The kingdom of heaven is like

The kingdom of heaven is like ….  that phrase occurs about 30 times in the gospel of Matthew; it is one of the main themes of Matthew’s Gospel. This morning we have 5 parables, all of which start: The kingdom of heaven is like.

Some things to think about with these parables:

Firstly, the mustard bush.

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.

It was a weed!

No farmer in their right mind would plant mustard seeds, it would quickly take over the whole field, and your neighbour’s field.

And the woman with the yeast and flour.  Start yeast/flour/water mix

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.

A few surprises in this parable:

Yeast was often considered to be impure, a symbol of decay.

Woman were not highly valued, so the analogy of the activity of God being like anything a woman does would be strange to the ears of the people Jesus was speaking to.

And then there is the ‘three big batches of flour’, which is equivalent to about 21 kgs. That is a lot of flour. Someone has calculated that this would make 52 loaves of bread. This woman is making enough to feed the village, not her family.[i]

For me, these two parables are surprising, and for the first hearers would have been shocking or stupid.
I mean, who plants a rampant weed on their farm,
and who makes enough bread for the whole village,
and just imagine how big a bowl that would be.

Here is 1 kg flour, imagine how much 144kgs is going to be.

The next two parables:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when someone finds a treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field.

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.

finding treasure in a field, and a fine pearl; both ending with people selling all they have for the sake of the treasure and the pearl; who does that?

Is there anything you would give up all you had for?

Maybe the fifth parable will help.

“The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a net is thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of fish.”

So far seems OK, but …. Then the separation of good and bad fish. Which reminds me of another part of the Matthew’s gospel, chapter 25 and the sheep and the goats at judgement time.

Each of the parables we heard this morning hints at the kingdom of God. the kingdom of God is not one dimensional, and it is not easily described.

Jesus says the kingdom of God is like, ... then an action.
So, the kingdom isn’t like a weed,
or yeast, which is a contaminant
or buried treasure or a fine pearl
or a net full of fish.

The kingdom of heaven is not like the objects, but what people do with them.[ii]

These parables give a picture of a kingdom that infiltrates and spreads through our lives. [iii]

The kingdom of heaven is not an object, but an activity. The kingdom of Heaven is active in ways we may not even realise, “in the mysterious and powerful things that happen right beneath our eyes, even if our eyes can't seem to see what's happening (The Lectionary Commentary: The Gospels).”^[iv]

Do you read the Bible, pray, and come to Sunday worship thinking that these things might lead to our lives being infiltrated, changed, and taken over by God’s reality and rule? ^[v]

Is God enough for you to give up everything for?

“the Gospel of the kingdom that Jesus proclaims and lives is truly good news only to those who are not finally satisfied with what this life has to offer. For those who are content, selling everything to possess a single pearl, no matter how valuable, seems a little crazy. How can anything be so precious as to give up everything else to possess it? But to those who are dissatisfied – with the status quo, with what they have been able to secure on their own, with the values, stereotypes, or prejudices of the culture – then Jesus’ Gospel, while still disruptive and even upsetting, nevertheless feels true, real, and something worth buying at any cost.” ^[vi]

Fulghum story p116-7 Uh-Oh

Affirmative vandalism [200 words]

I wonder what we could do, here on the Peninsula, to spread love, grace, and forgiveness?

What could we do to make a difference,

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[i] http://breadmonk.com/my-bread-blog/three-measures-of-flour

[ii] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/year-proper-12-17th-sunday-in-ordinary.html

[iii] http://www.davidlose.net/2014/07/pentecost-7a-parables-that-do-things/

[iv] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_july_30_2017

[v] http://www.davidlose.net/2014/07/pentecost-7a-parables-that-do-things/

[vi] http://www.davidlose.net/2017/07/pentecost-8-a-parabolic-promises/

Following Jesus: Welcoming or Welcomed

This short passage from the Gospel of Matthew continues on from our readings the past few weeks. Jesus calls the disciples and tells them they will go out in pairs, proclaiming the good news:

“…the kingdom of heaven will soon be here. Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid. Don’t take along any gold, silver, or copper coins. And don’t carry a traveling bag or an extra shirt or sandals or a walking stick.” Matthew 10:7-9 CEV

The disciples have been warned that some will hate them, there will be divisions within families, and then this short section, about the rewards for those who welcome the disciples.

…

When Ian and I moved into the manse, there were some yummy slices, and lovely flowers when we arrived; and later that day, dinner arrived. A wonderful welcome.

I wonder when you have felt particularly welcomed? What was it that you appreciated or made it so special?

…

“anyone who gives one of my most humble followers a cup of cool water, just because that person is my follower, will surely be rewarded.”

This verse is usually considered to mean that something as simple as a glass of cool water will be rewarded. You don’t have to do anything elaborate.

But at that time there was no fridge in the corner, and water was drawn from the well, and kept in clay jars, on hot days, the water would warm up. To give a guest a cup of cold water required an extra measure of hospitality. An unplanned trip to the well, to gather more water so it could be served before it warmed up. A drink of cold water was exceptional. This was exceptional hospitality that stretches the hostess and host beyond the ordinary.[i]

I wonder when you have done something exceptional for someone you didn’t know well?

…….

Have there been times when you needed hospitality or welcome:

when you were looking for a place to rest, or
     a new home
     or even a drink of water

what happened?
Were you offered what you needed?

…

It is one thing to offer a welcome, “into church, or your home, or your life. You have the power. You get to make the decisions as to whom you’ll invite and when. You can control the circumstances, the setting, and the surroundings. You are able to determine when the welcoming will come to an end.

It’s a completely different situation, however, when find yourself on the other side -- the one being welcomed. The one at the mercy of another.”[ii]

Welcoming goes both ways. It is wonderful when we offer a welcome to another person, and it is important to do that. But how often do we accept the welcome of another?

The disciples may have travelled empty-handed, but not empty hearted. They were sent to heal and liberate and announce the good news of the coming kingdom of God.

What gifts do you see in people who come looking for a welcome?

When new people come into:
     our church or our lives,
      our community or our country,
do we see potential,
    or trouble
do we see gifts
     or a burden?

The disciples relied on being welcomed into a home while they were out healing and liberating people. They relied on food and water from people they didn’t know. 

This requires a level of vulnerability.

When we start to imagine what it must feel like to rely on the welcome of others, perhaps then we will have a sense of the kind of vulnerability Jesus knew and Jesus lived. When you have to depend on another, perhaps even for a meal and a place to sleep, trust steps through that door first. When you allow yourself to be welcomed, perhaps that can be the first step to letting go of thinking you are not enough.^[iii]

Are we willing to be vulnerable in our welcoming and allowing ourselves to be welcomed?

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[i] Rev. Debra Jene in https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/06/27/revised-common-lectionary-a-cup-of-cold-water/

[ii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=4931

[iii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?m=4377&post=4931

Lament

a short section early in worship

Lament

How long, O Lord.

Where are you, Lord

These are cries of Lament

The Lament psalms give expression to the deepest moments of human pain;

anger, confusion, questioning, and despair are all said out loud.

In a time of crisis, personal or communal

the palmist cried out to God:

How long, O Lord, or

what is going on or

when are you going to come and make things right?

These psalms are important for several reasons.

First, they give us words for the deepest, darkest nights of our lives -- when the bottom drops out, when the pain seems too much to bear. Second, the tell us that God is big enough for everything we've got -- 

our pain, 

our anger, 

our questions, 

our doubts.

They even suggest that genuine biblical faith is comfortable challenging God. And that God is present with us precisely when it feels like God isn't there.

While these psalms are a way of expressing anger and confusion, they do so in a way which claims the promise of God's presence in the midst of our suffering and also the promise that the God-who-is-with-us will preserve us from evil and bring us to a new day when the sun will rise and light will dawn.[i]

I am guessing that at some point in your life you wanted to shake your fist at God and ask why?

[followed by a PPT of Out of the Depths I cry to you O Lord.]

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[i]  https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3270

Following Jesus is costly.

The section we heard this morning continues from last week’s reading. Jesus is talking with the disciples, preparing them to go out in mission.

But this isn’t what we expect a pep talk to sound like. Here the disciples are told it will be difficult, and some people will hate them because of the message of Jesus.
The life of faith is not necessarily easy.
remember the song: I never promised a rose garden.

We are not promised life will be easy,
or that we will not have difficulties along the way.
We are promised new life and the presence of Jesus with us.

I know many people get concerned about the section that talks about the division within a family. Family members will be turned against each other.     

Following Jesus was costly.

Matthew's Gospel was written in part to encourage synagogue members to risk separation from family and friends in order to follow Jesus.[i]
following Jesus is not about being popular,
or rich,
or famous.

Being a disciple, we hear again and again is about
 ‘not being afraid’
following in the way of Jesus
putting Jesus first.

And that is what this section is about.
The disciples are about to go out into the mission field,
in pairs,
relying on the hospitality of people they meet.

Not everyone will like you, and some may try and kill you.
This was time when the early Christians were leaving the synagogues, no longer being both Christian and Jewish. For many this meant being exiled from their families, at a time when family meant having somewhere to live and a place to belong.

But it also meant having a new family, the family of the church.

As a teenager, many people knew me as my father’s daughter. That is what I would be called. My dad was such a larger than life figure, that we were Ross Bannister’s, wife, daughter and son. We didn’t have our own names.

Dad and I were close in many ways, and had lots in common, until I started going to church. My relationship with parents, particularly my father, changed. He didn’t want a religious daughter, so me going to church meant that I was different. I had changed. At times, I had to choose between pleasing my parents and doing what I thought was right in my relationship with God. Those decisions were not easy.  

Jesus is not saying ignore your family, but that obedience to Jesus will relativize household relationships.^[ii]   That is your family relationship will be secondary to your relationship with God through Jesus.

We often hear about Christian or Biblical family values, yet here we have Jesus calling into question the idolatry of the family and warns that the gospel may divide rather than unite the home."^[iii]

The Message paraphrase of the Bible puts it this way: I’ve come to cut through these cosy domestic arrangements and free you for God. [the Message]

Parents often have an idea about what they would like their child to be like as they grow up; such as a musician or a sportsperson. Some families have very specific expectations. Other people will also have expectations about what you will do with your life.

If we are to be disciples, followers of Jesus, we need to be able to follow God’s dream for who we are, not our parents, or our bosses, or our children, or even our own dreams.

It can be difficult growing into the person God calls us to be, and this passage recognises that, and again Jesus tells the disciples to not be afraid.

This morning as we celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the Uniting Church,
as we recognise people who have offered leadership,
as we commission elders and church councillors,
what are we being asked to give up for Jesus?
where are we being asked to step out in faith?
what is the mission field we are being sent out to?

Are we willing to take the risk?

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[i] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_25_2017

[ii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3303

[iii] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_25_2017  

Following Jesus: Compassion, Healing and Liberation

After Lent and Easter seasons, we now go back to earlier chapters of the gospel of Matthew, picking up not far from where we were in late February.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7, are the Sermon on the Mount. After Jesus comes down from the Mountain, there are lots of healings, and the stilling of the storm. Then this section we heard this morning.

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  But why?

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [Matthew 9:36]

Jesus saw the crowd, not noticed them, or pushed them away, but saw them, really saw them and their deepest needs, and had compassion for them.

And Jesus sees us, and has compassion on us.

We live in a time when many people feel pressure to have the perfect home and family and job and life;
     to have it altogether;
     to be successful
     not to be seen to have any failings or doubts.

The good news is that:
“God loves not the persons we’re trying to be
or have promised to be
or want to be,
but the ones we are.” [i]  

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  Who are they?

The disciples are a motley crew,

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

Peter is the one who will deny Jesus, Judas betrays Jesus, Matthew was a tax collector, and therefore working with the Romans, and Simon the Cananaean or "zealot" worked against them.  What a mixture.

Jesus didn’t wait until there were 12 perfect disciples;
twelve people who knew exactly what they were doing.
Jesus sent the disciples,
a diverse group in terms of temperament,
political leanings and
previous jobs.[ii]

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  For what?

As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. [Matthew 10: 7-8]

The disciples were sent to the people to do as Jesus has been doing: healing, liberating, speaking the good news in word and action.

….

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  What about us?

Surely, he didn’t mean us???

As we approach the UCA anniversary next week, I have seen a number of articles asking what it means to be church, some general, and some more specifically about the Uniting Church.

In General, what does it mean to be Church, or part of the church?

a group who gather to read scripture and sing hymns
people who care for each other
defenders of God and Jesus
fans of Jesus

Are we also sent out to heal and liberate, to speak good news of love and forgiveness?

From the third Paragraph of the Basis of Union:

…… The Church's call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole, an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself. …[iii]

In a world where violence and war,
poverty and oppression
flood and drought
corruption

and pain and grief and despair

fills our days and nights;

what do we, as church,
     the people of God,
     the body of Christ,
     the fellowship of the Spirit;

do?
what is our role?

…….

In Romans, we read of faith, grace and hope;
and God’s love being poured into our hearts.
I wonder if that is like getting a heart transplant,
or at least a blood transfusion?

If God’s love has been poured into our hearts,
does this mean we now feel compassion
as Jesus felt compassion for the crowd,
who were harassed and helpless?

Paul doesn’t speak of any easy life, but speaks of suffering and endurance. A life that is full of hope, where we are held in the grace of Christ, have peace with God, and God’s love is in our hearts.

That sounds like a lot to offer to the world around us:

     lonely neighbours
     grieving friends
     soldiers with PTSD
     families at breaking point.
How can bring healing and hope and liberation?

One thing that surprises me about Jesus in this passage from Matthew, is that he trusts this diverse group of people, ordinary people, to go and heal and liberate and speak Good News.

We can give money to charities researching disease,
we can give money to overseas development programs,
we can give to environmental and advocacy groups,
and all those things can bring about positive change in people’s lives.

But maybe Jesus is calling us to not only give money,
but to be transformed by the love of God,
the compassion of Jesus and
the indwelling and unpredictable Holy Spirit blowing in our lives.

And when we have been transformed by compassion and love,
we are sent to do the same:
to show the love we have been shown
to have compassion as Jesus has compassion for us
wherever possible to speak Good News.
Remembering the words of St. Francis of Assisi,
"Preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words."[iv]

The disciples were sent to the people to do as Jesus has been doing: healing, liberating, speaking the good news in word and action.
Maybe that is what church is about, to accept the commission of Jesus, to be sent to offer healing and hope and liberation.

While I know some people have been physically healed, for me the emotional healing in me has been life changing, enabling me to no longer the burdens of dashed hopes and hurtful words.
While I may not be able to stop someone from dying, I can speak words of comfort
I can’t take away the grief of the death of a loved one, I can sit and hold the sacred space for their tears
I can’t take away the horror of violence and war, I can use words of peace and value each human life.

The disciples were sent to the people to do as Jesus has been doing: healing, liberating, speaking the good news in word and action.

“We are expected to resemble him [Jesus] in word and deed. To be sent by Jesus is, in some sense, to be sent as Jesus.”[v]

When have you been Jesus for someone?

When has someone been Jesus for you?

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[i] David Lose: In the Meantime http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/pentecost-2-a-telling-the-truth-twice/

[ii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3299

[iii] https://assembly.uca.org.au/images/stories/Regulations/2012/Basis1992.pdf

[iv] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_18_2017

[v] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3299  

Creation, Responsibility and Promise

Something I read this week: “This is the big lie that the world tells us: The world is connected by trade agreements, electronic banking, computer networks, shipping lanes, and the seeking of profit - nothing else. This is the truth of God: Creation is a holy web of relationship, a gift meant for all; it vibrates with the pain of all its parts; its destiny is joy."[i]

Others would tell us we are consumers, clients and customers; our only contribution and identity is in our financial fingerprint.

When we watch the news, we see war and greed.

We hear of death and division.

The story we tell of creation, of the earth or an organisation, or a congregation, says something of the values of the entity.  In 2 weeks we celebrate the anniversary of the Uniting Church, I wonder what story we tell about the formation and identity of the UCA?

Is it one of joy and trust, unease at change?

For me one of the great things about the formation of the UCA is “... that its primary concern was not simply with the mechanical problem of how to achieve a merger of three institutions, but with the existential question of what it means to be the church in Australia in the second half of the twentieth century.”[1]

If we look at Genesis 1, looking for truth not science or history, we just might find out who we belong to, and our role in life.[ii]

There are many creation stories, and one commentator ‘describes the shaping of the creation narrative of Genesis as a counter-cultural protest of the people of Israel against the creation story of their Babylonian captors. While their oppressors saw the origins of the universe as violent and bloody, the Israelites told their children a different story, a story rooted in goodness and blessing’.[iii]

We are connected to each other and the whole of creation.

In Genesis, we read of God making people in the image of God.

In psalm 8, people are a little lower than God.

And both the Psalm and Genesis give humanity ‘dominion’ over the creation. We have animals and birds and fish and plants to eat. 

With dominion comes responsibility, for each other and all of creation. We are given this responsibility by God. We may be ‘over’ the rest of creation, but only at the pleasure of God, as an ambassador.[iv]

Our role is the care for the earth and creation, as God does. We are told in Genesis that God saw the creation as good, do we treat creation as good and beautiful, or something to be used with regard for the future?

It is easy to act out of a sense of entitlement rather than one of responsibility. [v]

As people created in the “image of God,” Christians are summoned to reflect God’s care for the world of creation and for human community. In that calling, we have an example and a model in Jesus, the quintessential image of God.[vi]

We are created in the image of God, we have been given responsibility for the care of creation, but we are not God.

Matthew’s gospel ends with what is generally known as the Great Commission, Go and make disciples of all nations …, how do we do this?

By baptising and teaching. The baptism formula is Trinitarian – today, we still baptise in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

There is also a promise in this passage: ‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ One person calls this passage the Great Promise. [vii]

The promise that we are not on our own.

The creation story reminds us who we belong to – God

That creation came out of goodness, love and blessing

And that shows us how to take on our responsibility for the earth – with goodness, love and blessing

And in all this we are not on our own, we are:

Created in the image of God

Accompanied by Jesus

Filled with the Holy Spirit

What would you dream, dare, and do if you believed that Jesus is with you, no matter what.”

what would you do if you knew that God was for you and with you no matter what and forever.[viii]

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[1] Dutney, thesis, p53; see also second report of Joint Commission, p8

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[i] I like this quote from Julie Polter, from Facebook Nicked off Sue Weller McKinnon's page

[ii] Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe in https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/06/07/revised-common-lectionary-it-was-good/

[iii] Kathryn Matthews in http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_11_2017

[iv] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3298

[v] Kathryn Matthews in http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_11_2017

[vi] Walter C. Bouzard  in https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3300

[vii] http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/trinity-sunday-a-the-great-promise/

[viii] http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/trinity-sunday-a-the-great-promise/

Trinity Sunday

Today is Trinity Sunday – that day when I am told that Ministers take the day off to avoid talking about the Trinity.

Picture of kitten: How not to commit heresy preaching on the Trinity
Say nothing and show pictures of kittens instead.

As Christians, we have a Trinitarian faith. The God we hear of in the Old Testament and New Testament are one God. The Creator, is the same God who walked the earth as Jesus, is the same God as the Holy Spirit.

For me the Trinity is a reminder that we cannot fully understand or explain the mystery of God, and God is not limited to what we can imagine or understand.

One of the implications of the doctrine of the trinity is non-hierarchical relationships; living in community, being co-equals, even when gifted differently; none of the ways in which God relates to us being more important than others. At various times, some images of God, or ways of thinking about God will be more important to us, individually, but that doesn’t mean they are more important. One of the traps Christians can fall into is taking one part of the trinity out of the relationship.

If we see God the Father, as God, and leave out the Son and the Spirit, we can live as if God is distant, or only interested in a particular ethnic or religious group. ^[1]

Where the main object of devotion is Jesus, we can have a religion of pious devotion, where salvation is in the next life and there is little or no effort in overcoming oppression or poverty in this life. ^[2] This type of religion can also be authoritarian as the words or deeds of Jesus become codified rather than living as part of a Trinitarian faith. ^[3]  

Worshipping the Spirit, without the Father and Jesus tends to elevate the experience of the believer above all else. Here the Spirit is disconnected from God and Jesus. ^[4]

Trinitarian faith helps us to see God more fully, and to see ourselves more fully. As we worship God in trinity, in relationship, we can be aware of our sin, and our need for forgiveness and transformation. We can be aware of our tendency towards individualism and our need to live in community with God and each other. We can be aware of the injustice around us and work with God to transform society. 

A quote: “God loves in freedom, lives in community and wills creatures to live in community. God is self-sharing, other-regarding, community-forming love.”^[5]

That means we are included in the love relationship that is God, a relationship that leads to community and allows us to live in freedom.

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[1] Migliore, p 64.

[2] Migliore, p65.

[3] Dicker, p53.

[4] Migliore, p65

[5] Migliore, p 64.