1 Kings 3.5-12

5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask what I should give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted.  9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you.

Matt 13.31-33, 44-52

31 He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” 33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; 48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51 “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Spoken words for “Parables and Emojis” by Rev. KellyAnn Donahue

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Jesus was speaking to the disciples about the kingdom of heaven. The Gospels of Mark and Luke also have the mustard seed parable. They used the words “kingdom of God”. The church has thought that these words of Jesus, kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God, were about the kingdom that starts here on earth and is finally in place when Jesus returns. Jesus was telling the disciples about it and expecting them to start living it, I think. The actions he expected, turning back to God, following the Ten Commandments, forgiveness and care for others, will create that kingdom here. Our parables in today’s readings are some of his teachings on that kingdom.

There are objects or nouns, and actions or verbs in each of these six parables. We heard about mustard seeds, yeast, treasure in a field, a pearl, a fishing net full of fish and more treasure. These items are sown and grown, mixed in, found, hid, bought, separated and brought out. People performed these actions; a sower, a woman, a man, a merchant, angels, scribes and a master. What are we supposed to pay attention to? Is it the items, what happens to them, or to the person in each parable? I read them over and over. I read the commentaries and words of others. I looked at sculptures of four parables. There is no path from “a” to “b”. What are the “a” and “b”? What is the purpose of a puzzle we can’t solve, of a lesson we do not understand? If I do not get it right away, do I walk away? That would be fine if I did not think it was my job to offer some solution to the puzzle of these parables. Usually, after this work, I have some thoughts and words that I think will help us understand our Sunday readings. Some words that make a connection between those old words and our lives. Thoughts that add to, clarify or define the words from the Bible. That did not happen this week. And I am no closer to understanding them than when I started. It is not a comfortable, confident feeling.

Maybe reading each parable again will help. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” What picture do you see in your head as you hear the words? We know how small mustard seeds are. Think of the largest, tallest tree you have ever seen or the one that is in your yard. How much life is supported by the trees? Perhaps birds, insects or squirrels nest there. We now know that trees produce oxygen, which we need to breathe. Maybe the feelings that come up as I imagine the scene are part of the lesson Jesus was trying to teach. My feelings about the mustard seed tree are strength, security, wonder, awe, and gratitude.

Maybe I am making it too complicated. What if I used an Emoji for each parable? An Emoji is a picture or facial expression, like a sticker, used in computer messages, web pages and cell phone text messages. I want to explain these for folks who do not use this kind of communication. For example, perhaps a teacher gave colored stars on your school papers. You may have seen a blue or red prize ribbon at a fair. The color of the star or the ribbon was tied to how well you did. Blue ribbons or gold stars may have been the top prize. When you see a ribbon or star, and you know what the colors mean, there is much information communicated by the color and shape. And, over time, our experience and memories of the ribbons and stars may create feelings that come up each time we see them. Emojis originated in Japan on mobile phones in the late 1990’s. Now there are hundreds of them, from smiley faces to sushi pieces to hamster faces. They have names. I think of them as stickers that decorate a letter, or like bumper stickers. They are a picture-type of communication. Can they be used to communicate the picture in my head to you? Can they be understood by others?

If I go back to the mustard seed parable, I can now pick few Emojis for the parable. Hmmmm. My computer and cell phone are not Apple ones, so I have fewer Emojis to choose from. I pick a tree, a dove and a smiling sun. The official English names are “Deciduous Tree” “Dove of Peace” and “Sun With Face”. The names of the pictures add more meanings to them, I think. Did I capture the same feelings as in the words, strength, security, wonder, awe, and gratitude that I wrote earlier? Did I capture the same meanings with a tree, dove and sun? No, I don’t think so. But they don’t seem wrong to me, just incomplete.

I am finding that words and Emojis are not enough to describe the parable. If they are not enough to describe the parable, how can I understand the kingdom of heaven? Maybe that is the point; Jesus had to use more than one parable. Or maybe we are so far removed from the original audience and their culture and expectations, that we can’t know what was meant, can’t get the point or understand it. It is as if they are in a language we have not learned yet. Jesus spoke the words. Someone else wrote them down from memory. Others copied from the first copies. English was not the original language. I do not read Greek, I have to use the English translations of others, and be able to read printed words. I could get them in audio form if I wanted to. Maybe it is like humor, not everyone understands the point of a joke, not everyone thinks the same movie or joke or comedy bit is funny. I like Month Python, Tape Face, James Corden and Bugs Bunny. I do not like Jerry Lewis, Sponge Bob Squarepants or Jerry Seinfeld.

Let us consider the other parables, using a few words and Emojis. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” My impressions are of feeding, care, great potential, small beginnings and gratitude. I found Emojis of bread and woman, but not one for crowds or abundance. Our next parable is: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” My words for this one are discovery, surprise, trading up, and possible theft. The Emojis might be a pirate, a treasure chest, a lock and an astonished face. I struggled most with this one, and with the next one.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.” My words for this one are quest, heart’s desire, pride of ownership, and priceless beauty. I guess the Emojis are a gem stone and a smiling face with heart shaped eyes. These two treasure parables are the most confusing ones for me. I get stuck in thoughts of “well how do they get along after they sold everything? Do they spend all day looking at what they bought?”

This next one has an interpretation built in. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.  So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I need more words for this one. My impressions are of choice, expected behavior, sorting, categories, good and evil. All people have a chance to hear the words of Jesus, to be a part of the kingdom of heaven. There is sorting, and to sort there must be categories to sort into. There are Emojis with halos, and a red face with horns. I see the first reading fitting in here. Solomon asked God for an understanding mind to govern his people, and to discern between good and evil. God granted him a wise and discerning mind. I look for this discernment too, as I write my sermons every week, and as I live my life.

The last parable is “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” I also read Eugene H. Peterson’s version of this verse in his bible “The Message”. It was the only research worth quoting this week. His verse reads, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.” The Emojis are a shopping cart, fruit and books. I strive to be that shop owner for you. I feel that I need some answers when you ask questions. I need answers in my sermons.

What answers do I have now? What did the words and Emojis tell us about the kingdom of heaven? The words I used for the parables are strength, security, wonder, awe, gratitude feeding, care, great potential, small beginnings, discovery, surprise, trading up, theft, quest, heart’s desire, pride of ownership, priceless beauty, choice, expected behavior, sorting, categories, good, evil and the knowing shopkeeper. Could they describe a kingdom of heaven, one not like earthly kingdoms? The Emojis are tree, dove, sun, bread, woman, pirate, treasure chest, lock, astonished face, gemstone, smiley face with heart shaped eyes, face with halo, face with horns, shopping cart, fruit, and books. Could they also describe a kingdom of heaven?

Jesus asked his disciples if they understood these parables. They replied “Yes”. I envy their understanding. I don’t know if my words today helped your understanding of the kingdom of heaven, the one Jesus was pointing to in all he said and did. I may not understand what it looks like, but I may know what it feels like. I think it is the feeling we get when someone is kind to us, when we least expect it, and it is how we feel when being kind to others. May God increase our understanding of these words, and bless us always.

 

©KellyAnn Donahue