The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13:10

After the beatitudes, the parables of Jesus go to the heart of the gospel message.

Jesus uses beautiful images drawn from nature and from the ordinary lives of people. Thus, He talks about the sower when He wants to describe the effects of the word of God in people’s lives; He talks about the mustard seed and yeast when He wants to show the growth of his kingdom; He offers the images of a pearl and hidden treasure to suggest, in parable form, the importance of His kingdom. In the parable of the fisherman’s net, the catch of fish is not perfect, so we have to work to root out those kinds of fish that aren’t kosher. The work of Jesus’ disciples is to foster the healthy growth of God’s Word, and work in the world until everything comes under His gentle reign.

The beautiful parables of Jesus in the gospels are stories about the reign of God, and these stories are for everyone: those who for a long time search and yearn for God’s kingdom and finally enter it and those who suddenly come upon the kingdom, recognize it and are welcomed into it. All these situations presuppose the grace of God and the acceptance of the kingdom as a gift. They demand continued acceptance and cooperation by everyone so that they can give their all to extend the kingdom of God here on earth. Read the brief parables on the growth of the mustard seed and the yeast which makes the dough rise. These are beautiful images of God’s expanding kingdom throughout the earth.

During the next series of blogs, I will be writing about the different parables of Jesus. They are addressed to us as much as to the crowds to whom Jesus first spoke. Some of Jesus’ parables are very brief. Some are lengthy and more complex. But all of them are about the kingdom of God and its design. Some of these parables are about the faithful believer and the lukewarm, as in the parable of the sower; and some are about God’s enduring love, as in the parable of the weeds. All of the parables, however, are as immediate and touching as this evening’s news. Not only does Jesus speak directly to us and make us a part of the story, he even demands that we provide the ending.

The ending to the parables is what really counts, and it is up to us to provide a good ending. We do this when we try to bring about God’s kingdom in our world through our actions. The parables, like the beatitudes, show us how to do this.

We ought to pray what Jesus taught us in the Our Father: “Thy kingdom come.” And, then we ought to listen to what He says about His kingdom in the parables which I will be writing about in the next series of blogs.

Fr. Hugh Duffy.