Scriptures: 1 Kings 3:5-12; Psalm 119:129-136; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33,44-52
Reflection by Kit Allgood-Mellema, Worship Leader
26 July 2026, 9th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 12A
I once attended a talk given by an ‘expert’ in his field, but a few moments into the session I realized I could not follow his train of thought. It was almost like being in a Peanuts movie when the adults start talking but all you hear is a muffled ‘wah, wah, wah.’ All around me, participants were smiling and nodding. I was embarrassed, not wanting to admit I was lost and confused. Months later I met up with a friend who had also attended that talk; during our visit she confessed she also hadn’t understood the speaker’s reasoning but was embarrassed to admit it.
Today’s gospel reading from Matthew is a continuation of the parables we’ve heard the last few weeks. In this week’s Sunday Musings column, Diana Butler Bass calls this string of stories a ‘parable lightening round,’ a ‘parabalooza!’ I agree. And when I hear the readings from the last three Sundays, I always think about attending that lecture. Why? Because more than once, Jesus paused and said, ‘Let anyone with ears listen!’ Or as we heard today, he asked ‘Have you understood all this?’ The response was ‘Yes.’ Wow!
They heard seven parables, some of them 1-liners, with only a couple of explanations. And those listening said they understood them. I think I’d be stuck around the second one trying to figure it all out! But remember. speaking and listening were the main forms of communication during those times. One source I found estimated that about 3% of the people in 1st century Palestine could read and write. People knew how to listen; it was the only way to learn and communicate for most. The act of speaking could be life-giving, and the act of listening could be lifesaving. Did everyone in the congregation when Jesus spoke, hear and understand? Matthew didn’t tell us in his gospel. And we can hazard a guess that many of them didn’t understand at that moment, given the reactions to Jesus that follow in the remainder of Matthew. I wonder if, like me at the lecture, they were embarrassed, or afraid to admit they were at a loss. Often even the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus said in the moment.
Why does this matter, this phrase, ‘Have you understood all this’? I’ve always wondered if Jesus was expecting another answer to this question, an answer that would free up those listening to hear more, to question Jesus, to go deeper into what was happening, and what might be coming. Just one person answering, ‘No, I don’t understand. Please help me.’ After all, the last words of this reading tell us Jesus was preparing those around him for their place and role in the kingdom of heaven by giving them everything they needed, to have it within their reach.
Why does this phrase about understanding matter to us? These days we have all our technology available 24/7, along with huge numbers of ‘experts’ offering us advise to solve problems we didn’t know we had. We have quick and easy access to all the answers. Well, maybe. But that quick and easy access comes with a price. We have to know exactly how to word our questions. We may not know the source of an answer, or the intent of the author. We have many more ways to communicate than those available in the 1st century, but do we really use them to the fullest? How well do we listen? Are we prepared to understand everything we hear, everything we read, everything we see? There’s a lot of information out there. Are we prepared to carefully and lovingly discern and use the information for the good of God’s people? Most importantly, are we prepared to say to Jesus, ‘No, I don’t understand! Please help me understand’?
The good news is these are the words Jesus was waiting to hear - is still waiting to hear! Jesus, wants to answer the questions we struggle to put into words, the questions technology can’t answer. If Jesus walked through these doors todayß, and asked us if we understood all we’ve heard, he’d be happy to hear us reply, ‘No – help us understand!’ We are not meant to be left out, lost and embarrassed. We are here to be part of God’s kingdom, here on earth and for ever, to hear, to learn, to share, to love.
How do I know this? Think about our readings today. Solomon asked God to give him an understanding mind, to be able to discern between good and evil and govern God’s people, and God said, ‘you have asked for help understanding what is right, and I will give you a wise and discerning mind.’ Solomon’s request and God’s response were all about God’s love for us. The author of Psalm 119 wrote in praise of God, ‘when your word goes forth it gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.’ God loves us enough to pour light into our world, our lives. In his letter to the Romans – yes, it was written, but it was always read aloud to those gathered! – Paul gives us another vision of God’s love found in the work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that helps us in our weakness, the Spirit that helps us pray, and supports us in all times and places, in all we do in the name of God and God’s love.
So again, how do I know this? Well, honestly, sometimes I’m not sure I do know it. I sometimes lose my way and may not want to admit it. As Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers says in ‘The Church Cracked Open,’ ‘Look to Jesus. He made plain the way to follow him . . . No matter how many times we’ve turned the other way, Jesus stands before us full of grace and hope, offering opportunities to follow him . . . ‘
In my moments of uncertainty, I try to ask Jesus to help me understand. And then I try to listen. I remember that I’m supported by a community who loves me and each other even when we don’t have the answers. There’s always an answer, although it may take a while to hear it. When I hear it, I always hear, ‘because you are loved, because you share love, and because you are love.’ And then I know that’s what Jesus wants us to understand. Wow!
Thanks be to God! Amen!