living in coronavirusworld 116: The egret has returned (living parables...)

7/20

The egret has returned

The egret has returned to Morningside Park.  Tim is still without his trombone.

One final venture into parables land. Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.  A whole string. The famous mustard seed one. And the pearl of great price. And leaven and loaves. Also found in Mark, Luke and most of the sayings in Thomas. Of course the mustard seed is not really the smallest. And it doesn’t really grow into a tree; it's more like a moderate sized shrub. One can almost see one disciple whispering that to another  and  the other says, Don’t stop him, he’s on a roll. And in stories, like in song writing, it’s ok to lie as long as you’re telling the truth. At the simplest level, Jesus is saying small beginnings can have great endings. There is a sense that he’s going for the apocalyptic here as well in that the tree can be like the one in Ezekei and Daniel which provides shelter for all beings. Like that much loved movie (not including me) a few years back, the Tree of Life. (2011, Terence Malick.) That little leaven's enough for 100 loaves, a classic resistance metaphor. One small action, and the people began to rise. 

The hidden treasure in the field always gets me. Why does he have to buy it? Why not just take it?

Casting a wide net, bringing all in, letting God do the sorting again. And there’s that casting out to the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth again. A friend once said long ago, time wounds all heels. Well. One can hope. It is to say that end of it is not our worry. Our job is to build the kindom and start to live in it until it becomes real. 

The scribes are the disciples to whom this is being explained while the crowd scratches its collective head. And one more nice touch, we are to be like like the master of the house who who not only brings out of his treasure what is new but also what is old.”

These parables are rich and complex. They involve:

*transformative smallness

*impacting hiddenness

* joyous surprise

* exponential growth

*persistent effort

The opposite idea of the one bad apple, ie, in the kindom of God, if one bad apple can spoil the barrel, one good one can save it.  We are not to be overwhelmed in the midst of this overwhelming reality. Think small seeds again.

Make one call. Write one note. Have one conversation. Make a stand, commitment, a donation, a prayer. Sow widely, generously. Over and over. 

Back to that field, the digging….

“ We are to be like archeologists f the holy. W edit through the rubble untie we find hidden treasure in the desolate depleted soil of a people, relationships, creation, beauty, kindness, love, joy…”

(Thanks to Jill Duffield of Presbyterian Outlook for much of the last two paragraphs…)