Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
In Gord’s introduction to the reading from Matthew, he pointed out that the subject of Jesus’ parables is rarely something special in itself. Yeast and seeds, real estate transactions and fish, have nothing holy in and of themselves. The holiness, if I dare use that word, comes from our willingness to see through that ordinary thing to some deeper wisdom and truth.
I’m going to play a video clip. It’s the final five minutes of a commencement address. It’s titled “A third-grade dropout.” From whom you wouldn’t expect much, would you?
The dropout was the speaker’s father, and he calls him “the wisest man I ever knew.” Because that third-grade dropout never stopped learning, never stopped growing. Although he was never more than a chef, a cook in restaurants and work camps, he took his ordinary life and discovered lessons in it. Such as, that when you’re serving customers, you need to be sure that your servant’s apron is big enough to cover your ego.
We’re going to pick this up as he nears his conclusion:
You may never hear a sermon like that again in Winfield United! But let’s not think about that man’s style of preaching. Let’s think about his message. About his closing words: “How are you living? How are you living?”
Are you living the kind of life you want to be living? What’s missing in your life? How is your living making a difference to someone else?
How are you living? How are you living?