Scriptures

St. Stephen’s in the Field

Year A Proper 12

1 Kings 3:5-14

Matthew 13:31-33,44-49a

July 27= , 2008

He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a must= ard 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 tre= e, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." He told them another parable: &quo= t;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." Matt 13:31-33 NRSV

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found a= nd hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 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. 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 t= he end of the age. Matt 13:44-49 NRSV

I’m going to do a dif= ferent kind of sermon today. I’= ;m going to talk a little about scripture and the Episcopal Church, the lessons for today, and then give you a shameless plug for the Bible Study this fall. Not to worry, it all wo= rks out in the end – I hope…..

When I prepare a sermon I l= ove to spend a lot of time with the scriptures to see where the Holy Spirit leads me. This process this week se= nt me on a journey that reminded me of when the Bible first caught my attention. Surprisingly enough it was in an Episcopal Church. It was my first experience in this denomination and I was first attracted to the liturgy and the reverence giv= en to God. Next it was the sermo= ns that gripped me. The priest w= as able to explain the meaning of different words that linked the Old and New Testaments together in a way that showed God’s supreme work behind it all. I felt I had found a pla= ce that celebrated and spoke truth about God.= The time in this church laid a foundation that I have been able to b= uild on and remains with me to this day.

The Episcopal Church works = with scripture in a way that is different than most other protestant churches, especially the nondenominational ones. When we were at Calvary Chapel, the pastor’s main goal for preaching was to cover the entire Bible. Each Sunday we’d= bring our bible, open it up to where we left off and the pastor would preach on t= he next several chapters. Amazin= gly enough though all his sermons were the same whether we were reading Isaiah = or Matthew. They all were about = why being in the world is wrong and why being in a totally Christian environmen= t is right. After awhile it was qu= ite boring not to mention contrary to scripture.

In the Episcopal Church, we= pray our scriptures. We pray them = in our liturgies of the Eucharist and Morning and Evening Prayer. Our canticles and Eucharistic praye= rs are taken directly from or based on scripture. Our Sunday Scripture readings co= ver a significant portion of the Old Testament and most of the New Testament ov= er three years. If you read the lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer, in the two year cycle you will have read the entire Old Testament once and the New Testament twice.

Following thousands of year= s of oral tradition it is important that we proclaim the scriptures out loud. How many of you read the scripture= s in the hand out while they were being proclaimed? For those who are hard of hearing &= #8211; these are invaluable – but for most of us we should be listening, not reading. Listening to some on= e else proclaim the scriptures creates a new experience than just reading them bec= ause the readers are bringing their own experience with the scripture into their reading by emphasizing different words or phrases. If two people came up here to read= the same lesson – you would hear something different each time. So it is important to listen to th= em first – then you can take the handouts home and read the lessons a se= cond time. Next week –for th= ose who read them - try listening to them instead and see how that changes your worship experience.

So let’s look at today’s scripture readings. I want to focus on the Old Testament read= ing from 1 Kings and the Gospel. = At first look they do not seem related at all. In 1 Kings we hear about Solomon&#= 8217;s dream of God giving Solomon the gift of wisdom. This is what Solomon asked for = 211; not riches and wealth, but wisdom. Smart king. In the Gos= pel of Matthew, Jesus tells some parables about the King= dom of Heaven and its unsurpassing value.

Jesus knew the Hebrew Scrip= tures – he was often found teaching in the synagogues. He knew King Solomon was known as = a wise king and that a great amount of Solomon’s wisdom sayings were preserv= ed in the Book of Proverbs.

treasure hidden in a field. Solomon said in Proverbs “My son, if you accept my words = and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applyi= ng your heart to understanding, a= nd if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure= , then you will find the knowledge of God Prov. 2:1-4,5b NIV

finding a pearl of gre= at value and selling all that one has to obtain it. Solomon said “Blessed i= s the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; no= thing you desire can compare with her. Prov. 3:13-18 NIV [Reminds me of a song we sing – “Lord you are more precious than silver ….and noth= ing I desire compares with you.”]&n= bsp;

The Kingdom of Heaven, also referred to the= Kingdom of God, is described the same w= ay as God’s wisdom. Both inva= luable and worth giving all that we have to obtain and I believe dependent upon one another. Wisdom is found thro= ugh knowing God. It is hard won, but worth the effort. Wisdom sets our feet upon the righ= t path – the path of the Kingdom o= f God. Wisdom offers what money cannot buy: peace, happiness and sec= urity - again all of these a part of the Kingdom of God. Wisdom continues to be worked out = in the ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ of every day life a= nd relationships.

How do we obtain this wisdo= m? One way is by studying the scriptures. This brings me to= my shameless plug.

This fall we are starting a= Bible Study called The Divine Drama.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The title is very apt. The Bible has many stories from Ad= am and Eve, to Jesus and His disciples. All of which point to the Main Story – our relationship with God. Taking part in this bible study will benefit you in two ways.

It doesn’t matter how much I already know about the Bible, any time I study it I learn something new about God and gain new wisdom. I will promise y= ou the Holy Spirit will quicken something new in you whether you come every w= eek or sporadically. The stu= dy is set up so that each lesson is complete in itself and not dependent on having to be there week after week.&n= bsp; But the more you come – the more you will get out of it.<= /li>

As we go through the study together, we will find the Holy Spirit spinning a common thread among = us.

We will find our bonds of community strengthened as we read mark and inwardly digest the scriptures together
New bonds of friendship and respect will be formed
God will be healing common wounds also
God may be create a new energy for a new ministry or
We may be drawn into a exploring areas of the bible in greater depth or

The Scriptures have been re= ad, preached about, and studied for thousands of years; from the scribes and priests during David and Solomon’s reign to the present day. We have the benefit of praying the Scriptures every Sunday in our Eucharistic prayer and hearing them proclaimed. They are infused = by the Holy Spirit and alive and active in each person and in each community. I can’t promise that after t= his study we will be able to take on those with a more fundamentalist take on t= he scriptures – but I can promise that our relationship with God will be deeper than anything we could hope for or imagine. It will be more valuable than silv= er, pearls, or rubies. This is the wisdom of God. This is living= in the Kingdom of God= . We will be taking a wonderful journey this fall, I hope you= will join me. Amen.