Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52, Romans 8.26-39, 1 Kings 3.5-12
The Kingdom of Heaven is like, like what? When you dare to imagine what heaven may be like, do tiny seeds and yeast come to mind?
Perhaps treasure and jewels are there as symbols which
are easier to relate to as things which are instantly desirable, discoveries
which we want so much that we would sell everything, our house, our car even
our mobile devices if it meant we could have these things. It might appear to
the neighbours that such people had lost everything but if only they knew what
they had found. Jesus was probably trying to get the crowds which had gathered
by the lake to see that if they understood what the kingdom of heaven was like
they would want this above everything else.
Put another way Jesus was teasing the minds of the crowd
to consider the same question that God asked Solomon in our Old Testament
reading’ Ask what I should give you’ which I take to mean what is it that you
want right now above all else.
What would our answer be? When we are mourning and in
pain and can see only a long dark road ahead what we are likely to want, is to
know that God is going to be with us in our suffering, each step of the way. Paul
reassures the church in Rome that the spirit interprets our deepest longings,
the yearnings we may struggle to articulate to God. At these times we are
reminded of the fact that no suffering or loss, no pain or worry sits outside
the scope of God’s love for us. He never looks at a situation and thinks’ sorry
but you are on your own this time’.
The last part of today’s reading from Paul’s letter
reminds me of that feeling of security offered to children lucky enough to have
loving parents. As a small boy it felt like my parents were superheroes and I
couldn’t imagine coming to any harm as long as they were there. As I grew up I
realised the limitations every parent faces and that most are just doing their
best, muddling through at times.
The beautiful thing is that whether we were lucky enough
or not to have had loving parents Paul reminds us that ‘God is for us’, he’s
given his own Son for us and secured for us, everything we will ever need.
Despite whatever suffering or ordeals we may have to face we cannot be
separated from the love of God in Jesus.
So even if we are so down we cannot pray, even when we
cannot feel God’s comfort or healing, he is there with us and always will be
and the Kingdom of Heaven is no less real.
The fact that today’s readings are just one of several
parables and illustrations suggesting what aspects of the Kingdom of Heaven are
like makes me think that Jesus was trying to fire up imaginations, find
examples that people could relate to in their everyday lives.
We are reminded that the Kingdom of heaven may often be
found in places we don’t expect. We need to open our minds, overcome our
prejudices and assumptions to have the greatest chance of catching a glimpse of
God’s kingdom.
A young woman told me this week how she was shouted at by
a homeless man in the street, he didn’t look very friendly so she sped up only
for him to run and catch up with her. As she turned to ask what he wanted he
presented her with her purse containing cash, cards and travel passes, ‘you dropped
this back down the road’ he said as he handed it over.
In the last part of today’s gospel Jesus refers to the
‘master of a household who brings out of his treasure, what is old and what is
new. To most of us today it’s not obvious what this is about but those hearing
Jesus were meant to see that whilst there is great value in the wisdom
accumulated by their ancestors over the centuries there are also new treasures
to be discovered in the Kingdom of Heaven.
There’s no limit to these based upon past knowledge and
experience, we have to trust in God and dare to imagine a future with him. Each
one of us has potential to bear fruit in a new way, we often just need to find
the courage to imagine and then pursue this.
Valuing both the old and new we have potential to achieve
most when we come together drawing upon the wisdom and experience of older
people but combining this with the energy and fresh ideas of the younger
people.
It’s so easy to just accept injustices as the way of the
world, particularly when we fail to imagine what something better might look
like. When we look back to the greatest changes for the better we realise that
they were achieved when people dared to imagine, describe and speak out about a
better future even though there was no immediate prospect of it becoming real.
Here are the words of one man who could imagine a better
future for all…
‘I
have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the colour
of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its
vicious racists, … one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black
girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as
sisters and brothers.
I
have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and
mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the
crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together.’
Of
course, excerpts from the speech of Martin Luther King made in Washington DC in
1963, the last part quoting the prophet Isaiah.
Daring
to imagine something that doesn’t already exist isn’t easy for us. Maybe part
of the problem is that imagination is often referred to in a negative way
alongside delusion and untruth. We may grow up hearing ‘it’s a figment of her
imagination’ and then it certainly doesn’t sound like it’s something to be
encouraged. Yet Jesus is stimulating the senses of those listening to him, he
wants them to fire up their imaginations as he refers to tiny things like
mustard seeds which are easily missed altogether yet have potential to become
something impressive and yeast which needs other ingredients to create a thing
of beauty and sustenance, something that on its own appears to have little use
turns out to have powers of transformation.
Surely
we can dare to imagine what glimpses of the Kingdom of God might be like.
Perhaps when something is so beautiful we cannot help but stare, when our mouth
is overwhelmed with wonderful flavours, when the warmth of the sun makes us
feel good in a way beyond words. When I asked some people what they thought the
Kingdom of God is like they told me of peace, justice, forgiveness, love and
freedom from suffering.
Easy
things to imagine for all, except of course when they are things you have never
known or experienced.
It’s worth
celebrating the fact that we are all invited to discover our own images of what
the kingdom of heaven is like. Listening to and pondering the clues Jesus
gives is essential if we are to heighten our awareness, he’s certainly
reminding us that we don’t need to be great theologians by the everyday subject
matter used, this is accessible to everyone.
We’ve had many
pointers towards the likelihood that we may be surprised when we feel we catch
a glimpse of the Kingdom and with it a sense that there is a deeper reality to
our existence than the superficiality of a consumer society where people are
meant to fit in. Jesus implies that we may stumble across the Kingdom of
Heaven when doing something else and in doing so find hope that extends beyond
our earthly lives.
Ultimately I can’t tell
you and you can’t tell me what the kingdom of heaven is like as we each have to
discover this for ourselves. But when we do catch a glimpse, the new reality
Jesus told of breaks in, and something is made wonderfully new.
Amen
Kevin Bright30th July 2017
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