11th of Year B
June 2006
Wise men have always advised that a sermon should be like a woman's skirt; long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to hold one’s attention. I am afraid that today's sermon will be a little below the knee!
Today we talk about the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven. They have the same meaning. The Kingdom of God is mentioned 32 times in the Gospels and the Kingdom of Heaven is mentioned 49 times. That is a total of 81 times, so it must be important. Some examples;
- 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off.'
- `The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants.'
- 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding.'
- `The kingdom of Heaven will be like this: Ten wedding attendants took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.'
- `The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.' `It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.'
- `Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, he gave them this answer, 'The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, "Look, it is here! Look, it is there!" For look, the kingdom of God is among you.'
- `In all truth I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.'
- 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.'
- `The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells everything he owns and buys the field.' `Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.' `Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that is cast in the sea and brings in a haul of all kinds of fish.'
Jesus is trying to describe something, which cannot be described in words but we can draw a few conclusions.
The Kingdom of God is not a particular religion or Church but can exist in all religions and all churches. The function of religion and churches is to prepare the ground for the seeds of the Kingdom and to encourage their growth.
The Kingdom of God has no boundaries.
The Kingdom of God is not quantifiable.
Where is the Kingdom of God?
The Kingdom of God is any group of people who are trying to live by kingdom standards.
The Kingdom of God is any individual person who is trying to live by kingdom standards.
The Kingdom of God is the extent to which I have put myself into God's hands. The Kingdom of God is the degree in which I act as if it was God acting in me. The Kingdom of God is the degree to which I treat other people and other things with the respect and reverence that is their due. The Kingdom of God is the extent to which I can ignore my own needs for the benefit of others. The Kingdom of God is the degree to which I share what I have with those in need. The Kingdom of God is how well I do my work. The Kingdom of God exists in its fullness in any-group of people who are striving to live as part of the Holy Trinity family.
The Kingdom of God exists in its fullness in any individual person who is striving to live as part of the Holy Trinity family.
The Kingdom of God, planted in me, is the gift of God. It is God who makes his kingdom to grow in me. I can allow God to make his Kingdom grow in me. I can prevent God from making his Kingdom grow in me.
We are all aware of urgings and promptings within us - to hate, to jealousy, to greed, to lust, to gluttony, to revenge, to hurt, to sloth, to pride, to envy. These are the promptings of the enemy of the Kingdom of God. If we follow these promptings we prevent God from making his Kingdom to grow in us. We are also aware of other urgings and promptings - to forgiveness, to tenderness, to help, to share, to compassion, to love, to respect, to honour. These are the promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we follow these promptings we allow God to make his Kingdom to grow in us.
If the Kingdom of God comes to fruition in just one person, then the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has achieved its purpose totally.