In Richard III, Shakespeare famously has him saying “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse”, he is willing to give up everything he has to get a horse after losing his own. In this weeks gospel readings we see what people are willing to sacrifice for various treasures, but actually the question is, ‘What are you willing to give for the Kingdom?’.

The one thing I remember distinctly from my ‘O’ Levels is from the Scripture classes and that is

the kingdom of God is the rule of God in the hearts and lives of his people

Thank you to Mr Gilmore for that nugget that has stayed with me!

God’s kingdom is not a place, however wonderful that might seem. It is God living in us, breathing through us, working in us. This collection of parables or analogies show both what that can do and it’s value.

A mustard seed

Such a tiny thing,
a small beginning,
hard for the eye to see,
but what it can become
when planted
and nurtured.

Then it becomes strong
and tall,
a place where others
can find safety,
refuge
and rest.

Lord,
take my faith,
however small
and fragile it fells,
grow it strong
and robust
I pray
that others may find refuge
and strength
in it
and in your presence.

Yeast

Nothing
by itself.

Only working
when activated,
mixed with ingredients
that make it grow.

Only becoming something of use
when combined with others.

And then –
what a difference it makes.
For those other elements
become something so much more too.

Lord,
my faith
is nothing by itself.
It needs other ingredients,
other people,
the right things to feed it.

Then how it grows.

Lord, may I share,
allow others to feed me
as I feed them
that together we can grow,
in faith,
in love,
in knowledge of you.

That as we do
your kingdom
will grow
in and through us,

Treasure

Your Kingdom,
your presence,
is a treasure,
valuable beyond any way we can measure.

Once discovered,
it is worthy of all that I have,
demands my everything.

For I will gain far more
than anything I have
without you.

Lord,
I offer you my all,
everything I have,
all that I am,
everything I can be

because all of that
is only worth anything
with you

and with you
what I need becomes a different question.

A Great Pearl

I’ve been looking,
searching,
for the perfect thing.

There have been some false starts,
some things I have mistaken,
but now I have found,
the finest thing there is,
the thing that
really
completes my world.

Lord,
that is you.
Forgive me the false idols
I have chased after,
the things I thought were the answer.

But now I see
and know you.

You are what I need
and I surrender the worthless things
for The One
I really need.

A net of fish

What a good catch,
the nets are full,
straining under the weight
of what we have.

Until,
we stop and look
carefully.

All we have here,
is not what we need,
what we thought we had.

Amongst the food,
there is worthless stuff,
the flotsam and jetsam of life
caught up with the good.

We need to sort it out,
to discard what is no good,
to be able to appreciate
the valuable.

Help me Lord,
to sort out what I need
and what I do not,
on this journey with you.

Help me to be clear
about what will help
and what will not.

I lay the net of my life before you
and invite you to sort through it
that I may be stronger
and useful
for you.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹ Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast

³³ Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “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.

The Parable of the Pearl

⁴⁵ “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into the buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away. ⁴⁹ It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good ⁵⁰ and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.

New Truths and Old

⁵¹ “Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them.

“Yes,” they answered.

⁵² So he replied, “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”