2026 07 26 Pentecost 9 Proper 12 A
Genesis
29.15-28 Psalm 105.1-11 Romans 8.26-39 Matt 13.44-58
Saint James
feast day: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Once upon a time, I decided
to forgo a holiday so that I could buy a dishwasher with the money saved. Then we moved house and the dishwasher
stayed…. And I’m still just a little disappointed 30 odd years later!
The point is that we
are all willing to work hard or make sacrifices for things that we believe to
be “worth it” – treasures! We are told
that the kingdom of heaven is like this also.
And my big question for the church in 2026 is, “Are you sure?” If we were to ask an outsider if they think
we consider the Kingdom of God our greatest treasure, would they know that it
is, beyond any question?
We are told that the
Kingdom of heaven is like someone who finds a pearl of great value and sells everything
to purchase it. THAT is how great a
treasure the kingdom of God is.
Do we know how great
a treasure is the kingdom of God?
The reading for the
feast of St. James tells us that we are afflicted in every way but not
constrained; perplexed but not driven to despair; … etc But we know that the
one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also. This is the ultimate treasure.
In our lives, often
it is true that we do feel hard pressed on every side. Modern life is often at odds with Christian
values. The early Christians experienced
the very same thing. The world around
them had very different values to them and the friction between the two meant
stress in the least, and outright persecution, suffering and death as a very
real possibility in the most.
The early apostles
were told by the Sanhedrin (the Jewish officials) to stop preaching and
teaching in Jesus’ name, but they responded that they HAD to obey God rather
than man. We reflected on this this week
at our Bible Study, and we pondered if we are all obeying man rather than God
at this point in time, scared to speak out in case we get into trouble.
A landmark 2026 report found that over 40% of
Australian Christians experience hostility, threats, or harassment for
expressing their faith in public. The Australian Christian Freedom Index (ACFI), surveyed
more than 10,000 Christians, 92% of whom responded that they felt “it is
riskier to affirm Christian beliefs than five years ago.” And 73% of
responders said they “felt pressured to keep their beliefs private in public,
online or at work” while 42% “experienced hostility, threats or harassment for
expressing a Christian worldview.” One in four Christians said they were
“denied opportunities in work, volunteering or leadership” due to their
Christian beliefs.
….But who can really
harm us when we have the kind of outlook where we know that the greatest
treasure is the Kingdom of God, and our place in that Kingdom is sure?
In our first reading
Jacob is working happily for seven years for what he considers to be a great
treasure… the beautiful Rachel. He tells
Laban very clearly what he is working to acquire from him. This tells us that he was possibly aware that
Laban is a deceptive swindler. Knowing
this, and taking every precaution, Jacob – whose name and past implies that he
himself is a deceiver, is still deceived.
Somewhat poetic justice perhaps…. But also, a lesson to us, that with
all our best and clearest intentions, the enemy can still thwart our
plans. Then, we may find we have to work
even harder than we had anticipated…. But you know what? It is worth it! The Kingdom of God is worth it…. It is worth
the extra sacrifice. In fact – ask St.
James… it is worth everything!
Jacob was born
grasping the heel of his twin brother.
The name “Jacob” means, “grabbing the heel”. To grab the heel implied deception. I’m guessing this has something to do with
the story in Genesis where the Serpent deceived Adam and Eve and God declared
that the serpent would “strike the heel, but man would crush his head”. This is known as the first Gospel. It refers to the reality that Satan,
represented by the snake, would continue to deceive and win over mankind, but
ultimate victory would come through Jesus Christ who would be THE man to crush
the head.
Mankind was made in
the image of God. What this means to us
as westerners, would be that we look like God, but the image of God in the
original language was about being like God in more than image, in more than just
type… Body, Soul and Spirit… but also “in the image of God” implies his moral
nature, His goodness and His love. Since
the fall…. We’ve also fallen from that image.
Jesus even declared this fallen image to a group of pharisees, declaring
them to be like their father the devil.
Every human life is absolutely
precious because we are all formed in the image of God. That is why we advocate for the sanctity of
life. However, since the fall, every
human life has become corrupted.
Perhaps it is like a record that once played perfectly, but now it has
pops and crackles. More realistically
however, it is more like a corrupted computer file that is so corrupted that
some of it looks like the original, but other parts are a frustrating mix of
contradictions and bits that make no sense at all. God chose a human line to reveal his image. That line was Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (whose
name God would soon change to Israel).
Through this line would come the one who would crush the head of the
devil – Jesus Christ.
Jacob, as one who
deceived and wasn’t always honourable, was to learn that this was not the way
of God. God promised to look after
him. God was true to his word. There is no deception in God. Jacob, like all of us, was created in the
image of God, but his image had corrupted.
Our Romans reading tells us that those God foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son.
We, like Jacob, have had our image corrupted also, but it was always
God’s plan to restore us into the image originally designed for us.
I have a number of
favourite scriptures, but this one from Romans is one of my all time
favourites, where it says that there is NOTHING that can separate us from the
love of God. Not even anything in our
future! God has so loved us that he has
made a way for everything to be restored and it doesn’t depend on any
circumstances, it only depends on Jesus, who has already made the way for us.
Much like a corrupted
computer program we can do nothing to fix ourselves. God came as one of us, but as one of us who
was not corrupted… as one of us that was all in order and perfect. It is as if He inserted himself into the
program of this world and then he superimposes his image onto us who are
baptised into him… in some ways perhaps it is like the computer programs that
are corrupted can now be read because of this superimposed perfect program…. According
to the spiritual law, we are now acceptable because we are seen as the perfect
image of Jesus when God the father looks at us.
This, of course, is not dependant on anything that we have been or will
be… but only depends on Jesus and what he is and what he has done for us. I sometimes hear people in the church say that
they hope that God will accept them. If
you aren’t completely sure, please re-read this reading from Romans; “Who will bring any charge against God's
elect? It is God who justifies.” We are
completely made whole and acceptable and NOTHING can separate us from God’s
love.
Another important
note in our Gospel reading is about the Kingdom of God being like a net that
caught all kinds of fish both good and bad.
The Angels do the sorting. This
came up in last weeks Gospel too…. Therefore, it is important, that just as we
can’t fix ourselves, but need Jesus, we also aren’t the ones to decide who is
acceptable and who isn’t. The sorting is
not our job. But perhaps it is because
of this sorting in the reading that I still hear people in the church say that
they hope that God will accept them. If
you aren’t completely sure, please re-read this reading from Romans; “Who will
bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.” If you have been baptised and genuinely
desire to belong to God, NOTHING will separate you from God and his love.
So, what is our role
in the Kingdom? We are part of a large
royal family in the Kingdom of God. We
are restored in the image of God, and we are to reflect this image into our
community – courageously, without any fear.
As the children of the King, we are about the Kings business. Our values and love must reflect that of
God. We advocate for the poor and
vulnerable and we speak for those without a voice.
This Kingdom of God
is worth everything… it is THE single most precious of any aspect in life. And the Kingdom of God is about God’s love
and acceptance being worth more than everything… absolutely everything. But now that we’ve been challenged to give
everything for the Kingdom of God, I’ll finish with a little twist for you to
consider.
In the story of Jacob
and the love of his life, Rachel…. God,
is like Jacob and God is also like the man who sells all he has to acquire the
pearl. You and I are the greatest
treasure in the eyes of God, and he paid the ultimate price to acquire us. Human life, even though we are fallen, is such
a priceless treasure to God. Imagine I
have a beautiful fresh hundred dollar note but someone took it and scrunched
the note up and rubbed it in the dirt… then asked what it was worth…. Was it still of value?
We are worth more
than that hundred dollar note to God, and he gave all to acquire us. He gave all for us. We are the greatest treasure….. !
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