Five major discourses of Jesus give form and substance to Matthews’s Gospel. The Parabolic Discourse found in chapter 13, is the third of these major teaching blocks.  In it, Jesus uses short stories to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven to his disciples.  Over the past weeks, we have been listening to these parables—from the parable of the sower to that of the net thrown into the sea.  The Christian reader is captured by the color and emphases that these short teachings bring to the understanding and living of the Kingdom of God.

We can imagine Jesus creating these parables.  As he reflects upon the imagery of the Old Testament as well as upon everyday life in his own time, we can sense how the stories emerge from his prayer and preaching.  Do you wonder if the parable of the yeast kneaded into a mass of dough arose from his observation of his mother making bread and the effects of the leaven?  Could the notion of the net cast into the sea and drawn ashore with all manner of material have arisen from his attention to his disciples and their occupation. As he walked along with his disciples, did he note the seed being sown, or the growth of mustard bushes, or the labor of shepherds?  All these observations seem to draw his thinking toward the Kingdom of God and highlighted for him the heart of his call for commitment.  He wanted his disciples (and us) to understand the character and importance of the Kingdom. It is the place where God dwells. He wanted us to strive to arrive at this Kingdom by recognizing the effort that prompts its realization in our daily lives.

• We need to listen to God’s word and discover the ways in which it can be planted (or not) in our lives—like the seed sown by the sower;
• We need to be prepared to give everything in order to possess the Kingdom, just as if it was a treasure buried in a field or a pearl of great value;
• We need to allow it to permeate and to give growth to every aspect of our lives like yeast in dough;
• We need to recognize that some things can distract us from the pursuit of the kingdom like weeds among wheat.

And there are many other lessons that these simplest of stories teach us about our obligation to pursue and realize the Kingdom of God. At the conclusion of Chapter 13, Jesus teaches:

“Every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household
who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

As we seek to walk the road to God’s kingdom, we must give attention both to what we have learned and experienced, as well as to that which we encounter and cultivate.

Jesus’ gift for using stories and colorful symbols to illustrate the character of the kingdom can be a strong invitation to us to become more thoughtful—to surrender more willingly to meditation—as we ponder the parables.  As simple as they seem, they are endowed with powerful lessons on living the Christian life.