milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background of Matthew 13; Luke 8;13

Remember, repetition helps children internalize and make connections. It might be a good idea to read the same story every day for a week. You can add different activities every day.

“The kingdom of heaven is like this…”

Matthew 13:33

Sometimes, Jesus told stories. You see, he loved Israelite scripture. He loved it so much that the words of the scriptures became his friends, and sometimes he spoke like the mighty prophets of old. His friends, the disciples, learned to recognize when Jesus was going to start a story. Jesus would tilt his head back a bit—like this—and sort of close one eye. And then he would begin.

His stories were called parables, which is a type of story that invites someone listening right into the seat of the main character. It’s a story that says, “hey you, sitting right there, want to be part of this? Listen!” 

Listening to a parable was a lot like listening to a poem. His friends weren’t always sure what he was talking about, and sometimes his words were confusing. But Jesus would remind them, just listen. Close your eyes and imagine my words dancing in your mind. What do you see? 

He would say, your heart’s wisdom can help you understand. Be patient, and hear. 

So, his disciples tried to hear. They learned that hearing meant using their ears, but it also meant using their hearts, letting Jesus’ stories open their imaginations, and their hopes, and their fears, and their sadnesses. And then they could be part of the stories.

Jesus said, there was a seed. A tiny little seed. A seed so small it was like a piece of nothing in your hand. But when the gardener planted the seed, it grew into a marvelous tree. It was sturdy and steady, strong and confident, and when it bloomed its branches were so wide and strong, birds came and nestled deep into its leaves. 

Then he said, the kingdom of heaven is like this.

Wait a minute. The kingdom of heaven is like….a plant? Where birds live? Aren’t kingdoms fancy, with castles and queens and riches?

The kingdom of heaven is like bread, Jesus went on. It is like bread that a mother bakes in her kitchen. She hides the yeast, and she waits. The yeast rises in the dough, blossoming like the belly of a pregnant mother, until the bread is round and full. 

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field. When the gardener finds the treasure, he is so thrilled that he sells everything he has so he can buy the field, and live with the treasure.

The kingdom of heaven is like a woman searching for pearls. She looks and she looks, but all she sees are empty shells. But then, she finds one. A magnificent pearl, creamy white and shimmering. She sells everything she has and brings the pearl home. She has found the kingdom.

The kingdom of heaven is like an enormous net, which fishermen cast into the sea. They pull up creatures big and small: whales, octopus, fish, dolphins, sharks, starfish, seahorses, seaweed, crabs. Then the fishermen sort through the net, and find the creatures that want to stay.

Jesus is looking at his friends, smiling. The kingdom of heaven is like this, he says. 

A seed, the earth, bread, the sea, treasure, a pearl. The disciples wonder what Jesus means. Maybe heaven, they think, is closer than we thought. Maybe it could be heavenly to bake bread, or to fish, or to give up everything to follow Jesus. Maybe the kingdom has room for all sorts of unlikely creatures, even ones we didn’t expect. Maybe it is not so much a kingdom with a King telling everyone what to do, but a kin-dom, where everyone belongs, and where all are delighted to find fresh bread in the kitchen, and food around the table, and milk and honey everywhere. 

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

• Read The Marvelous Mustard Seed by Amy Jill-Levine

• Read Go and Do likewise!: the Parables and Wisdom of Jesus by John Hendrix Hendrix
  
  
  

• Create a kingdom (or a kin-dom). Cut out animals, trees, flowers, whatever you want. This could be collage style or use paint/markers/felt/fabric, or a mix of everything. What is the kingdom of god like? Take your inspiration from Jesus, or just imagine.
  
  

• Bake bread! Pay special attention to the rise 🙂 
  
  

• Draw the stages of the mustard seed (seed, tiny plant, tree, shelter for birds) 
  
  

• Show pictures of pearls, or watch video of finding a pearl
  
  

• Explore ideas of treasure. What would you sell everything for?
  
  

Art

Compiled by Caroline

Each of the paintings this week focus on one of the parables regarding the Kingdom. The first depicts the mustard seed growing into a great tree, the second is the woman looking for the coin that she lost, and the third is of the woman adding leaven to the bread.

As you look at each of these paintings, do you learn anything new about these parables? What is highlighted? What is visually exciting to you? How do the parables come to life in a different way by looking at a painting? 

Below you will find questions for each painting that you can explore with your child.

Where is the seed? What did the seed grow into? What kind of birds are in the tree? How many birds do you see? Why do you think so many different kinds of birds could live in this tree? How was there room for all of them? What colors do you see? Does the painting feel warm or cold?

What do you think the woman is doing? Have you ever done this when you are looking for something? How does it feel when your body is like that? How is she able to see what she’s looking for? Does the candle light up the whole room? Which parts of the room are dark and which parts are light? How can you tell? What is the woman wearing? What colors are her clothes? Why is she looking so hard for what she has lost? Does this painting feel warm or cold?

Do you see the woman making bread? Do you see the bread she has already made? Who do you think will eat the bread? What are the people doing around the woman? How are they lifting/helping others? Which person do you like to look at the most in this painting and why? What colors are used in this painting? Does this painting feel warm or cold?

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

This week’s poem is by the famous civil right’s activist and writer, Maya Angelou. She is best known for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and for her several books of poetry. I chose her poem, Alone, for this week’s reading because it focuses on the importance of community. As we read about the different parables Jesus gave for the Kingdom, one thing is certain: no one is alone there. As Kristen said, it is a “Kin-dom,” where all are invited and welcomed, and where a life-giving community is central. If we are to create that Kingdom right here and right now, Angelou’s poem holds the essential truth : Nobody, but nobody/ Can make it out here alone. 

Alone

by Maya Angelou 

Lying, thinking

Last night

How to find my soul a home

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone

I came up with one thing

And I don’t believe I’m wrong

That nobody,

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires

With money they can’t use

Their wives run round like banshees

Their children sing the blues

They’ve got expensive doctors

To cure their hearts of stone.

But nobody

No, nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely

I’ll tell you what I know

Storm clouds are gathering

The wind is gonna blow

The race of man is suffering

And I can hear the moan,

‘Cause nobody,

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Music

Compiled by Caroline

This week’s music continues on our theme of the Kingdom. The first is a swinging tune about the mustard seed, the second is a link to the whole Rain for Roots album that focuses on what the kingdom is like, and the last is a fun jam on the kingdom coming.