Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (The pearl of great price)

He [Jesus] 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; 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."

Some of the adverts on the television are so clever and funny and memorable. I often think about the creative team behind them. What a great way to earn a living! It must be so exciting when just the right phrase or illustration pops up. On the other hand there must be times when the advertiser is stuck over choices…Is it mouth-watering or is it bursting with flavour? 

Jesus’ preaching had a catchy slogan, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near’. His audience knew what Repentance meant. But ‘the Kingdom of heaven’ idea needed explaining. Imagine Jesus having a team of creative advertisers to help him. Imagine one of the team saying ‘Ok, Jesus, how shall we tackle this? Shall we focus on detail or shall we create a mood? Shall we appeal to the head or the heart? Are we looking for an impulsive buy or a considered buy? It seems that Jesus would have been happy with a typically Anglican answer…’Both’. 

The Kingdom of heaven is something to look forward to, but it also starts now. Sometimes the Kingdom is described as being within us, and sometimes it’s around us. Basically the heart of the Kingdom is wherever the King sets up his residence, and the extent of the Kingdom is as far as his rule is law. 

If we think it’s a good idea to be in the Kingdom, then this is what we must do: Instead of checking to see whether we ever made a public commitment to faith, let us ask ourselves whether we are comfortable with the thought that Jesus rules within us. And if we want to know to what extent we have welcomed him then let us search the different areas of our life and look for evidence that his rule is the law. 

Back to clever illustrations and catchphrases: Jesus uses the imagery of mustard seeds, yeast, hidden treasure, pearls in the market and nets in the sea to convey a sense of the Kingdom as amazing, wild, transforming, exciting and fully satisfying. There is no ‘fomo’ in the Kingdom (fear of missing out). It’s the real McCoy.