God's Kingdom is like...

Sermon Notes Proper 6 June 13, 2021 And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." A famous mathematician was asked by a student, "What is the difference between positive infinity and negative infinity?" Meaning, what is different about the infinity at the end of the progression of positive integers from that at the end of the progression of negative integers. The mathematician thought about that for a moment then answered: all the points in between. Set that aside for a moment and we will come back to it. Jesus is trying to tell his listeners about the kingdom of God. Surely Jesus knows exactly what the kingdom of God is like. He is of the kingdom of God and he will return to the kingdom of God when his earthly mission is complete. His followers lack Jesus' perspective but their curiosity is deep. So we catch a glimpse here of Jesus having to search for the language and the metaphor needed to transmit a knowledge about the kingdom of God to his eager listeners. In language and symbols that they will understand. This theme will become a major chord of Jesus' earthly ministry. As we progress through Mark's Gospel we will see time and again Jesus saying "The kingdom of God is like," or words to that effect. In our reading today he gives two metaphors. The first is of a man, a farmer, who scatters seed on the ground and then waits and watches as his crop comes in. There is a sense of marvel as the blade first appears, then the ear and finally the mature grain. The grain is ready for harvest and the whole sequence can and will be repeated. Jesus' second example is a bit more expansive. Here he likens it to a small inconspicuous mustard seed that when grown produces a tree large enough to sprout branches birds can nest in. The common ground is that both are metaphors of life emerging from inauspicious beginnings to achieve spectacular results. The key to understanding these parables lies in the progression and direction of the change that takes place. The kingdom of God moves in one direction and without failure. It begins ex-hihilo, from nothing. It culminates in abundance. If we might bring our mathematician back into view, the difference between negative infinity, (ex-nihilo) and positive infinity (abundance) is all the steps in between. Those steps we do know something about. We may not know of the nothingness from which we were created, or of the glory to which we will go. But we know about the steps in between, the journey. Jesus is telling his followers that the kingdom of God is a guided movement in one direction, toward abundance. It may not always seem that way to us. Our journey may seem more like a night walk through a forest, with little idea of where we have been or where we are going. Jesus assures us that this isn't so. The seed of grain will become the full ear and the mustard seed will become a glorious tree because that is what God ordains them to be. Just as he ordains you and I to grow in His Spirit into his own likeness, and be fruitful. It's a process. A step at a time, moving with God toward God. Last week we read about the coming of sin into the world and the devastation sin has on God's creation. The root cause allowing sin to enter into Eden was that moment of indecision when mankind doubted God's word. At the end of Genesis 3, God has pity on Adam and Eve and makes clothing for them to shield them from the cold and thorns waiting for them outside of Eden. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out huis hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the Lord banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Gen 3: 21-24 (NIV) The parameters of man's journey back to God, back to the tree of life, are thereby set. Mankind no longer sees the clear path back to the kingdom of God. His way is obscured by hardship and the consequences of his own sin. God cannot allow him back into the garden in his present state of sinfulness. At the same time, God has mercy on Adam and Eve and provides for them. He shows them he will not forget them or desert them. The flaming sword flashing back and forth is both a strong deterrent and a beacon to remind them of where they began and where they long to go again. It is no coincidence that Jesus uses the imagery of a tree to describe the kingdom of God. Mankind has been looking for that tree of life since the Fall. Jesus invokes it here to remind his listeners that the kingdom of God has not changed. It is still the abundant tree that gives life even as the mustard tree provides life and refuge to the birds of the air. What is unspoken is the role that Jesus himself will play when he climbs the tree of Calvary and becomes himself the Way to the Father. Well, what are we to make of all this imagery, this parable of the kingdom of God? Several lessons come to mind. First, the Lord is Lord of all. We are helpless to do what he does and ignorant of his ways. As Isaiah wrote "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Is 55: 8,9. The farmer stands in awe of the grain growing in front of him. It is a mystery how the mustard seed grows into the tree of life. Our response is to praise His Name and realize that we too flourish under that same banner of love. If we try to bring God down to our level we deny him. If we try to raise ourselves to His, we delude ourselves. There is comfort living in the cloud of unknowing. Second, God's way is good. He created the world in goodness and will end it in goodness. When we are surrounded by evidence of bad people, bad events, and bad fears, we must remember that God's trajectory is toward goodness. The kingdom of God is the triumph of goodness over badness. Even though we may not know what that looks like, being surrounded by so much badness, we are assured that goodness will prevail. The kingdom of God is a one-way street. Finally, We are not as ignorant or helpless as we may appear because Jesus himself is the way and the truth and the light. Through him are all things known that are known. When we catch hold of Jesus our folly becomes his wisdom. The kingdom of God does indeed come near when we behold his face. That's why Paul could always be of good courage no matter his circumstances. He may have been in chains, but he was bound to the tree of life. To what would you compare the kingdom of God? For me, it is knowing that God loves me, that Jesus walks with me, and together we are bound for glory. Amen.