The Kingdom of God is Here
Lutheran Service Book 3 Year Lectionary • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Text: “30 And he said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?’” (Mark 4:30)
Let’s start here: Why do we have a worship service on Thanksgiving Day?
You might respond by saying something like: The answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it? It’s Thanksgiving. It’s a day for giving thanks to God. Why wouldn’t we have a service on that day?
Excellent point. I’m glad you brought that up. Thank you. It is. That’s why we do. That’s why we’ll continue. I’m not arguing that we should stop. What I’m trying to point out to you is something deeper. So let me ask a follow up question: who is it who set that day aside as a day to give thanks? Who established it as a holiday? Whose holiday is it? It’s a national holiday. As I recall, Thanksgiving was created by presidential decree. It’s not a church holiday. It’s a national holiday.
Now, again, I’m not on a crusade against Thanksgiving. How can we not gather that day and give thanks to God? It is very important, though, that we think about what it is that we are doing and why we’re doing what we’re doing.
To put it another way: Which is it? The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of this world? Which are we part of? Which one defines us? Which one shapes and directs the way we worship? Which do you love?
You can not love both! Scripture is explicit on this point. “15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). You can not love both!
Let me emphasize one other point: this is something we have to wrestle with because the world is changing. I don’t fault those who insisted on putting that flag in our chancel one bit. I don’t fault them for anything. When that flag was put there, it was a lot easier to have a “foot” in each kingdom. But do I need to convince you that the world has changed? That this nation has changed?
You and I must think through this. At one time, being a Christian in this nation was much easier— to the point that it was entirely appropriate to put their flag in our chancel. You and I are rapidly approaching the point when you will have to choose: the kingdom of God or the kingdom of this world. Which do you love? Which commands your allegiance? Which one not only shapes and directs the way you worship, but what you value? ...What you choose? ...How you live?
Let’s put this in concrete terms. Independence Day is in a couple of weeks. In fact, it falls on Sunday this year. I’m going to ask you two questions that might give us an indication of which we love more: the Kingdom of this World or the Kingdom of God. Question 1: That morning— Sunday, 4 July A.D. 2021— would you be bothered at all if we did not have communion or did not have confession and absolution? Question 2: Would you be offended if the flag were not in the chancel that day or if we did not sing any patriotic songs?
If you would be offended that we didn’t sing any patriotic songs, but you really don’t care one way or the other about whether we have communion that day, then I would suggest to you that there’s something wrong. Just like with Thanksgiving, it’s absolutely good and right that we thank God for the blessings that He’s given us in this nation. But what are we worshipping? Which Kingdom are we here representing? And, again, for a long time the two could coexist fairly comfortably. But you and I are being confronted with the spiritual reality that you will soon have to choose. You will need to be clear on whether you’re part of this world or part of the Kingdom of God.
The reality is that, for as blessed as we are in this nation, this world, as John reminded us, is passing away. Let’s assume that the United States is able to weather the storms that we’re facing now and it is able to stand, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, for a thousand years. It will still end one day. Because this world is ending. No candidate, no political party, no congress, no supreme court, will be able to change that.
That’s why Christ’s message is so important and so comforting: “The Kingdom of God is here.” In three of the gospels, that’s the way the gospel writers summed up Jesus’ message as He began His ministry, as He first started preaching and teaching and performing miracles: He went out proclaiming, “The Kingdom of God is here.”
“The Kingdom of God is here” said the man with a total of 12 disciples.
“The Kingdom of God is here” said the Rabbi who was already opposed by the rest of the religious leaders.
“The Kingdom of God is here” said the guy whose family, as we heard last week, had come to get Him and take Him home because they thought He was nuts.
There were no apparent political moves going on behind the scenes to make it happen. No great plan seemed to be starting to take shape. There were no signs of God’s people uniting together under His leadership. No sign of the restoration of the nation that God had formed for Himself. But “the Kingdom of God is here,” He insisted.
That kingdom is like a man scattering seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.
The Kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
*That* is the Kingdom of God. There’s no great scheme. It’s a seed growing and sprouting. Who knows how, but the blade appears, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And before you know it, the seed has produced a harvest. It’s small and weak and unimpressive, but when it is sown it grows large enough for birds to nest in its shade.
The power all lies within the seed. And that is what Jesus came to be. In John 12 Jesus said, “[23] The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” By dying the death that you and I deserved, He is the grain of wheat that fell to the earth and died. He was literally planted within the earth so that, three days later, the Kingdom of God could break forth.
“And now the fruit of His cross has been planted in every corner of the world, planted through the preaching of the Word, casting the seed of the gospel to the north and to the south and to east and to the west, from Jerusalem and Judea, through Samaria and to all the ends of the earth. Where the Word of Christ is proclaimed there is Christ’s church. Thus Christ’s church has staked itself in the earth in order to grow and bless those who gather in its shade. The Church extends over the whole world like a glorious garden, tilled by the law, filled with the fragrance of Christ’s resurrection, adorned by Easter lilies and Martyr’s roses. Within her gather the Father’s own dear children to hear the Word of Christ and daily receive [the benefits of] His passion[— His suffering and death—] for their salvation.
“To gather within her fold is to draw near the Savior Himself. For within the church is the Church’s Lord speaking, baptizing, feeding, and loving His newly redeemed people. This is for you and for all. The Cedar has enough shade. The Garden has enough room. The fountains of grace can be found wherever Christ crucified is proclaimed. This place is such a place. And this fount is such a fount. Here, in the waters of Baptism, beneath the tree of Christ’s cross, the blood of Christ is poured out and poured over the old to wash your robes and make them white. Here in this water with His Holy Name, you are given a new Image. Adam’s image is drowned in Christ and you are raised up a new creation.
“Now, you who are baptized bear the image of Your redeemer.
You have died to sin.
Death longer has dominion over you.
Hell has no claim on you.
Your stains have been washed away.
You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:23).”
(Fisk, Jonathan. “Broken: 7 ‘Christian’ Rules….” p. 152)
The Kingdom of God is why Paul is able to speak those powerful words in our Epistle lesson: “1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ...5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:1-7). It’s why we sing songs like “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home” rather than, “O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.” It’s why we observe Trinity Sunday but not Presidents’ Day, why we observe Epiphany and not Father’s Day, why, for us, it’s far more important to have communion on Memorial Day than a barbecue. Because, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). You are a new creation. This world is passing away. And the part of you that is part of this world is passing away, as well. And “while we are still in this tent, we groan… not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Cor. 5:4).
And He has given you this ministry of reconciliation. “[You] are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through [you]. [You] implore [those around you] on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). You are ambassadors of God’s Kingdom, extending the invitation— the lifeline— to others to gather them out of this dying world into the Kingdom of God.
“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?” Thankfully our Lord has not only found the words to describe it, He is the mustard seed that was planted in the tomb. And, with His resurrection, the Kingdom of God took root in this world and was established through time and eternity. You have been gathered into that eternal kingdom so that the Church is not like any earthly organization. It is the Kingdom of God here in this time and in this place. As often as we gather, it is for the purpose of learning its unique history, celebrating the great people and events in its founding, and pledging our eternal allegiance to that kingdom and to her King.