Sermon Response to Scripture Proclaimed for Year A, Proper 10 Matthew 13:1-23 By the Reverend Sarah E. Saxe At Zion Episcopal Church On July 16, 2017

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1 Sermon Response to Scripture Proclaimed for Year A, Proper 10 Matthew 13:1-23 By the Reverend Sarah E. Saxe At Zion Episcopal Church On July 16, 2017 To You It Has Been Given to Know The Gospel reading today starts with verses 1 to 9 of Matthew, chapter 13, in which Jesus presents the parable of the sower; and then it skips to verses where he explains it. Now I m a curious sort and so I wondered Why doesn t the reading include verses 10 to 17? What s in them? Were they left out because understanding the parable of the sower is so important? But is it important for Matthew? Do we miss something by not hearing those verses? Something else that s important to our life as disciples of Christ? Well, let s find out what we re missing. Turning to page 4 in your bulletin, please follow along as I read those verses. Then the disciples came and asked him, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered, To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. Why do you speak to them in parables? the disciples asked.

2 To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Notice that Jesus didn t say to you knowledge has been given but it has been given to know The disciples have not been given knowledge but something else it. So what is it? In other words the disciples have been given what they need to be able to know but they don t have knowledge, as shown by the need for Jesus to explain the parable to them in the second excerpt of today s reading. Another indication that the disciples weren t given knowledge but something else is when Jesus says, To those who have, more will be given but from those who have nothing even what they have will be taken away So the haves get more of whatever it is and the have nots get less than nothing. If it were knowledge that they have why would they need more? And if it were knowledge that they don t have, how can it be taken away? So again I wondered what is it that has been given which enables disciples to know? Have they been given the ability to know? To learn a certain method so that they will know all the secrets of the kingdom of heaven? Well, looking through the rest of Matthew s Gospel, after Jesus volunteers his explanation of the parable of the sower to his disciples, he then offers, in rapid succession, another 3 parables to the crowds (Matt , , 13.33). The disciples then ask him to explain one of them. (Matt 13.36). So they still don t know or don t understand all of Jesus parables. But it seems they are learning because they got two out of three. After he obliges by explaining that parable (Matt ), Jesus fires off another series of 3 parables (Matt 13.44, 45-46, 47-48) and then a question, Have you understood all this? and surprisingly, the disciples said Yes. (Matt 13.51) So do they finally know the mysteries of the kingdom? Well in chapter 15 Peter asks Jesus to explain yet another parable (Matt 15.15). And Jesus says, Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see Jesus asks before giving the explanation. So 2 chapters later, even though the disciples have been given to know they don t know at least not everything.

3 So again I suggest that it is not knowledge, nor the ability to know but something else that has been given to us. And that got me wondering whether it s linked to the 14 formula quotations which Matthew has strategically placed throughout his Gospel. Such and such happened in order to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet so-and-so. And then he quotes Hebrew Scripture. They are called formula quotations because they follow a formula. On page 5 of your bulletin is the text of these prophecies extracted from Matthew in a continuous format. Please follow along as I read them. 1 Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, God is with us. 2 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel. 3 Out of Egypt I have called my son. 4 A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more. 5 He will be called a Nazorean. 6 The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 7 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. 8 He took our infirmities and bore our diseases. 9 Here is my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed or quench a smouldering wick until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope. 10 You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them. 11 I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world. 12 Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 13 At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place, so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. 14 And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one on whom a price had been

4 set, on whom some of the people of Israel had set a price, and they gave them for the potter s field, as the Lord commanded me. * Is this what has been given to us? Belief? Belief in the prophecies the many prophecies about the One the Messiah? Do the disciples believe that the prophecies have been fulfilled with Jesus coming with the Advent of God on earth? Is it necessary to come to believe this most basic element? That in Christ, God is fulfilling the prophecies? Is this what Matthew wants us to see and hear? Is this what we have been given to know? Now that was a difficult concept for both Jews and Gentiles. Difficult for Jews because they had specific expectations of the Messiah that he would be a conqueror. They had set ideas about what he would do. So were their eyes and ears closed to a new concept of the Messiah? Even the eyes and ears of the prophets themselves and the righteous? Had their hearts grown dull? Had they become deaf and blind because they were clinging to set notions/set traditions about the Messiah, and couldn t see God s activity on earth? And was it a difficult concept for Gentiles to grasp because they didn t believe at all in a Messiah? But not as difficult as for the Jews who were entrenched in their Messianic theology. How hard it must have been to open their eyes and ears and awaken their hearts to Jesus teaching when it interpreted some of the Scripture in a way contrary to their understanding? But if they don t believe this most basic element of Christianity that the prophecies have been fulfilled - they will indeed hear, but never listen, and they will indeed see but never perceive what God is doing. They will never know. Like those first Christian converts the first disciples - often what the Spirit guides us to see or hear in Scripture or prayer may not jive with what dwells in our heart. It may conflict with what we believe to be true. Can our hearts grow dull even though we believe? Well, when you come to believe in the prophecies and your eyes and ears are opened, that s when the Christian journey begins. A journey of not always knowing. A journey of glimpses when the angle is just right so that we clearly see and hear what God is doing.

5 Even for those of us who have been given to know, we don t always know. And even for those of us who do experience these glimpses of the mysteries, they may last for only a moment before the prism shifts again and disappears temporarily from our sight. These glimpses that continue throughout our lives. And so yes, I believe our hearts can grow dull. If we experience a moment of knowledge, could we hold onto it in such a way that it prevents us from learning other mysteries? So throughout our journey, when change confronts us, we must work against letting our heart grow dull. I think that being a disciple requires that when our set notions of right and wrong our set traditions of belief and worship - are challenged, we must ask whether the challenge is from God. How do we do that? Discipline. It comes from a Latin word (disciplina) meaning instruction given, teaching, learning, knowledge. And from the Latin word for disciple (discipulus) meaning pupil, student, or follower. Our Christian duty is to always be learning, constantly studying, inquiring, seeking, listening. To always be pupils. In the prophet s words, we turn and Jesus will heal us. We constantly turn and come to Jesus. With open eyes and ears and never letting our heart grow dull. Our Christian duty our discipline or discipleship is to participate in a cycle which goes round and round: We believe, then we turn to Jesus and are guided by the Holy Spirit to a new revelation perhaps or in a new direction which challenges us and makes us uncomfortable while we struggle to adjust. We ask ourself, Is there something God is saying that I m on the edge of hearing but I m not hearing yet? And so we turn and come to Jesus for instruction.

6 We don t know everything and we never will. But in him and with him and through him, we have been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. We have been given a method of discipleship. Thanks be to God. *Scripture Citations from Matthew with the Old Testament quote reference: 1. Matt Is Matt 2.5b-6 Mic 5.2, 2 Sam Matt 2.15b Hos Matt Jer Matt 2.23b Is 11.1 or Zech 3.8; Matt 3.3 Is Matt Is Matt 8.17 Is Matt Is Matt Is Matt Ps Matt Is 62.11; Zech Matt no specific text cited (see also Matt 26.54) 14. Matt Zech 11.13