“THY KINGDOM COME”

MATTHEW 13:31-33, 44-52

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.

48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad.

49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous

50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”

52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

One of the things that I’ve learned over the years as a pastor is that when times are tough it can do one of two things.  It can bring out the best in you but it can also bring out the worst in you.  It certainly brought out the worst in a husband and wife who got into a big argument one morning.  Later that afternoon when their eight year old son came home from school he asked his father a question.  “Dad,” he said, “where did people come from?”  “Well,” the father said, “it’s really simple.  Human being evolved from monkeys.”  The eight year old thought about it for a while.  He then went and asked his mother the same question.  “Mom,” he said, “where did people come from?”  “Well,” the mother said, “it’s really very simple.  God created Adam and Eve. They had children and their children had children and that’s where we came from.”  Now the eight year old was really confused. “I don’t understand,” he said.  “Dad said we came from monkeys and you’re telling me that God created us.  How can that be?”  The mother smiled.  “It’s really very easy to explain,” she said. “In answering your question I was telling you about my  side of the family and your father was telling you about his side of the family.”

When times are tough it can bring out the worst in you and make no mistake about it.  Time right now are tough.  The stock market is down and gas prices are up.  Thousands of people are coming into this country looking for jobs at the same time thousands of jobs are leaving this country.  More and more companies look like they could go bankrupt.  More and more politicians look like the could be corrupt and more and more people are worried that once again the Middle East is about to erupt.  Put it all together and it’s the reason why some people are anxious.  Some people are angry and some people are just plain apathetic. 

There was a story in USA Today this past week that suggested that all the money problems are beginning to take its toll on people.  According to New York City psychologist Alan Gratch the money problems are tearing some families apart.  He said that , “People are less tolerant of one another, and there’s more conflict.”

Yes, when times are tough it can bring out the worst in you.  At the same time Jesus would tell you that that it can also bring out the best in you.  In fact, Jesus wants you to let it bring out that best in you.  I think that’s one of the reasons why he talked a lot about the kingdom of heaven.  Now Jesus said a lot of things about the kingdom of heaven, but there’s one thing Jesus said about the kingdom of heaven that often gets overlooked. As far as Jesus was concerned the kingdom of heaven isn’t just a place of blissful blessings that you go to when your earthly labors are done.  As far as Jesus was concerned the kingdom of heaven you can experience right here, right now.  That’s why he told the people who followed him in and around Galilee that the kingdom was in the midst of them.  (Luke 17:20) That’s why he told the people who followed him in and around Galilee that some of them would not “taste death” before they saw the kingdom.  (Luke 9:27)

Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a like a mustard seed that grows into an enormous tree where all kinds of birds can find shelter from the storms of life.  He said that the kingdom is like a treasure that you find hidden in field.  He said that the kingdom is like a beautiful pearl that is more valuable than all your other earthly possessions put together! 

Jesus talked a lot about the kingdom because he knew that when you set your heart and mind on the kingdom it will bring out the best in you.  Not just in good times but also when times are tough. That’s because when you set your heart and mind on the kingdom instead of focusing on the ME all the time you begin to focus on the WE.

There was another story this past week in USA Today this past week that shows how those tough times can bring out the best in you especially when you focus on the WE instead of the ME. It seems that John McCain’s wife Cindy is in Rwanda.  Did you know that Cindy McCain is a member of the Board of Directors for CARE International?  She was actually in Rwanda back in 1994 when the country was torn apart by a horrific wave of ethnic cleansing.  In ten months 1 million people were slaughtered.  So, Cindy McCain went back to Rwanda to see how the country is healing. While she was there one woman told her that she lost 120 relatives and that she herself was raped 12 times.  After the woman shared her horror story a soldier stepped forward.  The soldier admitted that he had killed quite a few people including a number of people who had gone into a church to seek sanctuary from the violence. When he was finished telling his story the solider turned to the woman and apologized to her.  She, in turn, deep into her heart and forgave him.

When you set your heart and mind on the kingdom of heaven it will bring out the best in you.  That’s because when you set your heart and mind on the kingdom of heaven you begin to realize that is isn’t all about me.  It’s about us. 

You can see that in the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer actually begins and ends with a celebration of the kingdom.  It begins with the words “thy kingdom come” and it ends with the words “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever.”  In that prayer that Jesus taught us though you won’t find the words ME, MY or I.  It’s always US, OUR and WE.

You don’t say “My father who art in heaven…”  as if God belongs to you.

It’s “Our Father who art in heaven…”

You don’t say “give me this day my daily bread…” as if God only cares about you.

You say, “Give us this day our daily bread…”

You don’t say, “forgive me my trespasses…” as if it’s God’s job to let everyone else have it.

You say, “forgive us our trespasses…”

You don’t say, “lead me not into temptation but deliver us from evil…” 

 You say, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…”

The Lord’s Prayer which is a kingdom prayer is a WE prayer.

There’s a wonderful story about Jesus and the kingdom.   The story has to do with something peculiar that the women found in the tomb on that first Easter morning.  That something peculiar has puzzled people for centuries.  John tells us in his gospel that when the women got to the tomb they found “the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.”  (John 20:7)

Now that folded napkin is important.  It is rooted in a custom that people followed back then.  After a servant set a table for his master he would stand nearby and wait while his master enjoyed his meal.  When the master was done eating he would get up from the table and after wiping his hand and his mouth with the napkin he would leave it on the table.  The wadded napkin meant, “I’m done.  You can clean up now.”  If on the other hand the master got up and folded his napkin before he left the table it meant something very different.  The message of the folded napkin was  “I’m not finished yet.  I’m coming back!”

The folded napkin that the women found that morning in the tomb is sending us a message today.  Jesus wants us to know that he’s not finished yet and he’s coming back.  When he comes back he will usher in the kingdom in all of its power and glory. You can experience a little of the kingdom right now even though the times are tough. That’s because when you set your heart and mind on the kingdom you will look beyond the ME and focus on the WE and in doing that you will be blessed.  In doing that you will find yourself surrounded by God’s peace and the joy that is from everlasting to everlasting.  Amen. 

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

July 27, 2008