Sermon preached at St. Columba's - 7pm Holy Communion Service - Sunday 15th November 2009. Service included the dedication of the Beatitudes Choir new Carol Books.
The First Reading - Daniel 3 or Daniel 3: 13-30
The Psalm - Psalm 95
The Gospel Reading - Matthew 13: 24-30, 36-43
them, take our mind and think through them, take our hearts and set
them on fire with love for you. Through Jesus name we pray Amen
<<>>
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which
someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he
has and buys that field.”
The kingdom of heaven is like … this is one of the features of
Matthews account of Jesus’ ministry is that he mentions the kingdom
many many times. Jesus is concerned with bringing in the kingdom reign
of God. Of course this was not the popular perception of how a kingdom
would be brought about.
Those living in the 1st Century knew about kings coming and going –
the Jewish people knew about being conquered. In our Old Testament
reading we see one of those conqueroring kings … Nebuchadnezzer who
threw people into a firey furnace. Was this the type of King Jesus
was? NO!
We know that the kingdom which Jesus came to inaugurate wasn’t a
political conqueroring kingdom to overthrow the roman overlords but
something else. Is it possible to define?
In the Lords prayer we pray … Thy kingdom come
Is that something which we want?, is it something we desire … do we
really know what we mean when we talk about God’s Kingdom.
Down at the Odyssey in Belfast there is an area … W5 which looks at
science and asks 5 Questions
Who, What, Where, When, Why
In a few moments I would like to cover the answers to those questions
about the Kingdom of God/heaven
Who is in the kingdom?
This is one which is easy and difficult at the same time! We are all
called and it is God’s will that each would inheritors of the kingdom.
We are not judge anyone but it up to individual to either accept the
citizenship offer or reject it.
What are the responsibilities of citizens of the Kingdom?
As a citizen of the UK we have certain responsibilities and privileges
Our responsibilities include
• Sticking to the laws of the land
• Paying our taxes
If we do those then we have the privileges of
• Security
• Social care
• NHS
Within the Kingdom of God we too have Responsibilities
We are to live our lives in accordance with the ethics of the Bible
We are to look out for the poor and the widow
We are to be attentive to what God is doing and do what he tells us to do
We then also have privileges
We are called sons and daughters, friends of God
We have the promise of eternal life
Where is the Kingdom?
With no earthly king, no boarder, no government – where is the kingdom
is an enourmously troubling question … it’s a problem! The Kingdom of
God at the moment is in the hearts and minds of those who are
citizens. Those who are living their lives for God.
The Christian knows that some day the full realization of the kingdom
will be found … that great and awesome day when Jesus will come back
in his full glory.
Which links to the fourth of our five questions
When will the kingdom be established?
At the moment we are living between the establishment and the full
realization of the kingdom… we are longing for the day when death,
illness and all the other consequences of sin are defeated, when Jesus
returns. At the moment the treasure is hidden but it will be found. It
will come.
We both as citizens work for the kingdom to be established but also
wait in expectation that Jesus will come.
There are many warnings in the Gospels that people will come along
claiming that the kingdom is come and that they are the messiah …
devastating consequences result. Wako and other such tragedies. What
we need to do is remember that none of us will know when the full
realization of the kingdom of God will come until it does.
That does not stop us from working as hard as we can for the kingdom,
God’s rule to be established in our families, in our friendship
groups, in our city, in our country.
Why should we be concerned about the kingdom of God?
To be honest, it boils down to priorities. The kingdom is the one
thing that will last. It is the one thing that we know spans from
birth through life and then beyond the grave. There is nothing more
important.
The Kingdom of God as we see from the parables this evening, is a
precious thing that one may simply happen upon accidently, or perhaps
one may undertake a search round lots of different things but it is
the most precious thing.
What we do need to realize is that this is an upside down kingdom, it
is one which provides hope in the midst of despair, it is one which
the first will become last and those who are at the bottom of the heap
will become first, those who recognize themselves as sinners will be
counted as righteous.
Some Questions ...
This is great news but the question raised by this passage is are we
prepared to surrender all that has gone before for the treasure?
Do we understand our role & responsibilities as citizens of the
Kingdom and how we can and should live for him?
This is great news but the question raised by this passage is are we
prepared to surrender all that has gone before for the treasure?
Do we understand our role & responsibilities as citizens of the
Kingdom and how we can and should live for him?
1 comment:
It was extremely interesting for me to read that blog. Thanks for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to them. I definitely want to read a bit more soon.
Post a Comment