to the one thing that counts for all, they count as if for nothing.

Thomas Aquinas put it this way, when he was given a vision, in contemplation, of the holy: I have seen things that make all my writings seem like straw.

In comparison to that final gift all else seems of lesser value. Until it is put in its proper place. Until all else is understood in right relationship to the gift of heaven, it will all come to nothing.

And then all else begins to grow into more than we could have imagined, looked at in isolation.

Jesus put before the crowds another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

A mustard seed. Or a redwood seed. Or a saguaro seed. Not much, by itself, to start with. But let it grow. Let it come into its fullness. Better yet, grow into fullness with it. Then you’ll really see something.

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

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On the feast of St. Nicholas [in 1273, Aquinas] was celebrating Mass when he received a revelation that so affected him that he wrote and dictated no more, leaving his great work the Summa Theologiae unfinished. To Brother Reginald’s (his secretary and friend) expostulations he replied, “The end of my labors has come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me.” When later asked by Reginald to return to writing, Aquinas said, “I can write no more. I have seen things that make my writings like straw.” (www.catholic-forum.com/saintS/stt03002.htm)

“Aquinas’s vision may have been a vision of heaven, compared to which everything else, no matter how glorious, seems worthless.” https://www.catholic.com/qa/when-st-thomas-aquinas-likened-his-work-to-straw-was-that-a-retraction-of-what-he-wrote

2023 July 30 

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 12 Year A

http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/AProp12_RCL.html

Track One (semi-continuous)

Genesis 29:15-28

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b

or Psalm 128

Track Two (complementary)

1 Kings 3:5-12

Psalm 119:129-136

Romans 8:26-39

Matthew 13:31-33,44-52

treasures

Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace by Jan Vermeer van Delft 

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 

A competent wife, how does one find her? Her value is far above pearls.

What a rare find is a capable wife! Her worth is far beyond that of rubies.

(Proverbs 31:10, three times.)

Rubies, pearls, rubies: clearly a wise husband knows he has a precious gift in a good partner.

What chance we will know a treasure when it appears before us? The blessing of another person, the gift of a sunset or of rain, the courtesy shown by a cautious driver, the laughter of a friend. These are treasures great and small, not all worth more than precious jewels, but all worthy of appreciation and thanks.

In the gospel story for the end of July 2023 we come across another treasure, in a story told by Jesus: a treasure hidden in a field. Finding it, the finder does not waste any time, but goes and buys the field, in order to have the treasure. Drop everything else. This is it. Next to it nothing else matters. They fade into the background. 

Kind of like falling in love. All else fades away, just a murmur of sound and some vague apparitions, form the background. If you see the one right in front of you, my friend, for who they are.

Jesus does not say the kingdom is like a person falling in love, but does he have to? The single-minded vision is there, the incautious extravagance of setting all other agenda aside, the rightness of doing so. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44,45)

Worth it.

Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace by Jan Vermeer van Delft (Public Domain) https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/young-woman-with-a-pearl-necklace-jan-vermeer-van-delft/kQFMVJh6zAXoxQ © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Image by Google

The Kingdom of Heaven compared to a Grain of Mustard-seed

The Kingdom of Heaven compared to a Grain of Mustard-seed

by Christopher Smart

Then did he to the throng around
Another parable propound.
So fares it with the heavenly reign
As mustard-seed, of which a grain
Was taken in a farmer's hand
And cast into a piece of land.
This grain, the least of all that's sown,
When once to full perfection grown,
Outstrips all herbs to that degree
Till it at length becomes a tree,
And all the songsters of the air
Take up an habitation there.

Christ laid (at first an infant boy)
The basis of eternal joy;
And from humility, his plan,
Arose the best and greatest man,
The greatest man that ever trod
On earth was Christ th' eternal God,
Which as the branch of Jesse's root
Ascends to bear immortal fruit.
From contradiction, sin and strife,
He spreads abroad the tree of life;
And there his servants shall partake
The mansions, that the branches make;
There saints innumerable throng,
Assert their seat, and sing their song.





Christopher Smart (1722-1771)

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Mustardseed Sunday

May our prayers rise like incense before you, and the lifting of our hearts as the evening sacrifice.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, and when words fail me may your Spirit intercede for me. In the name of Christ.

Last summer I grew a beard. I had plenty of time for such projects, because of what had come just before….

When words fail us,
we rely on the Spirit to intercede.

Beyond what we know or think is possible, God is working—
in a seed so small as a mustard seed, there is the beginning of verdant growth;
in a palm full of yeast there is the hidden power to make the bread to rise:
it’s something humble, almost, imperceptible, yet God is working there.

In a field is a hidden treasure, like a Viking hoard long lost; or
In the marketplace is a pearl of so great a value,
that to have it in your hand is worth all you can summon together to give.

There is a net full of fish—
and the good alone is kept.

(What is there to do—when someone is gone, but to remember the good?)

[“There’s nothing to remember about her except the good.”—Paola, closing out chapter one of The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon, (Atlantic Monthly Press, May 2008)]

There is a storehouse full of treasures old and new; to listen to the word is to bring them forth.

Even in crazy stuff like Jacob’s story, and the stories of Rachel and Leah, we can see God’s hand at work. He is working out his purpose even in the wiliest of men—or the wackiest of families.

(Imagine Jacob waking up next to— a Surprise! “Who are you people????” And the response comes as they all burst through the door: “We’re your family!!!”)

Beyond what we can ask for or even imagine are the promises of God, the future with hope he is working out for his people—

through hidden things and great,
with those who are obedient—

for these parables all give us glimpses of what the world can be like when we let God be in charge,

and take part in his loving work, as his hands in the world.

We hear the good news:
Christ has died for us and set us free;
nothing can separate us from the love of God—
all things work together for good to those who love God—

and so we can with boldness say
Our Father:

and so we can take on Christ as our Lord as well as savior;

so we can respond to the challenge of the gospel, the invitation and the promises of the Covenant we make in Baptism:

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers? We will, with God’s help.

learning what it means to walk the Christian way,
having companions for the journey,
encouraging each other,
showing each other the love of God
and how to live it, out in the world?

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you do fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? We will, with God’s help.

not giving up or being too proud to seek God’s forgiveness,
to make reconciliation, to say ‘sorry’,
to make amends— or forgive— and move on

Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? We will, with God’s help.

to show in our lives that we bear the love of God into the world—
what we say, what we do, says that Christ is Lord, that God is in charge of the world:
loving it, redeeming it, and bringing it to completion in the fullness of time.

Will you, loving your neighbor as yourself, seek and serve Christ in all persons? We will, with God’s help.

so easy to dismiss or belittle the unfamiliar,
so easy to be unkind to the stranger,
so much easier;
than standing up for what is right

Will you respect the dignity of every human being, and strive for justice and peace among all people? We will, with God’s help.

for that is what it means when God is in charge—
and what it means to be his people,
for whom all things work together for good,
according to his promise.

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The love of God enfold you,
the power of Christ protect you,
the leading of the Spirit guide you,
and the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always. Amen.

(Blessing from Clouds and Glory by David Adam, SPCK, 2000)

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