Eyes to See

by the Rev. Mimsy Jones

 

In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus flings out  parables like a sower flinging seed across a field:

 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in a field…The kingdom of God is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with flour…The kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure found in a field…” (Mt 13:31, 44)

 

Sometimes Bible images are so familiar that we switch to autopilot upon hearing them: the tiny mustard seed that grew into a great shrub; the pinch of yeast that leavened the whole loaf; the treasure buried in a field that someone found and valued so highly that he sold all he had and bought the field.

 

Most sermons on these images, including plenty of mine, focus on what the mustard seed, the yeast, and the hidden treasure symbolize or mean.

 

Hearing those parables this summer in the tiny summer chapel which is my church in Maine, it occurs to me that what Jesus may be encouraging his followers to do is to SEE the way he sees: to notice, pay attention, savor, touch, breathe in; to even take a picture!

 

One Saturday morning recently, I woke up here on the coast of Penobscot Bay, aware that there had been a shift in weather from fog and dampness to sun, clouds, and much clearer air than we had experienced in a while.  Already energized, I set off on a round of errands

 

First stop: the wine store/cheese and bakery, where the baker Wesley handed me a small paper sack that felt warm and smelled heavenly because nestled inside was a warm croissant. I took it to my car, along with some wine, and savored the aroma until I couldn’t wait longer, and bit into the crisp, buttery essence of croissant.

 

Next, the post office, a small white clapboard building with flower boxes filled to overflowing with wildflowers planted and tended by local neighbors.  When I opened the car door, I spied a bright copper penny shining up at me. Find a penny pick it up, and all day you’ll have good luck!

 

Fresh off the Farm was my next stop.  This landmark roadside ‘store’ has been selling farm-fresh produce, along with vitamins, supplements, ointments, top-notch insect repellents, bulk nuts and grains, chips, breads, ice cream, and homemade pies for well over the thirty years that I’ve been coming to Maine.

 

When I left, after paying cash which meant I got a 3% discount, my sturdy well-worn grocery sacks were bulging with organic peas, potatoes, peppers, lettuces, celery, cantaloupe, and a heavy triple-berry pie which will take the rest of my here to be consumed – with vanilla ice cream, of course.

 

Driving home, I passed a field full of belted galloway cattle, otherwise known as Oreo Cows. Some were nestled under a tree, so close to the road that I pulled over to take a picture, and when I turned into the dirt driveway leading to the cottage I call home every summer, I almost drove into the sea wall that rims Penobscot Bay, because I was so startled by what I saw.

 

 

Stretching across the horizon was a panorama of white sails: a regatta was underway!  I got out of the car to take pictures, but it was hard to capture the power of seeing those sails against the bright blue sky.

 

Thanks be to God, who gives us eyes to see – and hearts to understand what gifts are just waiting to be seen.