What does the Kingdom of God look like to you?
I use a lot of metaphors and similes in my speaking I think. “He was fit as a fiddle”. “I slept like a log," “Wednesday, I was busy as a beaver.” “I felt like a wet noodle”. Similes and metaphors are often used to help us describe what things are like to help us convey meaning — to help us share with others what something was like for us. They can be funny and extreme at times, but they do help us to express ourselves to others. And I know I can talk in hyperboles. Like this past week for instance, I was attacked and was almost killed by a triceratops beetle. He attacked me in the middle of the night attracted by the light of my iPad and I had to jump out of bed and defend myself. I was lucky I did not have a heart attack!
We also tend to use similes and metaphors to help describe things that can be abstract — “Love is like oxygen”. “Love is like a roller coaster”. “Grief is like a moving river, always changing.” “Grief is like carrying a stone in your pocket.”
Jesus used similes and metaphors often in his use of parables to help explain things to the disciples and others. Today’s Gospel passage includes 6 such metaphors in which he tries to describe the Kingdom of Heaven to his disciples. (I would be remiss to not mention that after all of his explaining he asks if they understand and they respond, “Yes,” - Yes, they do) So, no pressure on you — but if you want to be like the disciples, it would be best if you understand by the end of this sermon!)
Have you ever thought about Kingdom of Heaven? What it is like? What it should be like? How you are embracing it or not?
And what about this phrase Kingdom of God that we hear sometimes — why the difference? While some do believe that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven refer to different things, I believe that it is clear that both phrases refer to the same thing. The phrase “kingdom of God” occurs 68 times in 10 different New Testament books, while “kingdom of heaven” occurs only 32 times, and only in the Gospel of Matthew.
There are various theories on why Matthew uses the term “kingdom of heaven” and the other Gospel writers do not, one being his strict religious upbringing and fear of speaking or writing the word “God” down, but Jesus in his speaking often used the term interchangeably, sometimes even in the same parable. Jesus makes no distinction between the terms and seems to consider them synonymous.
Our passage begins with what is often referred to as the mustard seed parable. We have all heard the parable before, and the saying that if you have faith but the size of a mustard seed — which is extremely small — if you have faith even is small as that — a mighty tree can grow (Matthew 13:32) — and it is in this tree that the birds of the air come and make their nests-a place of refuge.
We have heard this parable shared to encourage us that even in the midst of times when we feel we have no faith, or our faith is small, that even with that little bit, God can take it and make a mighty tree of it.
What we may not know today about mustard seeds, but what the early listeners would have most likely understood, is that the mustard plant is a weed that grows like a bush and spreads. It’s a very invasive weed. It grows and spreads. Jesus is comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a plant that will constantly and inevitably keep growing and spreading. And a place that flying birds can find refuge. There is shelter and joy there.
The Kingdom of heaven…
is like yeast… mixed in with lots of flour until it was all leavened. It spreads. It affects others.
The Kingdom of heaven…
It is like…. A treasure hidden in the field. Often the things that are most valuable to us sometimes take us some time to figure out. Sometimes we don’t see it or are not aware of it. But when it is found, we will realize its worth and go and sell all we have to buy that field.
Recognizing that it has value. Great value. Operating by Kingdom principles yields peace.
The Kingdom of heaven…
It is like…a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one he went and sold all he had and bought it. The Kingdom of heaven involves us realizing our worth. That we — just as we are — are worth the merchant selling all that he had for us. Which is what God did for us. He gave all that he had - his only Son, for us. This imagery speaks of the depth of God’s love for us — the same love that we have for our children.
He sells everything to take the risk of possessing a treasure — one pearl.
Which begs the question…what is the kingdom of heaven like for us? Is it worth everything? This parable challenges us to embrace whole-hearted commitment to God’s kingdom. Are you all in? Where does your ultimate concern lie?
We seek the kingdom of heaven in order to find it and when we find it, we have found a treasure. This treasure will bring us joy that empowers us to rise above life’s difficult circumstances. It has the ability to bring us peace if we can embrace it.
The Kingdom of Heaven…
It is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind. Some were good, some were bad, but they existed together until they were separated.
The Kingdom of Heaven encompasses many different things -- are you building a picture in your mind?
God is building God’s kingdom. It is a kingdom that we experience in community with others — all are welcome at the table for we live this kingdom with others. It is a kingdom that we can experience and seek here on earth. It is different from the world’s kingdoms. It has different priorities. It should provide shelter to those who seek it. It should seek those that are hidden, or outcast, or over-looked — the kingdom is aware of their worth.
Frederick Buechner, American Presbyterian preacher and author said this:
“If we only had eyes to see and ears to hear and wits to understand, we would know that the Kingdom of God in the sense of holiness, goodness, beauty is as close as breathing and is crying out to born both within ourselves and within the world; we would know that the Kingdom of God is what we all of us hunger for above all other things even when we don’t know its name or realize that it’s what we’re starving to death for. The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers. We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength. The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home, and whether we realize it or not, I think we are all of us homesick for it.” ― Frederick Buechner
The Kingdom of God is home.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
May God’s kingdom, in all of its riches — in all of its glory — in all its shelter-inall of its relentless seeking and loving those things that are lost — be known to us today. May it guide our priorities and our lives.
Amen.
We also tend to use similes and metaphors to help describe things that can be abstract — “Love is like oxygen”. “Love is like a roller coaster”. “Grief is like a moving river, always changing.” “Grief is like carrying a stone in your pocket.”
Jesus used similes and metaphors often in his use of parables to help explain things to the disciples and others. Today’s Gospel passage includes 6 such metaphors in which he tries to describe the Kingdom of Heaven to his disciples. (I would be remiss to not mention that after all of his explaining he asks if they understand and they respond, “Yes,” - Yes, they do) So, no pressure on you — but if you want to be like the disciples, it would be best if you understand by the end of this sermon!)
Have you ever thought about Kingdom of Heaven? What it is like? What it should be like? How you are embracing it or not?
And what about this phrase Kingdom of God that we hear sometimes — why the difference? While some do believe that the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven refer to different things, I believe that it is clear that both phrases refer to the same thing. The phrase “kingdom of God” occurs 68 times in 10 different New Testament books, while “kingdom of heaven” occurs only 32 times, and only in the Gospel of Matthew.
There are various theories on why Matthew uses the term “kingdom of heaven” and the other Gospel writers do not, one being his strict religious upbringing and fear of speaking or writing the word “God” down, but Jesus in his speaking often used the term interchangeably, sometimes even in the same parable. Jesus makes no distinction between the terms and seems to consider them synonymous.
Our passage begins with what is often referred to as the mustard seed parable. We have all heard the parable before, and the saying that if you have faith but the size of a mustard seed — which is extremely small — if you have faith even is small as that — a mighty tree can grow (Matthew 13:32) — and it is in this tree that the birds of the air come and make their nests-a place of refuge.
We have heard this parable shared to encourage us that even in the midst of times when we feel we have no faith, or our faith is small, that even with that little bit, God can take it and make a mighty tree of it.
What we may not know today about mustard seeds, but what the early listeners would have most likely understood, is that the mustard plant is a weed that grows like a bush and spreads. It’s a very invasive weed. It grows and spreads. Jesus is comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to a plant that will constantly and inevitably keep growing and spreading. And a place that flying birds can find refuge. There is shelter and joy there.
The Kingdom of heaven…
is like yeast… mixed in with lots of flour until it was all leavened. It spreads. It affects others.
The Kingdom of heaven…
It is like…. A treasure hidden in the field. Often the things that are most valuable to us sometimes take us some time to figure out. Sometimes we don’t see it or are not aware of it. But when it is found, we will realize its worth and go and sell all we have to buy that field.
Recognizing that it has value. Great value. Operating by Kingdom principles yields peace.
The Kingdom of heaven…
It is like…a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one he went and sold all he had and bought it. The Kingdom of heaven involves us realizing our worth. That we — just as we are — are worth the merchant selling all that he had for us. Which is what God did for us. He gave all that he had - his only Son, for us. This imagery speaks of the depth of God’s love for us — the same love that we have for our children.
He sells everything to take the risk of possessing a treasure — one pearl.
Which begs the question…what is the kingdom of heaven like for us? Is it worth everything? This parable challenges us to embrace whole-hearted commitment to God’s kingdom. Are you all in? Where does your ultimate concern lie?
We seek the kingdom of heaven in order to find it and when we find it, we have found a treasure. This treasure will bring us joy that empowers us to rise above life’s difficult circumstances. It has the ability to bring us peace if we can embrace it.
The Kingdom of Heaven…
It is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind. Some were good, some were bad, but they existed together until they were separated.
The Kingdom of Heaven encompasses many different things -- are you building a picture in your mind?
God is building God’s kingdom. It is a kingdom that we experience in community with others — all are welcome at the table for we live this kingdom with others. It is a kingdom that we can experience and seek here on earth. It is different from the world’s kingdoms. It has different priorities. It should provide shelter to those who seek it. It should seek those that are hidden, or outcast, or over-looked — the kingdom is aware of their worth.
Frederick Buechner, American Presbyterian preacher and author said this:
“If we only had eyes to see and ears to hear and wits to understand, we would know that the Kingdom of God in the sense of holiness, goodness, beauty is as close as breathing and is crying out to born both within ourselves and within the world; we would know that the Kingdom of God is what we all of us hunger for above all other things even when we don’t know its name or realize that it’s what we’re starving to death for. The Kingdom of God is where our best dreams come from and our truest prayers. We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength. The Kingdom of God is where we belong. It is home, and whether we realize it or not, I think we are all of us homesick for it.” ― Frederick Buechner
The Kingdom of God is home.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.”
May God’s kingdom, in all of its riches — in all of its glory — in all its shelter-inall of its relentless seeking and loving those things that are lost — be known to us today. May it guide our priorities and our lives.
Amen.