From the Pastor |
Matthew 13; 31-33, 44-52
There was a Sunday School teacher who was discussing heaven with her young class. She asked the class “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?” “NO!” the children all answered. “How about if I cleaned the church every day, mowed the lawn, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?” Again the answer was, “NO!” “Well, what if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my husband, would that get me into heaven?” Once more they all answered, “NO!” She was impressed and thought that they really had a good grasp of Christian theology for children so young… so she asked them “Well then, how can I get into heaven?” One young boy shouted out, “You gotta be dead!” The kingdom of Heaven seemed so simple for those children… you die and that is where you go. Have you actually considered what the Kingdom of Heaven is? Where is it? What is it truly like? When you think about God’s Kingdom, what picture comes to mind? Do you picture a castle among rolling hills like in the tales of Camelot where God sits on a throne? Do you imagine pearly gates and golden streets? Most often… when we think of God’s Kingdom… the Kingdom of Heaven… that is the type of picture we have in our heads. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a distant, magical realm that we will enter after we die. In fact… it is a concept we don’t normally dwell on except during times of illness, tragedy or at funerals. In Jesus’ time, the people longed for the coming of the Messiah to usher in God’s Kingdom. They believed that the Messiah would establish that kingdom on earth and rid Israel of its oppressors… That the Messiah would be the new King of Israel. However, instead of driving Rome out of Israel and establishing God’s Kingdom… Jesus died on a Roman cross. Even though Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God was near… it was not what the people were expecting. Well… Today’s gospel reading continues Jesus’ use of parables to describe the Kingdom of Heaven to the people. In fact, we heard 5 distinct comparisons. Each comparison is a little different and a bit strange, but when we look at them, we can see that they all build upon each other to give us a pretty good idea of what the Kingdom of Heaven is truly like. The first is that “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed… Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” The kingdom starts out small and seemingly insignificant… almost hard to see… It has little impact on the world around it, but as it grows it will become life-sustaining… providing shelter and care. The second is similar… “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” If you have ever baked bread you know that it only takes a small amount of yeast to spread and grow… easily doubling the size of the bread. Yeast works overtime from the inside but has a vast impact on the surrounding dough. So far… it seems that the kingdom of Heaven is a realm that begins small and seems to have little impact on the world… but overtime it will work from within… spreading and growing… But we are not done yet… Jesus moves us from a place of small beginnings that have massive impacts to personal encounters. Because the Kingdom is ALSO likened to a great treasure hidden in a field… and a pearl of great value. This treasure and that pearl were so impressive and valuable that the one who finds each “went and sold all he had” in order to buy it. They found such joy in it that they gave up everything to have it. Jesus says that is what the kingdom is like… it has such an overwhelming value that is provides such great joy to those who find it that they are willing to sacrifice everything for it… And finally Jesus tells us that the “the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.” Much like last week’s Parable of the weeds, Jesus warns that one day… in the future… when God’s reign is firmly established… there will come a time of judgement… the good and the bad will be separated and justice will prevail. So what is the kingdom of heaven like? Well… the Kingdom of Heaven may start small, but it will continue to spread and grow… it has tremendous value to those who seek it and find it and then let go of everything else to claim it… and when the kingdom is one day fully realized as the life-sustaining realm of God… there will come a time when all will be judged. Boom! We’re done right? Not yet! All of the parables this morning make it clear that heaven is not just some place that we might be going to at the end of our lives here on earth. In fact, the Kingdom of Heaven is clearly shown as something that exists right here and right now, alongside the harsher realities of our everyday world. Think about it for a moment… When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom would come, Jesus answered “The kingdom of God does not come that you can watch closely for it. Nor shall they say, “See here! or “See there!” for the kingdom of God is within you!” (Luke 17:20-21) The kingdom is within you! And it begins with that small seed of faith. Look at a mustard seed sometime… it is pretty small, but the plant that grows from it can grow up to 20 feet tall and 20 feet wide. That’s huge! It can grow in dry, arid climates, or in cool, wet climates… it can even thrive in clay or sandy soil. And if the tree is cut down to the trunk… it can grow back again. It’s no wonder Jesus used this analogy for the Kingdom of Heaven. For the kingdom of Heaven begins as the faith planted within each of us. It can be planted in difficult times and under trying circumstances, but can still grow… and even if something happens and our faith is “cut down”… if just a tiny bit remains our faith can overcome and regrow stronger than ever. And how about the yeast… This was a pretty significant comparison because in scripture, yeast was a symbol of sin and corruption… it was considered a contaminant… I believe Jesus used the idea of yeast, not only to demonstrate how the kingdom would grow and spread, but also to describe how the kingdom of God would contaminate the cultural norms… disrupt hierarchy and injustice. As our faith grows… so does God’s Kingdom right here on earth… it grows and spreads… changing the world… disrupting the status quo until it becomes a place of provision and proves to be life-sustaining as God’s reign is firmly established over all. Then as our faith continues to grow… as we seek God’s kingdom in our lives and in the world around us… as we recognize God’s work in us… around us… and through us… we can see the kingdom for the treasure… the beautiful and valuable pearl that it is. And when we recognize that… If we are willing to sacrifice… to offer our wholehearted commitment to God… even if it disrupts our daily lives… then Jesus assures us that the joy we will experience will be amazing. You see… the key we so often forget is that Heaven is not just some place we go when we die… It is not simply some future reality we can look to with longing… One day God’s Kingdom will be THE reality in the world… love, peace and justice WILL prevail. But Heaven… God’s Kingdom is here… now… it has begun… and it is growing and spreading… It is within me… it is within you… There is a mustard seed of faith inside each and every one of us… we just need to let it grow. Amen.
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Yeon Shin
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