2024 06 16 PROPER 6 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Year B
1 Samuel
15:34 - 16:13 and Psalm 20 • 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17 • Mark
4:26-34
Today we hear that the Kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard
seed that grows to become such a great shrub that the birds of the air can make
nests in its shade. The Kingdom of God
is a place of refuge… a place of sustenance, nurturing and growth. Jesus tells us that this is the way it is, but
do we view the Kingdom of God this way? And do others, see it that way?
I ponder how this Kingdom of God fits into the life of
my friend who is struggling with years of trauma. Years of trauma have seen her isolate herself
from the church. She recently booked
herself into hospital for treatment. My
husband made the comment, “She needs Jesus”.
Ahhhh such a nice simple answer for such a complicated problem and I
wish it really was that simple. But this
sudden and simple fix is not the story of the mustard seed.
We are told, and perhaps you know, that the mustard
seed is actually very small. But Jesus
tells us that it grows to be a large tree – a source of life – nests for the
birds. So, what does this tell us about
the Kingdom of God?
Those small seeds we plant in the kingdom of God- Our
kindness to others, our church dinners, our care for those in need…. These, tiny and seemingly insignificant
things, with the blessing of God, grow beyond what we can see, and in ways
beyond our comprehension to become something so significant it will shock us.
In the case of my friend, who my husband says, needs
Jesus –she will receive Jesus through the gift of our friendship and care – We are
in, and we bring the Kingdom of God - that
tree that brings life. We trust that God
will cause the Kingdom of God to give life to my friend. But it will take time, and it doesn’t happen at
all unless we step out in faith and BE the kingdom of God.
The growth of a tree takes time. We can look closely at a seedling and not see
the growing happening at all, but trees don’t generally grow from a seedling to
a giant tree overnight. It takes time…
sometimes we see very little signs of growth – especially in the winter, and it
takes care and watering… etc… to grow into a tree… and did I mention time.
We tend to judge things by what we see
physically. After all we are physical
creatures. But our readings today
encourage us to open our spiritual eyes and see the Kingdom of God – which is
spiritual.
The readings for today cause us to ponder; How do we view
others? Do we look at their outward
appearance and decide what kind of person they are based on the clothes they
wear, their age, their looks, the sound of their voice, their ethnicity??? There are so many things that people can use
to assume a picture of someone’s life, but today’s readings tell us something
about these assumptions…. It isn’t the way that God looks at people.
This week I met my daughter’s boyfriend. He is 38 and has a 21 year old son. As he told me the age of his son, I noticed
his expression, and sensed his discomfort at how I might perceive him. It was obvious that he had already received much
judgment and criticism. Many of us have
a past that we wish was different. But
for some of us, those mistakes haunt us and taint the perception that others
have of us… and the image we have of ourselves.
Our prophet Samuel learnt something about this in our
first reading. “…, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's
anointed is now before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look
on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him;
for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks on the heart."”
Samuel had come to anoint a King for the nation. He saw the young man Eliab and he looked
impressive. But God wasn’t
impressed. David, the youngest and most
insignificant of the sons was the one who God chose. He was still very good looking and probably
quite impressive physically also, but his family didn’t think of him as being
important, or significant.
Most of us feel that we are not terribly significant.
Significance in this world is so superficial… You might do something
extraordinarily good and have your 15 minutes of fame and the next day it is
forgotten. Yet the mistakes we make seem
more memorable. Where is the Good News
in that? There isn’t any.
But the Kingdom of God is different. In the Kingdom of God, we are told that God
knew us and formed us with purpose before we were born. In the Kingdom of God, we are told that God
loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us so that we can have eternal
life. In the Kingdom of God, we are of
infinite significance. Because of this
we, like Saint Paul, should regard no one from a human point of view;” Therefore,
instead of making assumptions, judging and dismissing, we understand that
Christ loved and came to redeem all and that every life is so very precious to
him.
Saint Paul tells us, “if anyone is in Christ, there is
a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”
This week, I read a prophetic post from Roma Waterman
that said, “I don’t know who needs to hear this but you need to know you are
not a failure. Don’t judge your whole life by one mistake you have made……..You
have a future and a hope that is beyond all you can imagine waiting in your
future. Keep going and don’t give up.”
The love of Christ urges us on because, as the
scripture tells us, Christ died for all so that all might live – and live not for
ourselves but for him. This is a
spiritual reality.
In our baptism we enter into Christ. This term, “In Christ”, is a term that means
that God the father now sees us as he sees Christ – that is, as His precious
and perfect Child. We enter into the
royal family of God and we are of undeniable and incomprehensible importance
and significance. We don’t just “Identify as a child of God”… we are
a child of God.
In our baptism we are born of the Spirit. When we respond to, and receive the Gospel
and choose to belong to God, our Spirit comes to life – is born, and we belong
to God. We are Children of the King. As children of the King we are called to a
royal role with the Kingdom of God, growing and being the Kingdom of God. And like a mustard seed, that Kingdom grows
to become a place of nurture for all those who need sustenance, shelter and
rest. We are loved and we are
called. We are a new creation and we
grow the Kingdom of God here on Earth so that God’s Kingdom comes on earth as
in heaven.
Instead of a Kingdom where some feel excluded, the opposite is true. It is a Kingdom of love, acceptance and belonging, where life can flourish. Today we are invited to respond to that loving call of God, to work with him to grow the Kingdom of God, understanding that we are part of that tree of the Kingdom, and it continues to grow by stepping out in faith, even if it is with just the first tiniest step of faith
