Your Kingdom ComGospel

https://youtu.be/HCzx2hF0vAo

Gospel

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. 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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

MATTHEW 13:31-33, 44-52

Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor

"Your kingdom come." We pray these words every week. Some people pray them every day. They are so familiar that we rarely stop to think about what we are actually asking. What does it mean for God’s kingdom to come?

A place we can turn to answer this question is today’s Gospel, where the kingdom plays a significant role. Jesus actually refers to it six times, showing us that it is his focus. He uses so much imagery that to cover all of it in one sermon would be impossible and confusing! So today we are going to look at just the first two images, because they are closely connected.

Jesus says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Then he goes on, "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

In both images the kingdom begins with something almost insignificant—a tiny mustard seed and a little yeast. Both disappear into something larger: the mustard seed into the earth and the yeast into the flour. And both create something much larger than themselves...a tree and risen dough.

These parables seem to have obvious meanings—the kingdom of God is like something small that grows into something big.

But for Jesus' original audience, neither parable would have been this easy to understand or to accept.

During Jesus' time, mustard was not a valuable plant. It spread quickly and was difficult to control. Mustard would take over wherever it grew. Because of this, a careful farmer wouldn't intentionally plant mustard in the middle of his field. The plant ignored boundaries and spread where people didn't want it to go.

Then there is the image of yeast. During Passover, yeast had to be removed from every Jewish home, making it an odd image for Jesus to use when describing God's kingdom. Once mixed into dough, yeast works quietly and invisibly until every part of the dough is changed. It cannot be contained to one corner...but it affects the entire loaf.

So, for Jesus, the kingdom is not simply something that starts small and grows large. Instead, the kingdom has the qualities of a mustard seed and yeast...it is difficult to control and unpredictable. It works through everything, changing whatever it touches. It spreads beyond any boundaries, often in ways we would not choose.

Now go back to the words we pray so often: "Your kingdom come." If this is what the kingdom is really like, then those familiar words suddenly become much more unsettling.

Jesus isn’t saying that the kingdom is as we might want it to be, something we receive in neat, manageable doses. This is not a kingdom that shapes us for one hour on Sunday morning...but it reaches into Monday morning at work, while we are walking downtown, or when we are out for lunch. This is not the kingdom that will only influence our prayers, instead it will spread to touch our politics, our spending, our relationships, our prejudices, or the people we welcome into our lives or our church.

When Jesus says that the kingdom is like mustard and yeast...he is telling us that once it takes root, it will not stay in one corner of our lives. It will reach into everything...our relationships, our priorities, our assumptions, everything. The kingdom begins by changing us, and through us it changes the world around us.

So when we pray for God’s kingdom to come, these words are filled with meaning, beyond starting small and growing large...they are inviting God to challenge us in ways we might not want to be challenged.

Because if the kingdom comes, then something has to give. We cannot ask for God's kingdom while expecting everything else to stay the same. Sooner or later, God is going to ask us to change and to grow. To think differently. To love differently. To forgive differently. To make room for people we never imagined sitting beside us. And that is not always easy.

Trust me, I know. I struggle with it too.

So maybe the question isn't whether we pray, "Your kingdom come." The real question is whether we mean it, as Jesus presents it to us today. For Jesus the kingdom is like the mustard seed and the yeast. A mustard plant that refuses to stay where it is planted. Yeast that quietly works through every part of the dough. The kingdom of God is not something we can keep safely contained. Once it takes root, it changes everything including us. When we pray those words, we are asking God to change us. To disturb our comfort. To stretch our compassion. To challenge our assumptions. To help us make room for the people Christ is calling into his kingdom.

So when we pray, "Your kingdom come," later today...don't let those words pass by unnoticed. Remember the mustard seed. Remember the yeast. And remember what you are asking God to do—not only in the world, but in you. Amen.