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The Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 13:24-43
Monday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“’The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field, but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat’” (Matthew 13:24-25).
Traveling through the heartland of the United States during the summer, a person gazes upon endless fields of grain—wheat, corn, soybeans. The fields are beautiful, but they aren’t perfect. Even with the latest in herbicides, a few weeds appear. Some people might pay close attention to the weeds and notice how they mare the appearance of the field. A couple of farmers who pass by the fields might make guesstimates of how the presence of weeds will affect the crop yield. To do anything other than pay the weeds a passing notice is, however, to lose sight of the big picture.
The big picture proclaims that the fields—and the earth—are filled with good seed. There is more beauty than there is ugliness. There is more to celebrate than to mourn. Good surpasses evil.
There will come a time when the weeds will need to be eradicated. Until that time, though, there is plenty of opportunities to sing, dance, laugh, celebrate, enjoy and savor the goodness and abundance of creation and God’s overwhelming grace.
Lord, we give you thanks and praise for the good seeds that you have sown and for the glory of your creation. Amen.
Tuesday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go gather them’” (Matthew 13:28)?
Thirty-five year old Greg Sanders stood in front of the mirror and plucked two offensive grey hairs from his beard. Greg judged such hairs to be evil, in his quest to look forever young. We humans have a proclivity for being judgmental and a propensity for being wrong.
When we were in high school, it was the neighboring school—our athletic archrival—who was evil. Somewhere along the line we learned that anyone who was different from us—in color, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion or a multitude of other categories—made them evil. As we matured, it is hoped that we have realized how wrong our previous judgments were, though some of them may still cling tenaciously to us.
Perhaps it was because of our tendency to misjudge that the landowner forbade his servants to pull the weeds. Harm might have been done to the innocent, the good and the community itself. Instead of concentrating on purity, it might be better for us to focus on growth. Instead of criticizing we could encourage. We could help rather than hinder, appreciate and not scorn, and seek inclusion before exclusion.
Forgive us, Lord, when we yield to the temptation of judging. Help us to leave such actions in your hands. Amen.
Wednesday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“’Let them both grow together until harvest’” (Matthew 13:30).
The bumper sticker read, “Jesus is coming again—and he is REALLY pissed!” The bumper sticker reflects this picture of workmen gathering up the weeds to be burned. It is a common belief that a wrathful, judgmental God will appear at the end of time.
This isn’t the only picture of God communicated in the Bible. There is the God who welcomed Israel back with open arms time after time when the people had wandered away after other God’s. There is the God who forgave Peter, who denied Jesus, and Paul who fiercely persecuted the first Christians. There is the parable of the Father who runs and embraces his prodigal son and throws a party celebrating his son’s return.
We may be surprised when God appears and the full extent and power of God’s love is revealed. Who can withstand God’s love? God’s love was steadfast in the face of hardheartedness and stiff neck resistance. God’s patient love endured our open rebellion and childish tantrums. If God’s love has transformed our lives, we shouldn’t underestimate it and think it can’t change the lives of others.
Thank you, Lord, for your steadfast love that prevails in our lives. Through it may you transform the lives of all people. Amen.
Thursday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed” (Matthew 13:31).
Jesus speaks with a little hyperbole with these words. The mustard seed is indeed a small seed, but it is not the world’s smallest. Nor does it grow to be the size of a large bush or a small tree. It does grow to be a rather large plant, however. Even though Jesus exaggerates a little, he still makes the valid point that the Kingdom of God has great potential for growth.
When Jesus spoke these words, he was surrounded by his twelve disciples, a few other close followers and a small crowd of interested listeners. No one could have imagined how far the message of Jesus would spread within a few short decades. They would have laughed at the outlandish suggestion that it would be the official religion of the Roman Empire in less than four hundred years. That billions of people would identify themselves as Christians and that Christianity would be the largest religion in the world was simply unthinkable. It shouldn’t surprise us, however, because the kingdom is like a mustard seed—it has unlimited potential for growth.
In our lives, the mustard seed of the kingdom is planted with a little splash of water and the words, “Is baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” From that time, the kingdom grows. We become people who are transformed by God’s love and grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The kingdom continues to expand throughout our lives and we become people who impact the lives of others in positive ways and change the world in various increments. Who know what lies ahead? We only know that the Kingdom of God is a kingdom that grows.
May the mustard seed that you have planted in our lives, Lord, take deep root and grow great branches and have the effect you desire. Amen.
Friday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast” (Matthew 13:34).
Lamar and Janell were getting their first lesson in baking. They were helping their grandmother bake bread. Their grandmother showed them how to put the yeast in a small dish of warm water to activate it. The two children help their grandmother measure out the ingredients and stirred while she poured in the liquid and the yeast. After everything was mixed together, they sat and watched the lump of dough get bigger and bigger. Lamar and Janell punched the dough down once and then watched it grow again. The two were fascinated by activity of the yeast. The kingdom of God works in a similar fashion.
We can’t stop the kingdom of God from spreading in our lives. Our prayers may start out selfishly—asking God to give us this or that little trinket. Through the years the kingdom expands and we find ourselves praying for others and giving thanks for God’s abundant blessings. As the kingdom spreads, it affects our language, our opinion of others, our ability to forgive and our desire to help. Nothing in our lives is beyond the kingdom’s reach.
The children helped their grandmother separate the dough and place it into pans. They slipped the pans into the oven to bake. A couple of hours later they were enjoying fresh baked bread. The yeast had done its work. The yeast does its work in our lives too and enables us to offer the nourishment of God’s love and grace to those around us.
Lord, may your yeast spread in our lives so that all of our thoughts, words and deeds give you honor and glory. Amen.
Saturday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables” (Matthew 13:34).
Students will tell you that their favorite tests are true/false and multiple choice. Teachers like these tests, too, because they are easy to score. A collective groan will come from the class if they are given essay questions and need to write down their responses. They need to wrestle with the questions themselves and determine what they are asking. Once they understand the questions, they then need to formulate their answers. These are not easy tasks.
Jesus refused to give his followers easy answers. Instead he spoke to them in parables. They struggled to understand and debated with each other concerning the parables’ true meanings. In the process they progressed from merely knowing the facts, to understanding the ramifications of what was being taught and even gaining in the wisdom of living out the truths in their lives. They also realized that the parables never stop teaching us; there is always something more to learn.
As followers of Jesus we realize that the journey never ends. As disciples of Jesus we discover that the learning doesn’t end either.
Open our hearts and minds, Lord, so that we may learn what you have to teach us. Amen.
Sunday–The Kingdom of Heaven
“The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father” (Matthew 13:43).
The sky was cloudless and the moon was full. There was no need for a flashlight as the group hiked through the mountain landscape. Though having no light of its own, the full moon reflected the light of the sun and provided all the light needed.
In many ways followers of Jesus are much like the moon. In the darkness of the world, we reflect God’s light. Together we have the brightness of the full moon providing enough light that no one needs a flashlight and no one needs to fall or get lost. We fulfill Jesus’ words that “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Father.”
How blessed we are, as followers of Jesus, to be called to a ministry of providing light in the darkness. We know how important light is. A popular song in today’s congregations is “Shine, Jesus Shine.” We occasionally need to be reminded, though, that the answer to our song and prayer is Jesus shining through us.
Shine Jesus shine, in our hearts and through our words and actions. Amen.