“The kingdom of heaven is like…” How would you complete that sentence?
In today’s readings, we have several different images for what the kingdom of heaven is like. Solomon dreams of a kingdom of heaven with wisdom to rule; Paul, in his letter to the Romans, dreams of a kingdom of heaven that is in the process of being born; and Jesus presents various images of what the kingdom of heaven may be like—a mustard seed, yeast, treasure in a field, a pearl of great value, a net full of fish—from which the good and the bad can be sorted.
At first glance, these many images of the kingdom of heaven contradict what we have heard in the past weeks. Wasn’t there a parable concerned with the path, the rocks, the thorns and the good soil? Didn’t we just hear last week that the weeds were the children of the evil one and that the devil is the one who plants the seeds? Shouldn’t we be concerned about the weeds in our fields or where the seeds of our ministry fall? Shouldn’t we be seeking a world of stability rather than become the source of corruption and deceit? If heaven is where we are going, then shouldn’t these images be more orderly and fulfilling? Can’t Jesus make up his mind?
All these images have subversive overtones to them. Today especially, these readings remind us that the kingdom of heaven is not about the “there and then” world of living in the fullness of God’s presence. Rather, it is about how the world here on earth has been changed from the time of Jesus’ baptism when the heavens were opened.
The boundary between heaven and earth allowed us to say who is “in” and who is “out” because we thought we understood who God had “chosen” as God’s people for inclusion. But, with the boundary opened at Jesus’ baptism and the in-breaking of God’s kingdom presence among us, we realize we can’t know the ultimate choosing; that choice is now God’s alone. We are reminded that all that God has created and continues to create is God’s kingdom, but Matthew, who was probably Jewish, honors the Jewish tradition of not saying God’s name. Matthew uses a euphemism or substitute word referring to God when reporting what Jesus said. So, in the Gospel of Matthew, we hear Jesus say, “kingdom of heaven” while Jesus is reported as saying “kingdom of God” in the other Gospels.
Regardless, the language of these parables and dreams in today’s readings is not for an afterlife; rather each refers to welfare of God’s people here and now. Solomon dreams of a kingdom ruled with wisdom rather than power and wealth.
Paul, writes to the center of power in his time saying, not only that change is needed, but that the authority of Rome is about to encounter something new as the earth groans in labor giving birth to something other than Roman authority—Christ’s resurrection hope and life. The people are groaning inwardly as they await the adoption into a new way of living that is not Roman. The Holy Spirit, not the emperor, is now watching over the people, praying for them with sighs too great for words, and then Paul pushes the dream of the kingdom to include God’s intent that all should be saved. Those whom God has chosen, the social dead of his world, God also calls; and those whom God has called, God makes right through the dying and rising of Christ. Those whom God has saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God loves; and there is nothing that can separate us from that love!
In the face of Roman power, Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like an invasive weed that will eventually dominate the field with a new population. In the midst of the Roman world, the yeast of Jesus’ followers will mix into the culture around them until the culture and social order of the world has been completely changed.
In the field of the world, an empty tomb was found, and the followers of Jesus discovered that the Roman power of death was not the final answer. The resurrection is the pearl of great value that is worth great sacrifice for this “new world” kingdom that cures the sick, raises the dead, cleanses the lepers, and casts out demons, even the demon of imperial lordship. No longer will the people belong to human authority. Instead, the pledge, the creed of the people, becomes, “Jesus is Lord.”
And that net that is cast into the sea? Well, the constricting entrapment of Roman authority, the empire that includes most of the known world, the empire that thinks that it has the right to determine good and bad, that power has been given over to the divine agents of God. The determination of goodness and corruption is given to the angels with God’s authority. It is outside of human governmental legalism. These are powerful dreams and visions of what the kingdom of heaven is, not what it is going to be, and they challenge the Roman authority of the Caesars.
Today these readings continue to challenge us. We are challenged to consider the treasure we have, to consider the cost of the pearl of great value. What sacrifice are we willing to make in order that our treasure or our pearl is worth giving all that we have in order for the kingdom of heaven to gain reality in our world? How are we, like mustard or yeast, going to infiltrate our culture? How does that vision challenge the powers of the world? How does that vision change us?
I cannot give the answer to these questions, in part, because these parables raise more questions than there are answers. What I can say is that these parables help us remember who and whose we are, that the kingdom of heaven is part of our lives. I can also assure you that we have been raised up in the faith and hope of the resurrection and we have been trained to think of our lives in the context of that faith and hope. We are not the scribes or writers of the story that has been written, but we are the writers of the faith story that will be told in the future so I ask you to join in the dream of Christ’s kingdom imaginings. What will the kingdom be like? How will you complete the simile language of the modern parable for our world? What are we willing to do to make that dream come true? How are we going to share that dream outside our doors?
Now it’s your turn to complete the sentence. “The kingdom of heaven is like …”
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