October 26, 2021

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45)

The Wind in the Willows is a must read, or a must re-read, or even a must re-re-read.  In one chapter, Mole and Rat trudge late on a snowy night toward Rat’s riverbank home. Mole has been gone from his underground home for months now. But as they journey, they come near his home – and the scent calls to him. 

“It was one of those mysterious fairy calls from out of the void that reached Mole in the darkness, making him tingle through and through with it’s very familiar appeal, even while as yet he could not clearly remember what it was. He stopped dead in his tracks, his nose searching hither and thither in its efforts to recapture the fine filament, the telegraphic current that had so strongly moved him.”

Then Mole remembers. “Home! That was what they meant, those caressing appeals, those soft touches wafted through the air, those invisible little hands, pulling and tugging, all one way!”

The Kingdom of Heaven is like that – calling, pulling, tugging, appealing. Jesus is the merchant searching for you, the pearl. And the Kingdom of Heaven is our True Home. 

“Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Proper 23 – BCP)