Proper 12 Year A 7/30/2023
1 Kings 3:5-12; Psalm 119:129-136; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Rev. Mark A. Lafler
People tend to talk about what they are passionate about…
Or what is important to them.
Whatever is on their mind…
Whatever has their attention…
They want to have good conversations on those things.
And what we notice Jesus talking about the most…
Especially in the Gospel of Matthew…
Is not what we would assume from some modern-day cultural view of Jesus…
Many might suggest that Jesus spent the bulk of his time teaching about kindness, grace, and love.
He also doesn’t spend all of his time talking about sin and hell…
Those topics are important…
But it wasn’t the focus of Jesus that we have in the Gospels.
Jesus spent most of his teaching time talking about the Kingdom of Heaven.
And that is what we have in our reading from the Gospel today…
Jesus describes what the Kingdom of Heaven is like by speaking parables.
A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a lesson…
a meaning…
or a description.
There are at least 5 parables in our short reading today.
Each describes a bit of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.
John the Baptist declared that the Kingdom of Heaven had come with the advent of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 3.2)…
And Jesus, himself, declared:
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the gospel.
(Mark 1.15)
The church teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is God’s divine,
kingly reign as proclaimed and inaugurated by Jesus’ life,
ministry, death and resurrection,
and includes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this world.
The kingdom of God is reigning now…
It has arrived in Jesus Christ and is carried on through His Spirit that is present in the people of God.
However, we also wait for the kingdom of heaven to be fully consummated in the return of Jesus…
the second coming of our Lord.
So the Kingdom of God is now and at work…
And is also moving toward its completion and fulfillment.[1]
That is why even though the Kingdom of Heaven is operating in this world…
We continue work to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven…
While we wait for the Kingdom of Heaven to be fully complete.
We pray this very thing in the Lord’s Prayer…
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the reign of God…
Jesus describes it in our Gospel today as:
Like a mustard seed that grows into a large shrub….
It starts out small but grows and grows.
He says the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast mixed into dough …
Everywhere the Kingdom goes it begins to impact the world around it.
Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is so valuable that it is worth your whole life…
And all your possessions.
Again, Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that caught all kinds of fish…
good and bad…
The good were kept…
And the bad were cast out…
All of these parables describe elements of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And yet, when we look around the world today…
Many would ask…
Where is this Kingdom of Heaven?
I see pain… suffering… injustice…
In the form of war, poverty, abuse, greed, and loneliness…
If the Kingdom of Heaven came with the advent of Jesus and is carried on through the Spirit…
Where is it?
The same could be said in Jesus’ day…
Jesus talked about the Kingdom of Heaven…
About its precious value, about its growth, about its impact…
And yet, shortly after he declared these things,
He was nailed to a cross to die.
Where is this Kingdom of Heaven?
Well, it is in the move of the Spirit…
It is present in God’s people…
When we walk in the Spirit of God…
We are ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven in this world.
I saw the Kingdom operating just this last week…
I arrived back at church from my time away on vacation…
To see dozens of youth and leaders serving people all over our community because of the person of Jesus Christ.
They worked in the Library, Triangle Elementary,
Lake Cares Food Pantry, The Fire and Police Departments,
The High School, Pet Shelters, and Thrift Stores…
They served Jesus in all of these places…
This is the Kingdom of Heaven at work…
I saw this week many of you preparing meals and serving meals to help all of the youth stay nourished and strong.
Encouraging one another…
Smiles on your faces…
Full of joy.
I saw the Kingdom of Heaven on the move during our Healing Service…
Where we prayed for the sick and discouraged.
When we received the sacrament of bread and wine.
I saw the Kingdom of Heaven at hand when at least eight of us gathered just yesterday to pray for people as they drove through the church at our monthly Drive Thru Prayer event.
I saw the Kingdom of Heaven being built as a few of us gathered online last night to pray through the prayers of Compline.
I saw the Kingdom of Heaven being gathered today…
As many of you have contributed to the Christmas in July outreach…
Helping students and teachers with supplies in our schools in the name of Jesus.
You see where the Spirit of God goes…
through his people…
The Kingdom is being built.
The Kingdom grows when people repent and turn toward the grace and mercy of the loving God.
The Kingdom advances when we pick up our cross and follow him…
Choosing to serve rather than be served.
Choosing to give rather than to receive.
The Kingdom of Heaven is on the move through the people of God empowered by the Spirit of God.
We are to be people of the Kingdom.
There is a reason Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of Heaven than anything else.
We are Kingdom people…
We are to be about the Kingdom of Jesus….
Operating in the Kingdom…
While we wait for the return of the King…
And for the God’s Kingdom to be completed.
So may we be encouraged to live our lives for Jesus Christ…
As though our salvation in his Kingdom was of a priceless pearl as in the parable…
Giving up all for the pearl…
May we be encouraged not to watch the Kingdom advance from the sidelines…
Cautiously watching…
Wondering…
May we step into the work of the Kingdom.
Praying…
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Let us continue to put action to that prayer…
Ushering in God’s Kingdom on this earth as it is in heaven.
When we are focused on the Kingdom work…
the anxiety of this world begins to fade…
When we are working in the Kingdom…
the fear that is announced from the communication towers across our nation begin to quiet down…
When we are moving mountains in the Kingdom…
the darkness of this world begins to dissipate…
Because the Kingdom of God’s Light is shining brighter and brighter and brighter…
As God’s people rise up in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is our calling…
Not to build the kingdom of this world…
But to build the Kingdom of God.
Every time we minister to someone in the name of Jesus,
we are putting action to our prayer…
Whether our ministry is physical, emotional, or spiritual…
We are called to love God and love others.
And by doing this…
The world will know that we are followers of Jesus Christ…
Because we have love one for another.
(John 13.35)
So, as we go about this day…
this week…
May we have the Gospel of the Kingdom on our mind… +
And on our lips… +
And in our heart… +
May we share Jesus this week to the world around us…
Growing the Kingdom of Heaven in this world.
Amen.
[1] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dicionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999), 71.