Sermon
This is the last Sunday of the Church year; next week is Advent, and the beginning of a new Church Year. Each year is assigned one of the gospels, and we have been reading mainly passages from Matthew’s Gospel this year. Next year it is the Year of Mark.
The three parables that precede this one (The Talents, Bridesmaids, Unfaithful and Faithful Slaves) all stress waiting for and preparing (or not) for the return of Christ. This parable takes listeners forward to the moment the Son of Man comes in glory (v. 31).[i]
This morning we will take a quick journey from when Jesus enters Jerusalem in Chapter 21. You can follow in the Bible if you like, or look at the timeline on the screen.
Chapter 21 begins with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the passage we traditionally read on Palm Sunday. Jesus enters the temple, and removes those selling and buying in the temple and overturns the table of the money changers. The blind and the lame came to the temple to be healed, and the chief priests and the elders question Jesus authority.
· Chapter 21
o Entry into Jerusalem
o Cleansing the temple
o Authority questioned
o Parables about authority and obedience
· Chapter 22
o Parable of the wedding banquet
o Questions about taxes and resurrection
o The greatest commandment
· Chapter 23
o Woe to the scribes and Pharisees
· Chapter 24
o [on the Mount of Olives]
o The end of the age and destruction of the temple
· Chapter 25
o The parable of the ten bridesmaids
o The parable of the talents
o The Judgement
· Chapter 26
o Plot to kill Jesus
o Passover
o Arrest
So this whole long section is between the entry into Jerusalem and the Passover.
As this is the Sunday where we think about the Reign of Christ, I wondered about leaders we have had visit recently. Queen Elizabeth was in Australia recently, what kind of Kingdom does she rule over? In some ways she has minimal authority, in that Australia has an elected Government. This past week President Obama of the USA has been visiting, and much of his visit revolved around ‘security’ issues. Visiting defence bases and discussing an increase in training of US forces in the Northern Territory.
What kind of Kingdom does Jesus rule over? What are the main issues he discusses with his disciples in theses final chapters?
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.” Matthew 22:2
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.” Matthew 25:1 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;” Matthew 25: 14
What can we glean from these stories?
The wedding Banquet is about people who are too busy, too wrapped up in their own work and lives to respond to the King’s invitation. Those in the Kingdom are the outcast – the people of Matthew’s community were outcasts in Jewish society, and often excluded from their families for following Jesus.
The Bridesmaids knew the bridegroom would come. Tradition has it that the groom would go to the bride’s house and come to an agreement with the Bride’s father, then bring the bride to the groom’s place for the wedding. It could sometimes take a while at the Bride’s house, so delays happened.
The parable of the Talents follows straight on from the Bridesmaids.
In looking at the parable of the talents there are a few different interpretations. What if the third slave is standing up to the master for wanting a profit at other people's expense? He tells his master that he knows he is a hard man reaping where he does not sow. Standing up to those who are oppressive, greedy, or manipulative does not necessarily win you friends or fame or fortune. The other thing that this man says is that “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man….; so I was afraid,” Matthew 25: 24-25. How often do we act out of fear?
Then the passage we heard read today. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.” This Passage; known as the Judgement or the sheep and the goats. It is one of the better known passages in the Bible, but I suspect one of the more controversial among scholars.
Does this refer to all nations or to Gentile nations? Is it about Gentiles who give assistance to Christians – the least of these? The sheep seem oblivious to the ways in which they served Jesus, and goats did not realise they had not served Jesus, so where does that leave us. One interpretation is that if we transformed by God, then we live out our faith. The sheep represent those who are interested and aware of the plight of others; the goats those whose eyes are closed to the life of people around them.
“The followers of Jesus continue today to "do acts of love and compassion not to earn a place among the righteous sheep or even a place in heaven but in response to what God has already done for us in Christ," for "we are compelled to love others because we know no other way to respond to God's amazing love" (New Proclamation 2008).” [ii]
We can think of the Kingdom of heaven as something we enter after we die, we can think of the kingdom of heaven as some future experience, or we can think of the kingdom of heaven in our midst.
These passages challenge me to be aware of the signs of the kingdom around me. They remind me of the way that surprises us at times. The theme for Synod this year, and for the next few years, is ‘On new and Risky paths’. It seems to me that being a follower of Jesus is risky, it means taking a risk of being with outsiders, because we are outsiders; it means taking a risk in opening up our lives to the transformation of God, because then who knows what could happen.
The kingdom of heaven is like shoots coming out of the ground; we can nurture them or tread on them. We can feed them and protect them or pull them out. Where do you see the kingdom of heaven?
The 3rd slave hid his master’s money, by the way one talent was more than a slave would earn in 15 years. He hid the money because he was afraid – are we afraid of God, afraid of trying something new in case we fail?
The kingdom of heaven is seen with eyes of faith, not of fear; the kingdom of heaven is seen and is at work in places we might not think to look. Over the next few weeks as we travel on our journey through advent, I want to encourage you to be aware of the green shoots of the kingdom of heaven in your midst. We will hears some stories from the Christmas Bowl, stories of the amazing changes to people’s lives that come from vision, care and work of many people. But I also want you to look around Engadine, and listen in the news for local places that are part of the Kingdom of Heaven. Advent is about “the promised inbreaking of God's reign into the powers of this world and the fulfilment of that promise begun in God's incarnation in Jesus.” [iii]
The kingdom of Heaven is good news – “especially to those on the fringes of society. This rule welcomes those who have no status and seeks to serve others rather than exploit them.” [iv]
A poem:
A poem:
“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like there's nobody listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey
Where do you see heaven on earth?
[i] Alyce M. McKenzie is Professor of Homiletics, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. McKenzie's column, "Edgy Exegesis," is published every Monday on the Preachers Portal..
[ii] Kathryn Matthews Huey ; http://www.ucc.org/worship/samuel/november-20-2011-reign-of-chr.html
[iii] http://www.gbod.org/site/c.nhLRJ2PMKsG/b.3784805/k.D1A1/Worship.htm#top
[iv] Op Cit Edgy Exegiesis
