Sermons


	Living In The Kingdom Pentecost VI July 24, 2011 Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Looking at the text, please focus on the line that is at the last part of this reading: HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD ALL THIS? AND THEY ANSWERED......YES! Jesus spoke to them in parables. He told them stories that would create images and catch the imagination. Jesus wanted people to know that what was happening in the parable was also happening in their lives. Let me show you how it works..... The Kingdom of Heaven is like: A mustard seed.....tiny and it grows to be a life giving home A measure of yeast....small in comparison to what it accomplishes, without its measure we will not enjoy a loaf of bread A treasure in a field...and you will, if you know it's there, sell all that you have to possess the field A pearl so fine that you will sell all that you have to possess it The Kingdom of heaven seeks to move into your lives with its wonder and growth and power and hope and then to change everything - to transform you. The Kingdom of heaven begins now...right now with Jesus at the center You have the pearl, the treasure, the yeast, the mustard seed It's all there - already in you - poured over you with baptismal waters, loving prayers and stories shared across your lifetime You have the Kingdom of heaven...in your lives and hearts and spirits...waiting to explode into life.... HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD ALL THIS? Let me hear you say it....Yes! The Kingdom of heaven has broken in...holding you, claiming you, grabbing you by the ears so you will hear and tugging at your heart so you will follow...... HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD ALL THIS? And they said, ...Yes! There are three things that I would like to share with you this morning that flow from this gospel. The Kingdom of heaven is right now....not future...it is a way of looking at life. There is another Kingdom that vies for our attention...we are very aware of this kingdom. You and I have a choice, each day, that invites our attention to where we will live and serve. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS PRESENT - IT IS RIGHT NOW! Jesus description of the kingdom of heaven is always this overflowing abundance of spirit and presence in the world we live in. Always enough and more....you have the pearl, the treasure, it's in front of you. In our first Call as a Pastor, we lived across the street from a couple who were poster children for living in the Kingdom. They understood all this and said "YES" with their lives: Taught us how to garden....and share from our garden Incredibly generous in financial giving Grown children...we became like one of their kids...and they nurtured us, discipled us When someone became needy in that small town, they were there first. When laid off he did not stop giving We have so much! He is dead...she is in her 90's with the same attitude It was the end of the Viet Nam era and one day I asked him how he dealt with evil in the world. He looked at me as if I was crazy and said...."We are the answer." That is why God has called us. We are his hands and feet. God is in the world because we are in the world. If the Kingdom of heaven is going to be present now, we are the ones to bring it. The Kingdom of heaven has broken in and we are living in the kingdom. This is what Jesus wants us to see and to hear and then to do... At this point I have to ask you.......HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD ALL THIS? There is another Kingdom that calls out for our attention. The price of oil is rising, commodities, natural gas, credit availability - be scared! You won't have enough and you should be unsure about your future. The Democrats, Republicans, Independents, conservatives, liberals may get into office and then what? We want you to look at ways to improve yourselves... but make sure that self-improvement is about yourself and no one else. Become thorough-going narcissists...that means self-absorbed. Let me distract you from what is important and make you a shallow, selfish, psychically numbed person who would never recognize Jesus or the Gospel or God's love for you or for this world. There is another Kingdom...it calls out for our attention. HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD ALL THIS? Actually, you and I have a choice, every day, about which kingdom we will live in, which kingdom will be at the center of life. If you are far away from prayer as a part of life... If you are far away from scripture as a part of life... Then, there is something else that is setting the tone. It has your attention and the parables haven't worked their way into the center of life. When I was growing up, one of my friends had a piano with a metronome. You know what they are like. They help you to keep a beat when you are playing. I was fascinated by that metronome...it just kept beating - back and forth...tick- tock - tick –tock. It set a constant beat. You and I have a choice about how we now shall live. It begins with God's commitment to us...in Christ...to keep coming at us through word and sacrament...people....tick - tock - tick tock.... Jesus gives us lessons like today's...short, powerful messages....the kingdom of heaven is like. Tick-tock- tick -tock...do you have the beat? The kingdom of heaven has broken in and we are now living in Christ's presence....tick-tock- tick- tock. We are living in the Kingdom of heaven right now! it is what Jesus Christ has in mind for you......tick-tock, tick- tock. HAVE YOU UNDERSTOOD ALL THIS? YES! Rev. Glenn Taibl, Pastor Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, Minnesota
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