Do You Understand?

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

He put before them another parable: “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.”

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.”

“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.

“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.

“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.

“Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” 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.”

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            Do you understand?

It’s a question all of have been asked before… from our youngest of years when we’re being scolded for breaking the rules and all throughout school when we learn something new. It’s a question we are asked when we experiences terrible new or when something goes wrong. We have been asked this question before.

Do you understand?

It’s also a question many of us ask nearly on a daily basis. We ask it at home and we ask it at work. We ask it to our family and friends; our coworkers and our boss. We ask it out of sympathy and anger and sometimes we ask it out of joyous celebration.

Do you understand?

In our gospel reading today, Jesus is telling his disciples about the kingdom of heaven. To do this, he tells them five different parables where he compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed, yeast mixed into flour, a treasure hidden in a field, a merchant in search of fine pearls, and a net thrown into the sea. Each of the parables are short and to-the-point. Jesus does not go into detail; he does not offer any further explanation. There is barely enough information provided to even make an accurate interpretation. Instead, Jesus asks his disciples “if they have understood all this” to which they reply “Yes.”

Now, this is what I can tell you about the kingdom of heaven based on the parables. It is both small and large; it is always at work as it grows and flourishes; it is very valuable but hidden, invisible to humankind; and it is welcoming to all who believe in God. But that is all I can tell you based on these parables. The kingdom of heaven is still a mystery, and I, in my humility, do not fully understand it.

But that also makes me questions if that was the lesson to be learned from Jesus here. Sure, Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of heaven, but we also know that Jesus always had more than one agenda when he told his parables. And that makes me question whether the disciples fully understood what the kingdom of heaven is actually like or if they responded with a “yes” for another reason? Maybe they did not fully understand the kingdom of heaven; maybe they said “yes” because they saw a different lesson to be learned from Jesus. We do not understand the kingdom of heaven – what this perfect place is actually like – but we can learn something else here. See, the disciples not only learned about the kingdom of heaven, but they also understood Jesus knew exactly what he was talking about and they placed their trust in him. They asked Jesus to grant them wisdom and that is exactly what Jesus did, even if they didn’t fully understand.

You see, wisdom is a miraculous gift given to humankind from God. It’s more than being smart; it is more than having knowledge. It is intelligence enhanced by power, judgment, rationality, and discernment. It is the ability to know what is true or what is right. And in this passage, Jesus knows what is true. And it takes great wisdom to place our own trust in Jesus; it takes great wisdom to understand that.

You see, we are following a faith where they will always be more questions than answers; where there are more mysteries than proofs.  But that doesn’t make it any less true. It’s a beautiful thing about Christianity. It’s a place where we can individually follow Christ and have a relationship with God.

We will not always understand scripture and how we can apply it in our lives. We will not always understand why terrible or difficult things happen to us or the people we love. We will not understand how we can celebrate one day but suffer the next. But we can pray. We can ask God for wisdom, we can ask to place our trust in Christ and embracing our humility that God alone is the only one to have full understanding. We need to listen and we need to obey. We need to understand that we will not always understand. We need to know we are dependent on God. That is the wisdom we need.

Do you understand? No, not yet, but this is only the beginning. Amen.