Psalm 84; Matthew 13: 31-35 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
August 30, 2015
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.’
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
‘I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.’ - Matthew 13: 31-35
The kingdom of heaven draws near to us in the ordinary places of life. It is also found in the small glimpses of God’s presence and work among us like hidden gems. In Jesus’ two parables, the mustard seed and yeast are small yet hidden treasures that God uses to bring about spiritual growth, nurture, and transforming change.
I remember the first time I saw true glimpses of God’s hidden gems. I was a new mother with a baby on the way. My family and I had just moved from Virginia to Charlotte, NC. There was one particular day that the kingdom of God was like a toddler locking her mother out of the house. God was revealed when a newly found neighbor unlocked the door with a credit card and invited the frantic mother to a women’s Bible study. God’s sense of humor has always involved an interesting edge in my life!
Quite honestly, that one women’s Bible study turned into additional studies with those women over the next few years. That time and space changed my life. It created a space for my seedling adult faith to begin to grow roots of commitment and longing. I was being nurtured to deepen my relationship with God through these amazing women. I was being transformed as God began reshaping my life and the life of my growing family.
God’s faithfulness continued to reveal hidden gems. My family and I found a Presbyterian Church home in Charlotte that continues to hold a special place in our hearts. My love for Bible study soon became an opportunity to lead a women’s small group. The group was called a mustard seed group, named from our text today. It was amazing to see how God could take my small faith and use it to tether relationships that would branch out in faith, hospitality, and service. Those were affirming years as God began to cultivate my sense of spiritual leadership.
I soon felt God calling me to step a little further into the coming kingdom with my home church on mission trips to Peru. The kingdom of God transcended into another culture filled with lush landscapes, loving Peruvian families, and Presbyterian sisters and brothers across the ocean in Moyobama (known as the City of Orchids). Together we sowed mustard seeds of God’s love at a Christian School building project. Together we sowed mustard seeds of faith at a small village Vacation Bible School. We experienced the hidden hospitality of God as we all shared the bread and cup of Communion in Spanish. We were humbled by the Peruvians’ simple life and the big ways they praised God’s faithfulness in their spiritual growth, nurture, and transformation. Those were affirming times as God began to cultivate my love for outreach and discovering the common denominators of faith we share with neighbors near and far.
I was never more surprised to see the hidden treasures of God’s faithfulness in my own life than when my pastor in Charlotte urged me to consider seminary studies. He saw the gifts of faith God had been sowing in me which were reaching to help build the kingdom with others. I will never forget his encouraging words that I had a pastor’s heart. My husband, Doug, and I prayed one entire year about this life changing decision to formally enter ministry. We are so grateful that we said yes to God.
As I look back to those three years at Columbia Theological Seminary and the past four years of my first call into ordained ministry, I have learned something significant about the kingdom of God. It takes prayer-filled patience to begin seeing the glimpses of God’s work among us. It takes courage to risk sowing seeds of faith not just in the familiar places of life, but more so in the unfamiliar places where God wants to lead us. It takes humility to not only wait for God’s timing, but also to allow God to use our strengths, weaknesses, and even our failures to build the kingdom among us. Mind you, the kingdom does not always look the way you and I planned. Sometimes the branches grow in crazy and surprising directions. Nevertheless, it amazes me how God’s hands knead the beautiful mess of our lives like a woman who took yeast and hid it in the flour. As her hands worked the messiness of the flour, yeast, and water, it was all reshaped into something new. God works like that and re-shapes us into something that is life giving for others.
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church has certainly seen glimpses of God’s work and presence over the past 131 years of her life. The saints and spiritual leaders of this congregation have sowed seeds of faith that continue to grow and thrive into the community. The foundations of prayer, spiritual nurture, and risk-taking have been steadfast virtues of this church that guide us by God’s Spirit still today. Today we give thanks for the ways Dr. Craig Butler has come alongside you in this time of transition. His gifts of pastoral care have allowed you to look inward to remember the story of God’s faithfulness here. His gifts of proclaiming God’s Word have encouraged you to look outward and begin dreaming how God’s kingdom might break into the future.
As Van Wyck Presbyterian strives to grow in number and in spirit, God continues to reveal hidden gems that are bringing deeper faith formation, nurture, and a desire to reach into the community. I have loved hearing about the Tuesday morning Bible study. God has created a space for women of faith from the church and community to grow in relationship with God and one another. God’s Word is honing skills of discernment, enriching disciplines of prayer, and equipping the care for others. Small groups like this offer glimpses of God’s desire to grow deeper roots of faith within us and reshape us to the likeness of Christ.
I have loved learning about the hidden gems in this church sanctuary that offer glimpses of God. The oak arch over the pulpit, the baptismal font, the organ, and the carillon bells all proclaim and sing the affirmation that we belong to God. These spiritual signs are all gifts of worship. And worship is a space to share our gratitude for all God has done, is doing, and will do within us, among us, and through us. Each of these spiritual signs shares a story that connects us to the saints. But they also remind us that these treasures are to be shared with others to nurture and build up the body of Christ in love.
I have loved hearing about the Lighting of the Way service held each December. I truly cannot wait to experience the authentic way in which the larger community gathers in worship as a movable feast to celebrate the coming of baby Jesus. My heart always beats a little faster with opportunities for sisters and brothers of Christ to gather across denominational lines in shared worship and events. Our unity in Christ always reveals that we all are one in mission. And our unity in the community points to seeds of transforming change.
Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field…the kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and hid in the flour until all of it was leavened.” In some ways he is asking us to imagine what the kingdom of God might look like in the ordinary places of life. And in doing so God is calling us to step a little farther into this coming kingdom. The hidden gems are pointing to the direction ahead.
It is an exciting time to look into the past stories of God’s faithfulness here at Van Wyck Presbyterian. It is also an exciting time as God has brought us together to dream and discern ways to keep in step with God’s Spirit. How is God re-shaping us as the body of Christ? How is God leading us to take risks and to build upon all of the good ministry that has taken root here? How will we imagine the kingdom?
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
