The Rev. Carol S. Wedell
July 27, 2008

Every Sunday, in churches around the world, of virtually every denomination and type, congregations join together in the prayer that Jesus taught us - the Lord's prayer.  And every week, we and millions of other Christians pray for God's kingdom to come - on earth as it is in heaven.  But what does God's kingdom look like?  What does it mean for it to come on earth?

Three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke all spend a great deal of time talking about God's kingdom and what it means to be people who help to bring it about.  Matthew usually calls it the Kingdom of heaven.  Luke usually calls it the Kingdom of God.  Sometimes we translate it as the reign or realm of God.  Because we are so far removed from the concept of "kingdom" these days, some have suggested the word "kin-dom" - that place where life with one another is lived within God's presence.  Whatever language we use, the realm of God is that place where things are as God would want them to be.

Clearly, as we pray, "on earth as in heaven," we acknowledge that the kingdom of God is not something that is saved for after we die.  No, we hear repeatedly in the gospels, "the kingdom of God is at hand, it's arrived, its here -- now."

The only problem is that even in Matthew's day, folks were beginning to question if the world was any different than before Jesus had come.  How had the kingdom come?  How were they supposed to recognize it?  Jesus certainly didn't bring the political kingdom that Jewish tradition had taught them to expect.  So Jesus taught them through parables to help them begin to see signs of the kingdom that were right in front of them.

This is the third week we have spent with different parables in the 13^th chapter of Matthew, giving us pictures where words alone fail. Each parable asks us to see things with new eyes, and to be surprised each time we return to it to find yet another meaning.  It's been said that if you think you understand the true meaning of a parable, that's a sure sign that you haven't gotten it.  For parables have multiple meanings.

But this week our parables are a little different.  Instead of a longer story followed by an explanation, we have quick snap shots of what the kingdom is like.  Jesus looks like he is on a simile binge.  The kingdom is like . . . a mustard seed . . . a bit of yeast in dough . . . a hidden treasure . . . a pearl of great value . .. a net catching fish.   From agriculture, to the kitchen to the marketplace and the sea.  What a collection of quick kingdom pictures!   At first glance, they don't seem to have much in common.

Personally, I've always liked the parable of the mustard seed - because something small could be important.  Since I virtually always stand in the front row for pictures, and am eternally grateful for the built-in step in the pulpit, I kind of like the idea of "small is good."

In fact, William Willimon tells a wonderful story that illustrates the power of a simple action. He knew a woman in her 80's who baked oatmeal cookies twice a week in batches of 30 or more and then took them to the local youth prison camp.  Willimon thought it was a charming gesture - something nice for her to do to occupy herself.

The superintendent of the prison camp saw it a bit differently.  "Those cookies have transformed this whole place.  Some of the young men who are incarcerated here have never in their whole lives received a gift from anybody until they got a bag of those cookies.  They stand there at the door, behind the bars, eagerly awaiting those cookies, as if they were a bunch of little boys on Christmas Day, rather than a group of convicted criminals.  Those cookies have changed them."  (Pulpit Resource, Vol. 36, No. 3, page 19)

Looking at all of these quick vignettes together, we see that there is a common theme. As Jesus is throwing out these various images at a fast and furious pace, he's also pointing out one of the most remarkable truths from the gospel: the unexpected hiddenness of the kingdom of God.  In quick snap shots, the kingdom of God is something hidden which must be found. And not only is it hidden, it is hidden right in front of their eyes - if they can see it. 

It reminds me of the "hidden pictures" page in Highlights magazine or the Where's Waldo? books.  You can overlook what's right in front of you because your eye is pulled in other directions.  It's there if we can lift our eyes from other distractions, things of less importance.  We need to pay attention or we may miss God's presence right in our midst.

The reign of God, according to Jesus, looks small, even tiny. It looks foolish. In fact, the kingdom can even disappear completely the way a seed gets buried in the soil.  It takes 750 mustard seeds to equal one gram. Drop one tiny seed into the dirt and you'll never be able to see it.  And as any baker knows, once yeast is in the dough you can't somehow separate it from the rest of the ingredients - and you certainly can't see it. Yet these tiny things have great effects. God's world is here but it's modest. It's hidden. It's quiet.

These short parables invite us - challenge us - to see those quiet or hidden places where God is at work in our lives - yours and mine.   On our recent mission trip to West Virginia, the youth got used to me asking as we debriefed each day, "where did you see God today?"  "In a little boy as he worked so hard to read."  "In the girls who invited me to have lunch with them."  "As Ms. Patty sprayed us with water in the kitchen."  "As a homeless man stood to say grace."  Right in front of our eyes - if we took the time to look.

So where have you seen signs of God's kingdom, God's presence in your life this week?  I experienced the presence of God in the voice of cousin over the phone, in a planning meeting (yes - even within the church!), in a circle of women, in the phenomenal weather changes that occurred within minutes.  How about you?

Whenever we can see beyond the clutter and materialism of our world to begin to see God's world breaking in, it's a good thing.  It helps keep us focused on what's most important and it connects us both to God and one another.  The places where you and I have seen and experienced God's presence this week are not wrong answers.

But I learned something this week that had me take another look - especially at those first two parable pictures - the mustard seed and the yeast. We're used to thinking about the mustard seed as a nice story about the power of a tiny seed - and no doubt there is truth in that.  But the mustard tree (shrub, actually) is a weed, and no one in their right mind would plant a wild, profusely growing weed in their garden.

From a Jewish perspective it would have judged harshly for two reasons.  First it introduced chaos and wild disorder, which is contrary to the order with which God has created the world.  Second, as the mustard shrub grew and shed more seeds, they would intermingle with what was already there - and that would be considered unclean.

Likewise, yeast or leaven was considered a symbol of moral corruption - the rotten apple in the barrel.  And here is Jesus using it as an example of how God's kingdom breaks in!

Jesus takes two tiny, common things - a mustard seed and a bit of yeast - two things not valued or appreciated at all in Jewish society - and holds them up as examples of where and how God is at work in the world. Low and behold, God is back in the weeds again!  Jesus is not choosing anything impressive here to talk about God's kingdom!

And maybe that's the point.  That we spend far too much time looking for God in that which our world deems good, and valuable and important.  But God's not there.  God's hanging out with the weeds, and those things which aren't all that honorable.  Kind of like Jesus hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors.  It's all upside down and doesn't match our expectations.  Once again, God surprises us by working with the ordinary, the everyday, the things and people that our world deems of little worth.

For those of you who haven't seen the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, this is a spoiler alert.  I won't be giving the entire plot away, just one part which I think is a great example of how we may find God's presence and kingdom where we least expect it.  Two ferry boats are leaving Gotham City in an effort to get away from the Joker's deadly threats.  One boat is full of hardened criminals, the other of regular men, women and children.  The joker tells them that both boats are rigged with explosives - and the trigger to those explosives is in the hands of the folks on the other boat.  By midnight, if neither boat has "pulled the trigger" they'll both explode.

The tension builds as you watch the faces of the people on each boat.  The boat with ordinary folks takes a vote - a vote to pull the trigger.  Of course, at that point, no one wants to be the one to do it.  Finally, one man stands up and says, "OK, if none of you are brave enough, I'll do it."  And he stands there, holding the device that holds the welfare of scores of other people in his hands.

On the other boat, one of the guards is holding the trigger. As the clock ticks toward midnight, you can feel the restlessness continue to build.  The biggest, meanest - looking inmate walks up to him and says, "You're not used to killing people, are you?  Here, let me do what you should have done ten minutes ago."  He takes the trigger out of the guard's hands - and throws it out the window.  The kingdom of God where you least expect to see it.  Expectations turned upside down.  Compassion where one would expect self-protection. 

Keep your eyes open.  We need to catch every glimpse of God's work in the world that we can.  And by God's grace, may you and I be a part of that important work.