The Kingdom of Heaven is like....

July 26, 2020 Proper 11/ 8th Sunday after Pentecost Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52 Year A The Kingdom of Heaven is like Children’s Sermon Object: enough imitation pearls so that each child may take one home; one pearl larger than the other pearls. What is really important to you? What is the most important thing that you call your own? Is it your doll or baseball glove? Maybe it is a pretty dress or a chemistry set. What is the most important thing to you? Jesus told a story about a businessman who thought that the most important thing in the whole world was a perfect pearl. This man was a good businessman and he had earned a lot of money from his business. Besides money he had a beautiful car. This car was really gorgeous. It had cardinal red leather upholstery inside and a gleaming metal body that was painted black. The steering wheel was made of ivory and the carpet was so thick that you practically lost sight of your feet when you stepped inside. This man had good taste in cars and he treated his own as though it were one of his best loves. This businessman did not stop with money and cars. He had a house that would make your mouth water to just think about it. The mansion sat back from the road so far that you couldn't see it, but there was a lawn that looked like a golf course leading up to it. The pillars on the porch were so big and so high that only eagles in flight could see the top. The rooms were large and each had a magnificent fireplace. Along the walls there were mirrors with gold frames and the paintings of the masters. This was really the kind of a home that kings and queens dream about. This businessman thought a lot of his money, his car and his house but the most important thing in the world was his search for a perfect pearl. One day while he was cruising in the South Seas he heard from some sailors about the most perfect pearl that they had ever seen. He couldn't wait to see it and he told the captain to set his course to find the pearl. When he arrived he was really impressed and he said that he would give anything that he had if the owner would sell him the pearl. There was lot of talk but finally the owner agreed to sell his pearl for all the money that the man had. (Hold up a pearl.) It cost a lot but the businessman was glad, for he felt that he owned the perfect pearl. A couple of years later while he was shopping in Paris he heard some stories about a perfect pearl that an old man had kept secret all of his life. The old man had died and people just raved about the pearl that had been kept secret for so many years. The businessman could not resist and he went to see it. This was really a perfect pearl. His first pearl was good but not this good. He had to have it. What would the heirs take for the pearl? (Hold up another pearl.) They bargained and bargained but the only thing the owners would take was his gorgeous car. The businessman finally agreed. He gave up the most beautiful car in the world for the perfect pearl. Things went pretty well for the businessman who had given up his money and car, until one day he heard some exciting news about a pearl that had been found along the Gold Coast of Africa. This one, they said, was really the best pearl that men had ever seen. The businessman could hardly believe it. He looked at his other two pearls and thought and thought. They were beautiful, the most beautiful that he had ever seen, but what if there was one that was still better. There was no choice, he had to go and see this pearl. Everything they had said was true. (Hold up another pearl.) This was by far the very best. It had the best shape and it glistened in the sun like a pure rain drop from heaven. He had to have it, but what could he give in exchange! There was only one thing left to give and so he gave it. He offered the men in Africa his beautiful home with all of the exquisite trimmings, and they took it. He had given all of his money, his gorgeous car and now his wonderful home. The days passed quietly and the businessman spent them looking at the most important things in his life, his three pearls and he was happy. Happy that is until the word came from a palace in India about the largest, purest and most beautiful pearl in the whole world. Once it had been discovered there were pictures in every paper and magazine throughout the whole world. What else could the businessman do but go and see it and try to buy it if he could. He went to India and stood in line for days to see the most perfect pearl in the world. When he finally looked down upon the pearl he knew that it had to be the best pearl that had ever been created. What did he have to offer? What could he give for this pearl. (Hold up the large pearl.) He had only one thing left to do. Do you know what the businessman did? (Wait for any answers.) He went all over the world trying to sell his three pearls that he had bought with his money, his car, and his house and he finally was able to sell all three. With the money that he got from the other three pearls he bought the one most beautiful pearl in the world. He sold everything that had to have the one thing that meant the most to him. I told you that this is a story that Jesus told to teach us a great truth. The final pearl, the best of them all is the same thing that heaven is. It is the best. Jesus says that we should be willing to give up everything that we have to know and live in God's heaven. No other thing on earth is worth as much as life with God in heaven. It is the best, and it is the only place in the whole world that is better than everything else put together. Heaven is to the Christian what the pearl of great price was to the businessman. You and I will give up everything to put God first so that some day we can live with God forever. This morning I am going to give you a pearl so that you can remember this story. Heaven, God's world, is the most precious thing there is and we will give up anything for it. CSS Publishing Company, The Parables of Jesus, by Wesley T. Runk Prelude Welcome Opening Prayer Call to Worship (Matthew 13) Come and worship God with your whole heart. We come as mustard seeds of faith. Come and worship God with your whole being. We come as leaven for the world. Come and worship God with your whole mind. We come as treasures and pearls of great price, enriching the world with our witness. Come and worship God with your whole lives. Stewardship Moment Seed Money Joseph Henderson and his wife had retired to Arizona several years ago. Now after his wife died, Joseph decided to visit the midwestern, rural area where they had grown up. His son and family lived near that area and he was staying with them for a few days. On a Saturday afternoon Joseph asked his grandson Will, a sophomore in high school, if he wanted to accompany him for a ride in the country. As the two of them rode along, Joseph pointed out some of the landmarks he remembered from having lived there many years before. "They still have some gravel roads in these parts," Joseph noted as the car raised a continuous cloud of dust. Suddenly, almost as if by surprise, they came across an old country church, long since abandoned. "Well, I'll be ..." Joseph said as he stopped the car. "That's the church where I used to attend Sunday school as a kid! Let's see if it's open so we can look around." It was open, and as they walked through the silent building, memories flooded back to Joseph. "I was baptized right at that baptismal font," he said to Will. "And I'm sure I marched up this aisle a few times in our Christmas pageant dressed as one of the kings." He chuckled as he recalled that pleasant memory. "Why did they stop using the church?" Will wanted to know. "Oh, this has happened to lots of rural churches," Joseph began. "Farmers moved into town, and those that didn't often preferred to attend worship in town. So there are empty church buildings like this in many parts of our country." "Is it just going to sit here and deteriorate?" Will asked. "You know, that gives me an idea," Joseph said with sudden enthusiasm. "Come on; let's go back to town!" "What are you going to do, Grandpa?" Will asked. "I want to go see the pastor of the church they built to replace this old building." He paused before going on. "You know, I think that old church could be restored and become kind of a reminder of the old days when we drove horse and buggy many miles to get to church." "Do you think anyone will be interested in doing that?" Will was full of questions. "That's what we're going to find out," Joseph responded. "Sometimes when someone comes up with an idea, it catches on. And besides I intend to start the ball rolling with a cash gift for the project - that is, if the pastor thinks if might be a good idea." They drove along in silence for a few moments. Then Will said tentatively, "Grandpa, if would take major league money to restore that building..." "You're probably thinking I can't give very much for it, and that's true, but a little bit can grow into a large amount." He was searching for the right words to explain it. "It's called seed money. You plant this idea and a little bit of seed money - well, you'd be surprised how big it will grow." Merle G. Franke, Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit. God Specializes in taking what we have and multiplying it and making it enough to do ministry. Offertory Prayer God of grace and mercy: we offer our gifts to you this day, knowing that is your love and presence that have sustained us through all our difficult days. We know there have been days when fear and anxiety have gotten the better of us, and we have needed the reminder Paul gave in the Epistle to the Romans, “If God is for us, who is against us?” Help us to live as Christ calls us, to share what we have and show love and compassion, as Christ taught us. We boldly pray, in the name of Jesus our Savior and Redeemer. Amen. (Romans 8:26-39) ___________________________ Scripture Parable of the mustard seed 31 He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. 32 It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.” Parable of the yeast 33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.” Matthew 13:44-52 Common English Bible Parable of the treasure 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field. Parable of the merchant 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it. Parable of the net 47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away. 49 That’s the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, 50 and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. Treasures new and old 51 “Have you understood all these things?”Jesus asked. They said to him, “Yes.” 52 Then he said to them, “Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.” Sermon I would like for us to begin by saying the Lord’s Prayer together. Different words, But God hears the same. I say the Lords prayer pretty frequently lately. Prayer last a little over 20 seconds, so pray it everytime I wash my hands. But the Lord’s prayer is also a great centering prayer for our sermon for the next two weeks. Today I want us to think about the words “ They kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The first words of our scripture for today – the kingdom of heaven is like. Jesus desparately wants us to understand what the kingdom of heaven is like. In Matthew when Jesus says the kingdom of heaven, he is not talking about a place up there. He is referring to the kingdom of God. Jesus is referring to this line in the lords prayer – the will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus is saying that heaven is not a place up there, it is a place here on earth. As a matter of fact, heaven is in here in your heart. Jesus gives us a series of 6 parables – all scenes from everyday life to help us to understand heaven. As Jesus is giving parables, he is intentional about being inclusive. – He talks to the farmer, the housewife, the banker, the fishermen the lawyer. Jesus is talking to men, but he is also talking to women. The kingdom of heaven is something that we can all relate to. It is something that we all have access to. Matthew 13 is the last part of the third of five major teachings in Matthew. Jesus has been training his disciples what it means to follow Christ and to do the work of God. Jesus talks to the in straightforward and easy to understand stories – parables. Jesus is not just talking to the twelve, but to anyone in the crowd who is willing to listen. So he gives 7 different parables. All of them are rich in meaning, I wont go into detail about each parable, we would be here all day , and we want to get out of the heat. But I will say that each of them is a lesson in discipleship. The first parable is a farmer planting the mustard seed. Actually, a mustard seed is not the smallest seed, but it is symbolically the seed that the isrealites talked about when they wanted to talk about something small turning into something big. No self respecting Israelite would ever plant a mustard seed in their field or garden. The mustard seed is a weed. It does not grow into a tree – but an out of control bush. Once you plant it, it takes over everything. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. They start out small and grow from there. But also we cannot control God’s will. When we choose to follow God, we don’t get to write the script – the script writes us. When you become a disciple, you have to always expect the unexpected. The next parable is from the kitchen – in Jesus day that would have been a message specifically for women. This woman is using 3 measures of flour to make some bread. This would have been enough bread to last a large family a week. Not only is she making a large amount of bread, she uses leaven to make it expand even more. To add leaven would have been a bad thing in a jewish household – eventually she is going to have to through this rising bread away. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven in bread – God has a way of expanding our efforts once again beyond our control. Yeast in bread is invisible, mysterious, and out of control. The next two parables are about pearls of great price. Ancient people loved and valued pearls. One man hides his pearl in the field and must sell the field to get the pearl. Another man sells all that he has in order to find the perfect pearl. The pearl is once again hidden, but very valuable. The kingdom of heaven is like the pearl of great price. The pearl is available to us all – and if we are disciples, we should all search and pay the cost to get the pearl. The message for us – we all have a choice about the life we live. We can use the common sense of the world, or we can listen to Jesus and let him determine the decisions we make in life. We all have to potential to be bad or good. What would you be doing if you were not a Christian? How would you treat people if you were not a Christian? How would you be using your Sundays if you were not a Christian? We all have a choice, but Jesus is asking us to choose the pearl of great price – Choose to follow God. In the next parable Jesus encourages the fishermen to collect all of he fish, and let the angels separate the good ones from the bad. In other words – we don’t get to choose who to be Christian to. Be kind, understanding loving to everyone. Let God be the judge of whether they deserve it or not. The last parable is for me to most important. It is a lawyer – mixing the old and the new in order to present a case. In life we like to make choices between good and bad, new and old, young and old, new school old school. Jesus says that all of life is more integrating the new and the old together. The Greek uses the word Kanios – which means fresh. In other words, there is nothing wrong with the old – but God does not want the old to turn into the stale and unusable, so we should keep things in our life and our life fresh and usable. Six lessons for six disciples. The kingdom of heaven is a tiny seed that will grow, leaven that will work through the lumps, treasure that is heaven but will be found, fish that will be sorted, faith that needs to be integrated. But I think that they are deeper than that. They are also six phases in each of our relationship with God. We are all in the process of putting together the old and the new, finding, selling buying our lives, reinventing ourselves in the face of new revelations. And that is why each of us is here on earth – to discover God. Not in strange extraordinary places in life, but in the normal places in life. Heaven is not a place up there, heaven is a place on earth, heaven is a place in here. Meister Eckhart said that each of us has an inner wine cellar juse it. We all have the guidance to our lives, within ourselves in within our relationship with God – we don’t all access it. The best place to find God is in our desire to be a disciple. We all have gifts. We just have to be willing to use those gifts in our everyday work. We have to plant to seeds, we have to put in the yeast, we have to sell the field, we have to do the fishing, we have to integrate the old and new. A disciple is one who is willing to do all of the work. A Commitment That Is Entire A goal that is worthy deserves and demands a commitment that is entire. An Olympic athlete must be committed to training; a great violinist must be committed to practicing; anyone who pursues a goal must be committed to the disciplines the achievement requires. After hearing a famous pianist, a lady said to him, "I would give anything to be able to play like that." He replied, "I'll bet you wouldn't give five minutes a day." Another said to a master musician, "I would give my very life if I could play the way you do," and the musician replied, "That is precisely what it cost me, my life." Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure to be found, like a priceless pearl to be sought. Leonard W. Mann, Life-Sized Living, CSS Publishing Company The kingdom of God is not just about our personal spiritual journey – but also our journey together as the church. Don’t You Understand? The church Board of Trustees gathered for their monthly meeting. Theirs was a small church struggling to grow. The church had received a substantial grant from and urban church that had closed and decided to help other churches in the area by distributing its endowment. A worshipping congregation of less than thirty, this church had decided to spend the gift in a way they hoped would help them grow. They had taken the bold step—some would say the foolish step—of calling a fulltime pastor, knowing full well that unless attendance and contributions increased dramatically they would run out of money in less than three years. Membership had increased; pledges twice the amount they were before their bold step of faith. But the picture was still bleak. The trustees listened carefully as the treasurer reported the year-end deficit: $11,000. $11,000! They had known that they were behind, but the figure was staggering, fully 20% of the total budget. There was an uncomfortable silence, disturbed only by the sound of people shifting in their chairs. And then, one of the men started to chuckle. The woman next to him flashed a look of surprise, then horror. But something inside her started to giggle too. One by one the people around the table were captured by the spirit of laughter, some nervous at first, against their wills, but soon the whole room was filled with the sound. Why were they laughing? How could they possibly laugh when they were faced with such a serious situation? Then again, how could they not laugh? What a ridiculous notion to think that they could really raise the kind of money it would take to balance the budget. What an impossible situation! Yet somehow they had been led there, by a vision—wasn’t it from God?—that they were called to do more than they had before, that the potential for ministry was great, that the possibility of growth was real, that God had put them on the road they were on. They laughed because they couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. They laughed because they felt overwhelmed and inadequate in the face of it all. They laughed because somewhere deep within them they knew they weren’t ready to give up, and that God wasn’t ready to give up on them. They could have cried, maybe they should have cried, but instead, they laughed. The last to join the laughter was the pastor, sitting on the far side of the table near the corner, wondering if he was going to be able to cash his next paycheck. “Have you understood all this?” he wanted to shout. But finally the Spirit tickled even him, and he nearly spewed the coffee out of his mouth as the laughter overtook him. Donald B. Brown, Have You Understood All This? Dr. A. Rendle Short points out that the first blind asylum was founded by Thalasius, a Christian monk; the first free dispensary was founded by Apollonius, a Christian merchant; the first hospital of which there is any record was founded by Fabiola, a Christian lady. Christianity was the first faith to be interested in the broken things of life. Anyone who asks the question: “What has Christianity done for the world?” has delivered himself into a Christian debator’s hands. There is nothing in history so unanswerably demonstrable as the transforming power of Christianity and of Christ on the individual life and on the life of society. Let us pray…… Prayer Pastoral Prayer God of amazing surprises, how easy it is for us to focus on the big picture and forget that change comes in the smallest of ways, in our hearts, our spirits, and then in our actions. We have gathered here this day, coming from different experiences, to hear your word of healing love. We offer our prayers for our friends and family members who are in need of your healing and forgiveness. Yet we withhold ourselves from you. We have a hard time imagining that you would find much of real worth in each of us. We think of ourselves as insignificant in your kingdom. But you have poured your love on us. You have given us the seeds of hope and compassion; you have called us the treasure that is meant to enrich the world. Help us be those people who are so confident in your presence, that we dare to step out in faith, to work for you in places of need and strife; to witness to your love in all that we do, proclaiming your presence with our mouths and our actions. Give us your guidance, your forgiveness, and courage to be at work in your kingdom. AMEN. Moment of Reflection Announcements • We have had to have alternative styles of worship for 6 months now, who would have thought we would still be dealing with this, but we are. • We will have communion next week – it will be self contained and we will have it from our cars. Ushers will pass it out, with gloves. If you are not comfortable taking it, that is okay, just put your hands up. • The health team has determined that our main gathering with continue to be drive in worship for the month of August. After Labor day, starting on September 13th we will have some form of indoor worship in addition to the 3 ways that we already have. Details of what that looks like will be coming, as the health team continues to monitor the everchanging situation. • I will send out the breaking open the scripture next week – but we will continue our look at the gospel next week – the scripture will be Matthew 14:13-21 Benediction With a song of praise on our lips, we go forth with God. With the love of God in our hearts, we go forth with God. With a commitment to usher in God’s kingdom, we go forth with God. With all that we are and all we can be, we go forth with God. Additional Illustrations The Holy Grail In Tennyson's tale of the Holy Grail, a knight searches high and low for that which lasts for eternity and gives ultimate meaning. He comes upon a singing brook, with deep meadows and wonderful fruit trees. But even as he ate the fruit, it turned to dust, for no feeding of the flesh could still his deepest hunger. Riding on, he saw a home, its opened door a promised welcome and in the door there was a beautiful woman, her eyes innocent and kind. Surely the love of a woman and the sweet shelter of home are my heart's desire, reasoned the knight; "But when I touched her, Lo! She too, fell into dust and nothing, and the house became no better than a broken shed." His soul still craving, he traveled on. He found a warrior clad in golden armor. But he also turned to dust. Then he came upon a city that sat upon a hill. Surely civic service and the affection of his fellow men will mean his journey's end. But when he reached the crest, there was neither city, man, nor any voice, so that he cried in grief. "Lo, if I find the Holy Grail itself, and touch it, it will crumble into dust." Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows? Are you tired of spinning round and round? Gather up all the broken dreams of your life and at the feet of Jesus, lay them down. Find the pearl of great price. J. Howard Olds, Faith Breaks, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. Both Glad and Sorry There is an ancient legend about some men who were on a long journey. They came across a great desert, and rode into a wilderness area. At sundown they came to a river. They got off their horses and knelt down by the river to drink water. Suddenly a voice spoke to them. The voice said, "Fill your pockets up with pebbles from along the river. And tomorrow you will be both glad and sorry." So they did what the voice commanded. They got on their horses and rode away. On through the night they rode. Finally the sun began to peek over the horizon. They stopped and reached into their pockets and there they found diamonds and rubies. They held a treasure in their hands, and they were both glad and sorry. They were glad they had it, but they were sorry because they had not taken more. The good news for us is we can have all we want of the treasure of His kingdom, all we are willing to take. If you will take that treasure you will learn it is the discovery of a lifetime. Thomas A. Pilgrim, The Man From Galilee, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Mustard: The Weed The Roman naturalist, Pliny the Elder, who died in 79AD while investigating the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, writes: Mustard grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: But on the other hand when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once. Pliny describes in great detail the medicinal uses of the mustard plant, but it is important to remember that it was then, as it is now, a weed. It is significant that Jesus chooses a seed that when easily germinated tends to take over where it is not wanted, that can quickly get out of control and that attracts birds into a cultivated area, where they are least desired. William L. Dols, Looking for the Kingdom of God Too High Up and Too Far Away A Precious Gift There is an ancient legend about the monk who found a precious stone, a precious jewel. A short time later, the monk met a traveler, who said he was hungry and asked the monk if he would share some of his provisions. When the monk opened his bag, the traveler saw the precious stone and, on an impulse, asked the monk if he could have it. Amazingly, the monk gave the traveler the stone. The traveler departed quickly overjoyed with his new possession. However, a few days later, he came back, searching for the monk. He returned the stone to the monk and made a request: “Please give me that which enabled you to give me this precious stone!" A commitment of the whole heart, that’s what heaven…the Kingdom of Heaven requires of its followers. I love this last parable because Jesus does not say the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl of great price. He says the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant, a merchant who finds a great deal on a flawless stone and does everything in his power to close the sale. That’s commitment to a greater cause. That’s sacrifice and hard work. That’s what heaven is like. Amen. Keeping It Fresh In our text, the word kainos is used. While it can mean, something recent; in this context, it may also mean "fresh," in contrast to old and stale, as in this Jewish story (A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs of the Jewish People Edited by Nathan Ausubel Copyright, 1948, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York). Usually the orthodox rabbis of Europe boasted distinguished rabbinical genealogies, but Rabbi Yechiel of Ostrowce was an exception. He was the son of a simple baker and he inherited some of the forthright qualities of a man of the people. Once, when a number of rabbis had gathered at some festivity, each began to boast of his eminent rabbinical ancestors. When Rabbi Yechiel's turn came, he replied gravely, "In my family, I'm the first eminent ancestor." His colleagues were shocked by this piece of impudence, but said nothing. Immediately after, the rabbis began to expound Torah. Each one was asked to hold forth on a text culled from the sayings of one of his distinguished rabbinical ancestors. One after another the rabbis delivered their learned dissertations. At last it came time for Rabbi Yechiel to say something. He arose and said, "My masters, my father was a baker. He taught me that only fresh bread was appetizing and that I must avoid the stale. This can also apply to learning." And with that Rabbi Yechiel sat down. [p. 51] A Treasury of Jewish Folklore: Stories, Traditions, Legends, Humor, Wisdom and Folk Songs of the Jewish People Edited by Nathan Ausubel Copyright, 1948, Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, quoted by Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes Thy Kingdom Come Every hour in the 24 hours that make up any Sunday on planet earth, the words are heard countless millions of times. Millions pray these words each week in worship and some pray these words every day. Do you know them? "Thy kingdom come.." Of course you do. These words come from the best known prayer in the Christian world... The Lord's prayer. But let me ask you a question. When you pray, "Thy kingdom come," what exactly do you mean by this "kingdom?" What is it that you want to come? It would seem to be a pretty straight forward question with an easy answer. The "Thy" in the phrase refers to God, so obviously it is God's kingdom we want to come, isn't it? But do we understand all that is involved in the coming of the Kingdom? What will it mean to live in the presence of God? And aren't we already supposed to be doing exactly that? John Jewell, Understanding the Kingdom Heaven Is a Process Most people I know believe that heaven is some far, distant place. When folks describe heaven they generally speak of some favorite place, like Myrtle Beach, Hawaii, the Smoky Mountains or a cabin in Canada. The book of the Revelation to John talks about a place where there are "streets of gold, walls with precious stones and pearl gates." Our images of heaven tend to be some form of paradise where everything is beautiful and wonderful. But here in the gospel of Matthew Jesus does not describe "heaven" as a place. He is speaking in parables and in each parable he refers to heaven as an activity. Heaven is not a destination but a journey. For Jesus, heaven has to do with planting seeds, discovering treasure, selling everything you have and being caught up in a huge net. In other words heaven is not a place where we end up but a process we participate in. Keith Wagner, Heaven Is Like This…. Humor: Prioritizing Treasure Bernard Tristain once won a newspaper competition by providing the best answer to the question: "If a fire broke out in the Louvre and you could save only one painting, which one would it be?" His reply was, "The one nearest the exit." I can sympathize with that. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com The Tiny O-Ring The Shuttle program was once grounded for several weeks due to cracks in the fuel line. We are reminded about the tiny rubber o-ring about three-tenths of an inch wide. To look at a tiny o-ring that small would not impress anyone. And yet 20 years ago two of those rings were placed in the aft field joint of the Solid Rocket Booster to stop gases from escaping. Whether it was the unusually cold weather, a contaminate introduced into the zinc putty used on them, any number of potential compression problems, or human error during manufacturing, these two miniature o-rings failed to do what they were designed to do, and the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded before the watching world, 73 seconds into her flight, claiming the lives of all seven crew members. It's the little things. Tiny viruses the size of a pin head, heart valves no larger than a man's thumbnail, single votes in an election, an ill-chosen word from a loved one - little things have tremendous power. Matthew 13 records the story Jesus told about the smallest thing His audience could identify with--a mustard seed. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com. Adapted from a Sermon titled "Diminutive Dynamite" at mecf.net Living on the Edge Christ's kingdom always calls for the note of sacrifice, taking a chance, living on the edge. There was an man down in Florida who used to wrestle alligators for tourists. One time after one of his performances a lady noticed he wore a string of alligator teeth around his neck. She said, "Oh, that is sort of like wearing a string of pearls." He replied, "Not quite. Anyone can open an oyster." Thomas A. Pilgrim, The Man from Galilee Acres of Diamonds There is a story called, "Acres of Diamonds." It is about an African farmer who hears that some have made millions by discovering diamond mines. In his excitement, he sells his farm and uses the money to travel all across the continent of Africa in search of diamonds. But the former farmer never finds his fortune, and he dies as a poverty-stricken, heart-broken man. But it just so happens that the fellow who purchased the farm from the fortune seeker was one day crossing a stream on his newly acquired property when he found a big, beautiful rock. The fellow placed this strange rock on the fireplace mantel. Several weeks later a visitor noticed the rock and just about fell over. He recognized that this wasn't just an ordinary rock; it was a diamond. In fact, it happened to be one of the largest diamonds ever to be found. And the farm turned out to be one of the most productive diamond mines in all of Africa. J. Matthew Miles, The Ethic of the Kingdom: Finders-Seekers, Givers-Keepers Pearl of Great Price A hundred years after it was buried with Manchu emperor Ch’ien Lung in 1799, the fabled “Pearl of Asia” was stolen by grave robbers. The fabulous pearl had been found by Persian divers, and purchased by the emperor Sha Jahan for his wife Mumtaz, for whom he also built the Taj Mahal and the Pear Mosque. About a century later the pearl was listed among the treasure of Ch’ien Lung. After it was stolen from the emperor’s tomb, the pearl disappeared from sight for eighteen years before turning up in Hong Kong. There it was used as security for a large loan that later defaulted. The pearl was then sold in Paris to an unidentified buyer for an undisclosed price. Since the 1940s, the location of the “Pearl of Asia” has been unknown; and its value is unassessed in today’s dollars. (Today in the Word, September 9, 1995, p. 16). If you were to find this pearl today you would gladly sell all your possessions on earth to purchase it. You know that its value would far exceed your current treasures. In the same manner give your heart to God. Hold nothing back and you will posses treasure in heaven where no thief can pilfer and no moth destroy. Brett Blair, Sermon Illustrations Blessing or Curse? The story is told of old King Midas who loved the sight and sound and the feel of gold. The king was convinced that enough gold would bring meaning to his life and was delighted when he was granted his wish that everything he touched would be changed into gold. Yet his golden world came to have a hollow ring to it. He discovered he couldn’t eat because his food would turn to gold as it touched his lips. He couldn't embrace his young daughter because that would turn her to gold. As long as he had the Midas touch, the king could not have life or love. He soon realized the boon of materiality was in fact a curse of death, and begged to have it removed so he could once again enjoy more genuine blessings. The good you want will never come from a material thing. Material goods are nothing but physical expressions of ideas of good things. But the REAL good things never break or go out of style because they are invisible and eternal. Enjoy a good, loving or creative idea today--it will last forever! John Marks Templeton, Discovering the Laws of Life, Continuum, 1995, p. 263 _____________________________ Do You Understand? My son, Arthur, is a very active nine-year-old. Daily he roars through our neighborhood on his skateboard jumping curbs and busting out tricks with his buddies. But before he was ever allowed to play outside alone with his friends, my husband and I drilled him about the dangers of the streets. We taught him who strangers are and what they might look like, we described the various lures they use to draw children closer to them, and we acted out the steps he should take if ever approached by someone he didn’t know. Frequently, before he goes out to play, we ask him questions to drive these vital lessons into his mind: What does a stranger look like? What do you do if a stranger approaches you and wants your help in finding a lost puppy? Why is it important to stay with the group and never go off alone? Then we ask, “Do you understand why all these lessons are so important?” His answers to these questions help us determine his ability to play safely away from our presence. Jesus had three short years to teach the disciples all about the kingdom of heaven before He sent them into the world “as sheep among wolves” (Matthew 10:16). He wanted them fully equipped so He repeated lessons from different parable perspectives to drive the divine truths into their hearts and minds. Frequently at the end of His exhortations He would ask them, “Do you understand?” In this week’s parables, you will learn in further detail the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. It is my prayer that after you’ve studied these stories, if you are asked, “Do you understand?” you will be able to answer confidently, “Yes!” Kristi DuBay, Do You Understand? Three Measures of Flour "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." Three measures of flour! Do you know how much that is? About eighty pounds! This woman is not Martha Stewart whipping up a couple delicate exquisite little biscuits that together weigh less than a canary. No, no. This woman is a baker! She's emptying sixteen five-pound bags of flour into the biggest mixing bowl you've ever seen. She's pouring in forty-two cups of water! She's got a mass of dough on her hands that weighs over a hundred pounds! Kneading this lump of dough, shaping it, pounding it. It looks like some scene at the end of a professional wrestling match. Here we have a no-nonsense operation. Sports fans, this is baking at its best. A woman, with her apron dusted with flour, her ten fingers deep into the dough -- she's a combination of Julia Child and Hulk Hogan. Charles Hoffacker, The Work of the Baker Woman An idea was sown in the mind of one man, and that idea changed life for hundreds of thousands of people. An idea must find a man willing to be possessed by it; but when it finds such a man an unstoppable tide begins to flow. Someone must begin a reformation; he need not begin it in a nation; he may begin it in his home or where he works. If he begins it no man knows where it will end. “And such were some of you.” As Denney had it, we must never forget that the function and the power of Christ is to make bad men good There is an unwritten saying of Jesus which never found its way into any of the gospels, but which rings true: “Raise the stone and thou shalt find me; cleave the wood and I am there.” When the mason is working on the stone, when the carpenter is working with the wood, Jesus Christ is there. True happiness, true satisfaction, the sense of God, the presence of Christ are all to be found in the day’s work, when that day’s work is honestly and conscientiously done. Brother Lawrence, great saint and mystic, spent much of his working life in the monastery kitchen amidst the dirty dishes, and he could say, “I felt Jesus Christ as close to me in the kitchen as ever I did at the blessed sacrament.” IN the ancient world pearls had a very special place in men’s hearts. People desired to possess a lovely pearl, not only for its money value, but for its beauty. They found a pleasure in simply handling it and contemplating it. They found an aesthetic joy simply in possessing and looking at a pearl. The main sources of pearls in those days were the shores of the Red Sea and far-off Britain itself; but a merchant would scour the markets of the world to find a pearl which was of surpassing beauty. There are certain most suggestive truths hidden in this parable. Every man comes to Jesus Christ with some gift and with some ability. Jesus does not ask that he should give up his gift. So many people think that when a man declares for Christ he must give things up and concentrate upon the so-called religious things. But a scholar does not give up his scholarship when he becomes a Christian; rather he uses it for Christ. A business man need not give up his business; rather he should run it as a Christian would. One who can sing, or dance, or act, or paint need not give up his art, but must use his art as a Christian would. The sportsman need not give up his sport, but must play as a Christian would. Jesus did not come to empty life but to fill it, not to impoverish life but to enrich it. Here we see Jesus telling men, not to abandon their gifts, but to use them even more wonderfully in the light of the knowledge which he has given them.