07.26.2026 - Pentecost 9  - Pastor Chris

The kingdom of heaven is like… Confused yet? Our reading has 12 verses but the mustard seed seems to be the one that is most remembered but the complexity of this illustration is easily missed. We typically focus on the ability of something so small to grow into something so large, but there’s more to mustard than just that. From what I’ve been told, most farmers hate the mustard plant as it grows wildly and it is difficult to contain. Something a farmer wouldn’t want if they were growing a particular crop and the mustard plant was encroaching on their field. Not only that but it becomes a home for birds. Since the scarecrow is usually used to keep birds out, it doesn’t seem like the farmer wants those either. 

The yeast seems a little more straightforward. Yeast is needed to help the bread rise, even though more famous biblical stories seem to speak ill of yeast. Here the yeast is an agent that, like the mustard seed, causes something to grow. A man finding treasure is so excited but what he has found, he is willing to give up everything to obtain it. Pearls, fish, and more. What is the kingdom? 

The kingdom can grow from humble beginnings. The kingdom is of such value that it is worth more than anything we already have. The kingdom is something we should be excited about. But there seems to be some tension in the kingdom as well. As we had with last Sunday’s gospel reading, there is separation between the good and the bad. This also is the kingdom. 

I love verse 51 because I think the disciples are lying. Do they really understand what Jesus is saying? I’ve mentioned this about faith before but maybe it applies to the kingdom as well. Maybe we aren’t intended to understand the kingdom as much as experience it. We experience growth, we experience joy, we can experience extravagant value. Maybe Jesus is inviting us in to experiencing the kingdom instead of understanding it.