In Matthew’s gospel, the writer is trying to project how the world should be if it really wants to be like the Kingdom or Realm of God on earth as it is in heaven, just like we recite in the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday. The kingdom or realm that Jesus mentions in these parables is an inclusive, merciful and egalitarian community based on the love of a merciful God and loving service to others. No country on earth can claim with honesty that it’s a nation under God. Not Israel, Not America, Not Great Britain, Not even Liechtenstein. I’m not going to mention every nation in the world because that would take us way past lunch time!
One example that Jesus uses to explain the kingdom or realm is the mustard seed. A mustard seed is very small, about the size of a pin’s head. But it grows slowly but steadily. At the time the Roman Emperor Constantine made the Christian faith legal in 313 AD, only ten percent of the entire Empire was Christian. And the Roman Empire covered a large area, from Britain in the north, to the border of Germany in the east, to Spain in the west and the African nations of Libya and Egypt in the south. The Christian faith itself was not impressive at first, the vast majority of Roman citizens were still pagans. But like a mustard seed the kingdom grew and became home for many.
The Kingdom also comes in hidden and unexpected ways, as described in the parable of the yeast. When you purchase yeast today it comes in neat little packages. But Jesus was talking about leaven, which was a rotten, moldy lump of bread. The woman in the parable took and hid the yeast in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough. But the message of this parable is that God’s Kingdom takes hold in hidden and unexpected places.
The parables of the treasure and pearl show us where our allegiances should really be. One can think the treasure seeker was behaving badly by burying what he found. However the theme of these parables is that both the treasure and the pearl cannot be kept secret, just as God’s Kingdom must not be secret. We are to spread the Good News of what the Kingdom really is by the teachings of Jesus from the gospels. Just like the mustard seed growing and spreading, people need to realize they can experience the kingdom right here on earth.
If we can do this, we might have to give up something. And that is probably something of worldly value. Jesus emphasized this with his encounter with the young rich man. Jesus told him, “If you want to be part of the Kingdom of God, sell everything you own and give all the money to the poor” (Matthew 19:21). The young man refused to do that. Now Jesus did not tell every potential follower to do that, but Jesus knew the man’s heart that wealth would always be his priority.
Really following Jesus can lead to rejection by any society. In the Third World nations, Christians there already know that. It will even make you unpopular in America if you actually follow the teachings of Jesus. A lot of good American Christians have been jailed for their advocacy for peace instead of war, civil rights instead of segregation, and advocating food for the poor instead of food cuts. I can’t recall how many times the Rev. William Barber has been arrested for his advocacy for the poor. But all of these are Jesus Values that all Christians should support. There is no true way to follow Jesus without picking up your own cross. And many people have turned down lucrative careers to follow the Human One (Jesus the Christ). Others have given their lives.
The kingdom of God begins small, but the Good News sprouts like flowers in Springtime. It’s a treasure that cannot be hidden. The treasure is realizing that God should not be viewed as a god who likes to punish people. Through Jesus we meet God as God really is. A God of forgiveness, grace and love. We meet God and God’s kingdom whenever we meet to make the world a better place for everyone, especially the neglected.
The parable of the net of fish means that God’s kingdom is open to everyone. It catches both the good and the bad. Some questionable people might surprise many by growing into genuine Kingdom people. But others, who seemed promising in the beginning will fall away. The teachings of Jesus do not go well with the so-called myth of the “American Dream,” based on success, wealth and prestige. There is a cost to being a disciple of Christ.
The famous book, “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is often seen as a devotional classic. But the book was really written for a small group of German pastors who had the courage to denounce Hitler from the pulpit. Their congregations were called the Confessing Churches. Unfortunately, the vast majority of German Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, had been seduced by the oratory of Hitler and the propaganda of the Nazi Regime. Their churches were called “Reich Churches” and had the Nazi swastika flag alongside the Cross of Christ. Bonhoeffer offered a challenging picture of a calling to be a faithful witness to God’s spoken Word in the context through the Incarnate, Crucified and Risen Christ. Unfortunately, most German Christians ignored Bonhoeffer’s message and he was later arrested. Bonhoeffer was later ordered to be executed by Hitler’s personal command, just days before Allied troops were ready to liberate him from a Nazi prison.
As Bonhoeffer said, “The Word of God cannot be forced onto the world, since the strength of the Word is its lowliness.” It is very tragic that often through the centuries, force and violence were used to convert people to the Christian faith.
God’s glorious Kingdom is with us in places we least expect. The bright stars we see during a dark night are part of it. A beautiful waterfall is also part of God’s Realm. And sometimes the Realm of God are things not seen, but felt, like a cool breeze during the heat of summer. The realm of God can exist in a Buddhist community which advocates the same values Jesus taught, while a Church that preaches the false “prosperity gospel” does not.
When we examine the reading from 1st Kings, we learn about a young monarch named Solomon who asked God for advice on how to govern his kingdom. We can draw some differences between Solomon and his father, who was former King David of Israel. David had been a successful warrior in battle, but not very wise on other things. David had raped Bathsheba and there is no way to sugar-coat it like the movies have done. During that time in Israel no woman could refuse her king’s desires. To make matters worse, Bathsheba became pregnant and King David tried to cover it up by having her husband murdered. His son Solomon was the second child that Bathsheba and David had. Their first child died soon after birth. Solomon by contrast, was not a warrior, but more of an intellectual. Solomon is rewarded by God for his humbleness toward God. God is impressed by Soloman’s humility, by not asking for power and wealth, but instead asking for knowledge to govern his people and to distinguish between good and evil.
This reading shows God’s interest and involvement in human affairs and what leaders of nations are doing. Are they governing their own kingdoms with the values that God’s Son Jesus had talked about? This is a story of a true God who leans in, who wants to be involved in the drama of nations. How else does one explain that now and then, that grace breaks into the conscience of nations to change the systems that perpetuate oppression? The end of the evil of slavery in the United States, is but one of many examples.
An ideal kingdom in the eyes of God would be one that operates with fairness and justice. Justice for those wronged and with the belief no one is above the law of justice. The humility of Solomon is something that every leader needs to do.
The Kingdom of God is a free gift with no locks on any doors. The Realm of God is not a gated community. God can surprise us when it looks like evil will triumph. But God will always have the last word. Will we ever come close to the kingdom of God on earth? I believe it's being done now. But I’m sure we will find out when we all arrive at the same place Jesus promised the thief on the Cross beside him on Calvary.
AMEN
