Sunday, July 25, 1999

The Reverend Dale Ostrander

"THE KINGDOM OF GOD"

I Kings 3:5-12; Matthew 13:31-33,44-45,51-53.

This morning I want to talk about the Kingdom of God. This is no small task for one 15-minute sermon. But isn't it interesting and ironic that Jesus speaks of it in these very short parables about mustard seeds, yeast, a pearl and treasure. Now, the gospel writer, Matthew, in contrast to the earliest gospel of Mark, uses the phrase, "kingdom of heaven." Mark used "kingdom of God. " But Matthew, a Jewish Christian, coming out of that tradition and being sensitive to his Jewish audience, uses "heaven" instead of the name of God, which you'll recall was not to be used directly. Because of our associations with the word "heaven" as relating to up there beyond the sky, or to the afterlife, I will use "kingdom of God."

Jesus speaks of it as already being in our midst, although in large part hidden and unrecognized. And, typically, his brief parables about it are somewhat obscure, and they fly in the face of conventional wisdom and challenge the religious assumptions of the time. While we have come to think of the mustard seed and leaven references in a special and charming way, in first century Judaism these were negative images. Mustard plants were despised weeds. And leaven, or yeast, was an item to be cleared out of the household before Passover, lest it corrupt the unleavened bread of the Passover celebration. Rabbinical writers use leaven as a symbol of evil influence and teaching. So, the parable must have been startling to those of that tradition who heard it and later read it.

Jesus, of course, knew this, and (this may just be a projection of mine) I can't help but think that he took some pleasure in using it and tweaking the thinking and the religiosity of that time in describing the kingdom or realm of God. Jesus, unlike the Pharisees of his time, had no interest in terminating a purity cult composed only of the perfect and strict observers of the religious law and traditions.

Rather, these were parables of encouragement and hope, suggesting that this different vision of God's kingdom would grow out of its seemingly insignificant beginnings in this itinerant preacher' and small band of followers.

A small mustard seed will grow into a large bush or tree and birds will be attracted to its shade and seed, which will in turn be spread further and further. Matthew speaks of the field in which the seed is sown as the world, which would include all people, even the gentiles - another assumption offensive to that religious tradition.

Or, a woman takes this small bit of yeast and mixes it into "3 measures" of wheat flour (which I understand is approximately 50 lbs. of flour) and it leavens the whole batch. The point here is that God is at work and the kingdom, though small and inauspicious, is growing, even if human eyes fail to perceive what is happening.

The second pair of parables - about the treasure and the pearl - stresses THE human response to what God is doing. Like treasure, God's nature and activity is hidden and must be discovered. Like a precious pearl, it must be sought and appropriated. These parables are about discovering and giving one's life to what God is doing in our midst.

Well, what is God doing? And what is this kingdom of God'? 'For many, a prior question might be "Who or what is God?" But that itself is an interesting subject for another sermon. For now, suffice it to say that "God" is the most common name for the sacred in the Jewish-Christian tradition.

Our forbearers in the faith found God in the person of Jesus. And the focus shifts to being in relationship to the one Spirit that Jesus knew and revealed. The New Testament sees Jesus as the embodiment of that Spirit. The Apostle Paul speaks of Jesus as the Christ and the Wisdom of God. The gospel of John alludes to Jesus as the Word of God.

So, to speak of and understand the kingdom of God, we are pointed to the life and ministry of Jesus - alive, loving, forgiving, inclusive. And these qualities often brought Jesus into conflict with his critics and the religious authorities.

According to Jesus scholar, Marcus Borg, in the message and activity of Jesus we see an alternative social vision, a community shaped not by purity, but by compassion. For Jesus the central quality of God and God's kingdom is compassion.

He tells the story of the good Samaritan, one considered impure by the system, who did not pass by the man robbed and left for dead by the side of the rode. He said that the Sabbath was made for man, not vice-versa, His healings shattered the purity boundaries of that social world, and he regularly ate at an inclusive table, embodying that vision of an open and inclusive community that included women, untouchables, the poor and marginalized.

The Apostle Paul uses the word "love" as the primary fruit of the Spirit. And, for him, life in that Spirit is life in the kingdom of God.

In his parables, Jesus invites his hearers to see in a way, and to a way and to a different way of understanding our world and living our lives. This is not the world of conventional thinking or religiosity. What kind of world is it in which outcasts are accepted, the religious are questioned, and the exalted arc humbled; in which the kingdom is like a weed or something impure like leavened bread?

Jesus said the kingdom is in our midst, but many do not recognize it. It is the way, the truth and the life, but also the road less traveled. Instead of seeing wealth as a special sign of God's blessing, Jesus sees it as a potential stumbling block and idolatry. When he says that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, I don't think he's saying it's impossible, just that riches can be preoccupying and can separate us from that compassionate, inclusive community of mutuality that characterizes the kingdom. And Jesus' final word is that "all things are possible for God." And, don't get me wrong, I too would like to have the Publisher's ClearingHouse folks show up at my door!

Robert Bellall and his co-authors of the book, Habits of the Heart, a study of middle class Americans, suggest that the dominant characteristic in the American ethos is individualism, affecting those most important parts of our life from love, marriage, and work to politics and religion. And this has generated increasingly sharp boundaries and a diminished sense of community and civic connection.

Jesus, as the wisdom of God, points to a different path - the way of discipleship; life in the Spirit; being in community and eating at his inclusive table. It's not an individual path, because the fruit of this life in the Spirit is love - in companionship with God and with one another. It's in relationship that we know this love, and it's such love which transforms us into the likeness of Christ for one another and all whose lives we touch. This Spirit is that yeast in the world.

And like a mustard seed, that spirit sprang forth in 1944 as Christ Congregational Church, and manifests itself today in such things as Christmas in April, Shepherd's Table, and Assist; in our relationships of caring and sharing; and in our broad scope of programs that minister to differing needs and all stages of life, helping us to live more fully and lovingly.

It's also a seed springing forth even in unexpected places, reaching across boundaries that normally separate: like in the village of Malina Maala, a town of 600 in Macedonia that, though very poor and already living on a meager diet, took in 3000 refugees from Kosovo; or springing forth in that wealthy, political family that in spite of privilege, as well as experiencing one tragedy after another, goes on and gives itself to public service on behalf of the common good, the poor and dispossessed.

It sprang forth in that Serb who saved his Albanian neighbor's cow for him for when he would return from his exile; and also in the mind and heart of the author, Salman Rushdie, in hiding for the past 10 years as the result of a death threat, who recently wrote, "But these ... have also been times to reflect upon the countervailing value of love. Love feels more and more like the only subject. At the center of my life, of my new work, of my center plans, I now find nothing else." After these parables Matthew writes that Jesus asks, "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." Then he gives them one more parable: "...every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

The Greek word translated "old" means time-honored. Matthew himself is a scribe out of the tradition of the old -- the Scriptures of Israel, and while mindful of these, he saw what God was doing in Jesus, and speaks of the teachings of Jesus as the "new." You'll remember that Jesus put it this way, "I have come not to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them."

It's a word for us and all who have followed, that trained for the kingdom we too are to bring new truth from the treasury of our own faith and experience, responding to the movement of the Spirit within each new time. There will always be new insights - new light to break forth from God's word, leading us beyond the way things have been.

So, what does this mean for us now at this time and in this place? It means that we know we are part of the world God has made, and are called to enter into and work with God's loving purpose. And that to be that loving or compassionate community that Jesus revealed, will mean to act knowing that every person matters, and that living in this way benefits us all. It means that as part of this church we have a shared sense of mission and we will support its ministry so that the gospel of Jesus Christ can live and thrive in this place, in this community, and in this city, so that the realm of God may grow. And Christ Congregational Church will be alive, open and affirming and inclusive, and be known as a place of compassion for all people.

And, finally, it means that we will need to be grounded in and continuing to find treasure in the old, but always testing that wisdom in the present, open to the new in our structure, staffing and programming.

I also believe that we have to remind ourselves that it's not always easy to know God's will and the specifics in each circumstance and situation, For, we get caught up in the conventions, preconceptions and distractions of the time. And we have our limitations and our own troubles. But remember, we're called to be faithful, not perfect! In humility, like Solomon, we will always need to pray, "O Lord you have put us in its, place ... give your servant(s) an understanding and discerning mind." We can pray, Also with Thomas Merton, our contemporary, "Dear God ... I do not see the road ahead ... And the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean I am actually doing so. But I believe the desire to please you, does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all I am doing ... And I know if I do this, you will lead me by the right road ..."

The Apostle Paul reminds us that through it all, we are held in God's love. And the difficulties and distractions of life lose their power to defeat our spirits, because we are part of this loving community and part of something larger and eternal. And neither the powers and principalities nor the forces of evil at work in the world, nor even death itself is the last word. love is God's purpose, and nothing shall separate us from that love. Amen.

Back to Table of Contents.