The Kingdom of Heaven is Like
Joint Worship at Park Hill UCC
Salem UCC, Berkley UCC, Washington
Park UCC, Park View UCC, 6th Ave UCC, Mt View United, and
Park Hill UCC and Kirk of Bonnie Brae UCC
July 27, 2014
Sermon prepared and
delivered in Dialogue form byBy Rev Steven R Mitchell (Mt View United), Rev
Jack Wieczorek (6th Ave), and Lizka Randall (Berkeley Com)
Matthew 13:31-33
(paraphrase provided by Rev Chris Gilmore)
And
so he put before them another parable - the kingdom of heaven, that is
life with God is like a pine nut that falls into your yard and in the course of
years grows into a huge pine tree….even eagles come and build nests in
it….God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of
loaves of barley bread and waits while the dough rises….God’s kingdom is like
finding a stock certificate for many shares of Apple stock that you
bought 25 years ago for $15 and realize you are now a millionaire…God’s kingdom
is like Bill Gates finding the most unique kind of metal, one that would make
the perfect computer chip that could hold more data than any previous chip, and
selling his entire company, selling Microsoft, just to buy this perfect
metal. God’s kingdom is like John Elway giving up his job as
vice-president of the Broncos, selling his dealerships and restaurants, selling
his house and moving to the slums of Rio de Janiero to volunteer his efforts
and his time to help those in need. The kingdom of heaven is like an addict who
wakes up one day and says, “I am done with that life…I am someone.”
(Steven) Would someone please tell me how you
understand what Jesus means when He says: “the
Kingdom of Heaven is like...”?
(Jack) Well, let me just say a bit about the word
“Kingdom.” I have a problem using a word that is both patriarchal and also
tends to refer to a human form of organization. I prefer the word “realm” which
speaks more to the full breadth of creation. It includes rocks and stars and
animals and all that we can imagine.
(Lizka) And the word “heaven”.... that sounds a bit
like it is referring to an afterlife. But what if, what Jesus had in mind, was
our life here on earth-- he speaks of everyday things, everyday activities,
trees growing, putting yeast in bread, buying land, casting fishing
nets...things we do here among one another.
(Steven Responds) Let me share with you a powerful
experience I had some years ago. I love the Grand Canyon, and as I was growing
up, I read all sorts of literature pertaining to the Grand Canyon. I loved
looking at pictures and watching documentaries about it on T.V. Finally I had
the opportunity to visit this amazing canyon. Nothing that I had read or
watched on T.V. Could prepare me for the utter experience of “awe” that I had
when I actually stood at the edge of the canyon. It was so powerful that tears
came to my eyes. I think the realm of God is just like that feeling of total
“awesomeness” which can be experienced in the tangibles of this world.
(Jack) This morning's scripture talks about mustard
seeds and yeast, but really doesn't address how we interact as humans. Yet for
me that is a major part of what the realm of God is about. I cannot imagine
that best of all places existing without the presence of social justice and
real peace. God's realm is a place of complete inclusivity and the equitable
distribution of the things that make life possible. What do you think, Lizka?
(Lizka) I agree, God's realm on Earth will be a
kin-dom, as in kinship, a kinship of all people and a kinship with the earth
and its inhabitants. But I have something else on my mind, too, what does the
kin-dom or realm of God require of us? What do we have to do to bring it about?
In the scripture, the merchant in search of fine pearls sold everything he had
in order to get the one pearl of great value. What does that mean for us,
Steven what do you think?
(Steven) Lizka, I think it is addressing “taking a
risk”. If we think about what the scripture is saying, it tells of the person
who is searching and then finds the pearl or a hidden treasure in the field,
and when they found that treasure or that perfect pearl, they sold everything
to purchase it. When the one who re-buried
his treasure to go off to purchase the field, there was no guarantee that while
he was gone someone else would not have
found that treasure and claimed it for their own. Isn't that what we as congregations
are about? We have a message of “God's
love” that we share with everyone, but there is no guarantee that people will
respond to our message or accept what we wish to share, but unless we take the
risk of sharing, then others miss out and so do we.
(Jack) In other words, life with God, is
life-changing. Life with God, is better than the most breath-taking thing we
can imagine. We scour the streets, we plant seeds, we search the stores,
and when we find the divine presence nothing else compares. Jesus talks
about people who were going through their lives and got surprised by what they
discovered…their seeds grew beyond their wildest imagination, the pearls they
found in the fields were beyond comparison....that is what life with God is
like.
(Turn to audience and
ask this question and give instructions about the small slips of paper to put
up at the 4 stations.)
(Jack) Here
is our question to all of you: What is the “Realm of God like” to you?
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