Rector's Sermon - Sunday, July 28, 2002

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
1 Kings 3:5-12	119: 129-136	Romans 8:26-29	Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

     I would visit my two elderly great aunts in Lancaster, Pa. every July. They lived in the old family home, a brick semi-attached three story row house of gracious proportions. The second and third floors had been remodeled into apartments, but for the most part the first floor was pretty much as it had been for decades. Their furniture was probably that of their parents and I wouldn't be surprised if much of the wallpaper was original to the 1880's or '90's when the house was built. Nothing was shabby, just old. With no children, only themselves and a lazy black cocker spaniel, it was no wonder that things rarely wore out. Off the kitchen with the four legged porcelain gas stove was an unheated room with a cement floor and drain in the center, called the pantry. It was fascinating. There were various rolls of string, shelves covered with patterned oil cloth holding mason jars and lids, drawers containing numerous tools, piles of paper bags arranged according to size, and containers neatly labeled with assorted dimensions of nails, screws, and hooks. It was as if for sixty years, nothing, however small, was ever thrown out, but was carefully catalogued and stored. There was a place for everything and everything was in its place. It was not that my great aunts were hoarders, indeed they were very generous. But I suppose with a history of living through two world wars and the depression, the habit of saving, be it in the form of darning socks, saving string, or even canning and making jelly from summer fruits bought at the central market, was a given and quite normal part of existence.

     Most of us lead very different lives. Unless my great aunts did them, I never wore darned socks. Today someone who would save various diameters of string or every spare screw or odd nail would be considered eccentric at best. I confess I still pick up pennies from the sidewalk, but I've gotten some strange looks when I do, although no one has yet exclaimed "Oh father, if things at the church are that bad, here's a hundred spot!"

     The larger point is, even though we may be disturbed by the excess of our consumer and throw away society, we are part of it and we have to work extra hard to understand that such an environment was totally unknown to most people throughout most of history That is why I suspect we have difficulty in understanding some of Jesus' parables.

     Jesus talks about the grace of God in terms of something that you save and cultivate. Even if it doesn't seem to fit right away, you don't toss it out, for there is wisdom in holding on to it. For there may come a day when that odd piece in your life that did not seem to fit or was even a bit annoying or irritating, becomes that right piece and is the missing shape that you need to complete what has been a hole or puzzle in your life. There may come a time when you are fortunate to have in your tool box a screw of the precise diameter and length to connect loose parts of your life together again.

     Those who had neat pantries off the kitchen like the one of my great aunts would have known of the relationship of a small amount of yeast to the dough that would make many loaves of bread. They knew from first hand experience of a small odd sized nut becoming valuable and could readily understand that a small routine act of kindness could bind together something of great meaning, and be a sign of a larger, grander reality of God. A pearl is so small and easily overlooked. But those who save every nail and paper bag, would not spurn the small . A treasure in a field has no lighted neon signs pointing to where it is, but one who swept the kitchen floor and outside sidewalks and looked in the dustpan before throwing its contents into the trash would know that it paid to keep one's eyes open for tiny things.

     A valuable lesson of life involves not finding what is hidden or a result of accomplished striving, but in recognizing what we have. Pearls of great price are as often in our own trash heap as displayed for sale at the Carousel Mall. Those who take the trouble to find a place for things as small and insignificant as mustard seeds, might not be as foolish as our society would claim. Thinking small might be as wise as thinking big. Incorporating things both old and new into one's life, is much more than about darning socks.

     I remember what was in my great aunts' pantry just as much as I remember what was in some of the other rooms of the house. Years later when I inherited some of their furniture I was foolish enough to forget to check the pantry. Whenever I go to Bishop's Hardware trying in vain to find a certain size screw I wish if only today I had the contents of that room.

     I think the spirit of Jesus would have enjoyed visiting my great aunts. While my aunts would never have dreamed to show him, I suspect that if he knew the house as I did, the back pantry would have been one of his favorite places. It would have brought a smile to his face as he remembered the parables of the mustard seed, the pearl, the treasure in the field, and even the one about the catch of many fish.

     And I offer this to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.