Proper 12A + Abundance! + 7.30.23
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M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Genesis 29:15–28; Ps. 105:1–11, 45b; Romans 8:26–39; Matthew 13:31–33, 44–52)
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a camping pot-luck. You don’t
know what you will have in the wilderness, but one person will bring lettuce,
and another chicken, and another bread, and another pan dulce and before you
know it, you have a feast! Perhaps donuts or hamburgers will show up too!
Perhaps Adrianna will make her famous coffee with cinnamon even though she
doesn’t drink coffee. Perhaps you will sing karaoke style and make the rangers
come (it isn’t even that late!) But it will all come together and be a fabulous
time.
Or perhaps the kingdom of heaven is like moving to an
entirely new place. Leaving all you know behind because you feel called to
something new. Trusting that God will go with you, even if it is hard at first.
Knowing God will guide your path even into avenues unknown.
Or perhaps the kingdom of heaven is like a group of followers
who gave up their professions, at least for a while, and simply followed Jesus,
not knowing where it would lead them. What seemed like foolishness to the
world, like having a mighty oak and trying to find shade under a mustard seed
bush-tree, was the wisdom of seeking the knowledge hidden at the center of the
world.
Of seeking the pearl of great price. This material world is
of value, but there are so many dwelling places in God’s house. We know that
the pearl which seems self-contained, contains multitudes – that is the pearl
of God’s wisdom and the universe of the holy.
Sufi poet Rumi says: “Whatever pearl you seek, look for the
pearl within the pearl!”
Oh those pesky mystics! Jesus was one, too. He was trying to
explain to us something about God, something that could be approached by the
explanation of abundance – whether it be in a seed that becomes a huge plant
(admitting here an exaggeration), a little leaven that will help produce an
abundance of bread with flour, a pearl that, though small is incredibly
valuable, a treasure in a field. All of these speak to abundance. But they are
all approximations.
A song I know
says:
As the
bridegroom to his chosen,
as the king unto his realm,
as the keep unto the castle,
as the pilot to the helm,
so, Lord, art thou to me. (by Johannes Tauler, trans. Frances Bevan)
All of these are just approximations – but God’s love is the
real thing. We followers of Jesus need this sometimes. To remember that, when
things get difficult, when we question the path we have chosen to follow him
and not just to go the easy path of the world, that we are the ones who are
rich already.
Because we are seeking the pearl of great price. We are
seeking God’s love.
And I brought up the example of the camping trip because to
me one of the great gifts of God’s love is that it helps us love each other
better. When we are in community, we feed each other, we care for each other,
we support each other. And that is not the only reason we are here. But it
doesn’t hurt.
I think of the many who helped on Sunday last to pack bags
for fumigation for our church, even though we learned we didn’t tie them right
(facepalm). I think of how we are supporting a young woman who is becoming a
counselor and therapist. This doesn’t just serve her, because she will serve
the world. In fact, she already does. When we are generous with our homeless
and resource- insecure neighbors, we live out the same abundance sketched in
today’s readings. We remind each other of the words in Romans: “For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When we hand someone a bag of groceries or a hot meal on
Friday or Sunday or even a random snack during the week, or a cool place to sit
and charge their phone, I imagine myself whispering those words to them – God’s
love is here for you! Don’t believe the lie of the world, that you are
worthless, or that you are forgotten. God’s love is here for you.
The song
continues:
As the music
at the banquet,
as the stamp unto the seal,
as the medicine to the fainting,
as the wine-cup at the meal,
so, Lord, art thou to me.[1]
Because when we follow the safely trodden path, we get
expected results. But when we leave that path, funny, rowdy, off-beat disciples
that we are, we may stumble onto joy. We may stumble onto love. We may stumble
onto community that helps us be strong. A community that will be strong for us
when we feel weak. That helps us come home to ourselves and to God. Amen.
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