Haydenville Congregational Church The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian Matthew 13:31-33, July 27, 2014

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Haydenville Congregational Church The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian Matthew 13:31-33, July 27, 2014"

Arron Alexander
6 years ago
Views:

1 Haydenville Congregational Church The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian Matthew 13:31-33, July 27, 2014 The kingdom of heaven is like May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen. The kingdom of heaven Jesus talked about the kingdom of heaven more than he talked about anything else during his entire ministry. The kingdom of heaven was his main focus, his mantra, his #1 theme. Jesus talked about the kingdom of heaven constantly but he always talked around it, describing it but never describing it, defining it but never defining it, he talked in parables, similes and metaphor. He was forever saying, The kingdom of heaven is LIKE He never said, The kingdom of heaven IS Prominent pastor and respected theologian Brian McClaren goes on a very funny riff in the Saving Jesus DVD series a bunch of us watched in Adult Sunday School. McClaren talks about Jesus and his obsession with the kingdom of heaven and how Jesus never says what it is. McClaren says that if Jesus were alive today and was invited to be a guest on the NBC evening news and the anchorwoman said, So Jesus, what is the kingdom of heaven? and Jesus launched into the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, the kingdom of heaven is like yeast, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field the anchorwoman would cut to a commercial and scold Jesus. Jesus, she would say, don t tell me what it is LIKE, tell me what it is. They would then return to the program and the anchorwoman would ask again, Jesus, tell us, what is the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus would say, The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea. Jesus would be a bad guest when interviewed about the kingdom of heaven. And he would probably never be invited back on the show.

2 Not only does Jesus NOT explain what the kingdom of heaven IS but his examples about what the kingdom of heaven is LIKE are odd choices the parables are filled with shady, subversive, peasant-oriented images. Take for example the mustard seed (v. 31). In ancient times, mustard was a weed that a farmer would pull from the fields. It was unwelcome and famous for choking out the useful plants. But in today s reading the kingdom of heaven is compared to the mustard seed starting small and then growing into a basically unwanted shrub. And the yeast, or leaven (v. 33) in ancient times yeast was a symbol of corruption and impurity. It was known as the agent that would bloat and rot corpses, the agent that a faithful Jewish woman would clean from her house in preparation for Passover. But here Jesus implies that God is fermenting the world to create heaven like the woman who mixes or spoils flour with yeast. And, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is like a man who finds a treasure (v. 44) in someone else s field and then sells all that he has to buy the field without telling the owner about the treasure he found. One wonders: what was the man doing digging around in someone else s field in the first place? Then he buys the field to keep the treasure. Basically the man is a thief. The kingdom of heaven is like a thief? And the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls (v. 45). Jesus has chosen another sketchy image for God s kingdom. In ancient times merchants were considered shady characters their motives were suspect, their scruples were questioned, and the deals they made were often crooked. In effect, Jesus is saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a used car salesman who sells you a lemon. And the kingdom of heaven is like a net that is thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind (v.47). Oh dear. Problems again. The net pulls in everything good fish and bad stuff, fish you cannot use. The kingdom of heaven is like useful fish and a collection of bad stuff that is not useful? In all there are six parables in today s reading. Each parable begins with the kingdom of heaven is like, and none of them tell us what the kingdom of heaven IS. In fact, after reading or hearing all six parables, we may be more confused about the kingdom of heaven than when we started.

3 Today s reading of the six parables may leave us somewhat baffled. But for me the parables make me love Jesus more than ever. I love that he is clever, I love that he speaks in riddles, I love that he uses rather bizarre imagery, and I love that he must have left his followers scratching their heads thinking, What? What did he just say? What did I hear? What just happened? I love all those things. But mainly I love that he trust us. Jesus trust us. He trusts us to get the hint. He trusts us to be curious. He trust us to wonder. He trusts us to ponder his circuitous stories. Mainly he trust us to figure it out. It seems to me that Jesus is saying: I am not going to tell you what the kingdom of heaven is, I ll drop clues and suggestions, images and inferences, I ll point the way but I won t take you all the way there. Listen to my words, piece together my hints, observe my life, study my ministry, and you will figure it out. I love that Jesus trusts us to fill in the gaps and finish the story. I love the he believes we will complete the sentence, the kingdom of heaven is not IS LIKE he trusts that we will complete the sentence, the kingdom of heaven IS So what is the kingdom of heaven? I think the kingdom of heaven IS a place where all children are safe and loved; a place where peace prevails because conflict is resolved nonviolently; a place where art and beauty are an integral part of daily life; a place where God is revered and honored in many different ways; a place where the earth is cared for with loving attention; a place where community is sacred and individuality is of less importance; a place where justice, fairness and equity are supremely valued. How would you define and describe the kingdom of heaven? YOU, each one of you, could define and describe the kingdom of heaven. Jesus wants us to define and describe the kingdom of heaven.

4 Jesus wants us to figure it out and describe it and speak of it and explain it and more than that.more than that. Jesus wants us to CREATE the kingdom of heaven. He began the process. If we study his work, words and witness, if we study his entire ministry, we see that each day Jesus was all about creating the kingdom of heaven on earth. The legacy he left to us is to continue his work, continue creating the kingdom of heaven on earth. Not someday. Today. Not somewhere. But here. Here. And now. John the Baptist, Jesus cousin whose ministry pre-dated Jesus, talked about how the kingdom of heaven is coming. Get ready. It s coming. Repent. Cleanse and prepare. That was the Baptist Movement. But when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan, rose from the water, heard the voice of God and then was led into the wilderness for forty days of prayer and fasting, he emerged to lead the Jesus Movement, a movement that had a very different message from the Baptist Movement. Jesus message was not: the kingdom is coming. Jesus message was the kingdom is here, you are co-creating it with God. Create the kingdom by what you do and say and think, how you behave each day, no each hour, no each minute. The kingdom of heaven is now. And you are a co-creator. And you cannot do it without God. And God will not do it without you. I am thinking of getting my next tattoo, right here down my left arm. From my elbow to my wrist on the inside of my arm. And the tattoo would say: The kingdom of heaven is in our hands and end at my hand just so I remember each day that we are called to co-create with God the kingdom of heaven on earth. Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is like He left it to us to finish the story. The kingdom of heaven IS The kingdom of heaven IS created by God, with us, based on what we do, how we speak, what we give away, how we care for one another, how we love. The kingdom of heaven is found in community, in families, in service, in ritual, in acts of generosity, in moments of inclusion, in times of peace. The kingdom of heaven is now. It is here. It is us.

5 We create moments that reveal the kingdom of heaven each day some days they are truly only moments, some days the inbreaking of the kingdom of heaven lasts minutes, some days maybe a full hour. Slowly by slowly we take each moment that is beautiful and just, Spirit-filled and loving, compassionate and fair, we take each moment that feels like THIS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, we take each moment like a pearl and delicately string it on a thread moment by moment, pearl by pearl we create a series of heavenly moments and we live into that reality. Jesus was famous for saying the kingdom of heaven is like He believed we could finish the story. He believed we could say the kingdom of heaven is He believed we could co-create the kingdom of heaven on earth in partnership with God. And I think we are doing just that. For me, The kingdom of heaven is Gretchen and Karen in their wedding outfits, walking hand in hand down the center aisle to be married; The kingdom of heaven is Marcelle s classroom filled with patience and love in her school in Springfield; The kingdom of heaven is the work, words and witness of Pete Seeger, Nelson Mandela, and Maya Angelou; The kingdom of heaven is coffee hour at the Haydenville Congregational Church with toddlers climbing on different people s laps, elders laughing with 20 somethings, and happy chatter filling the room; The kingdom of heaven is Chris Perry attending his literacy program and learning to read; The kingdom of heaven is Miguel from the streets of Northampton coming to worship and leaving our church with food, cash, and gifts; The kingdom of heaven is the pre-school in Jerusalem that continues to educate Palestinian and Israeli children who think it is normal to play together; The kingdom of heaven is Dawn, Carole, Sarah, Chip and Ann our five emerging leaders as they prepare for the ministry and blossom before our eyes; The kingdom of heaven is the flats in Holyoke where Kathy grew up feeling safe and embraced by community; The kingdom of heaven is over 100 people from one church marching in the Gay Pride Parade in Northampton; The kingdom of heaven is every unemployed person who finds a job.

6 For me, the kingdom of heaven is seeing you again after weeks of being apart. Seeing your shining faces singing, praying and worshiping with you again, my beloved sisters and brothers in the faith. The kingdom of heaven is here. It is now. It is us. And it is up to us. Amen.

Matthew , The Rev. Dr. Mary Abram; St. James' Episcopal Church, Pewee Valley KY Morning Prayer: July 27, 2014

Matthew , The Rev. Dr. Mary Abram; St. James' Episcopal Church, Pewee Valley KY Morning Prayer: July 27, 2014 Matthew 13 31-22, 44-52 The Rev. Dr. Mary Abram; St. James' Episcopal Church, Pewee Valley KY Morning Prayer: July 27, 2014 Long ago I saw a movie about a town where all the people were blind. I was very