Roger Lynn
July 17, 2016
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
In Matthew’s Gospel, many of Jesus’ parables focus on “the kingdom of heaven.” It is a metaphorical way of talking about the reality to which Jesus is pointing us – the reality which stands in contrast with the ways in which we often live our lives – the reality of God’s active and ongoing presence in our lives and in our world. Jesus begins his public ministry by declaring that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. God is right here, right now, in the very midst of us. All we have to do is notice. Jesus then spends the rest of his ministry helping people notice — offering illustrations which assist us in understanding what it means, and encouraging us to step into that reality and begin living as if it were true (because it is).
One of the common threads which runs through Jesus’ parables is the understanding that God’s presence seldom looks like what we expect it to look like. How often do we find ourselves, at least privately in our own minds, thinking, “If I were in charge of the world, I would do things very differently.” And so it is that we get the pair of very short parables which make up part of our reading from Matthew’s Gospel for today. God’s presence in the world is like a mustard seed or a bit of yeast. He could just as easily have said it is like the wind. It might as well be nothing for all that we are able to see it and recognize it. God’s presence is not something to which we can simply point and say, “Here it is! I found it!” Indeed, it is not really a “thing” at all, but the reality which is intimately and wholly interconnected with everything that is. We recognize God’s presence not by seeing it but rather by experiencing the effect it has in us and in the world around us — the mustard seed grows into a tree, the yeast leavens the bread, the wind moves the clouds across the sky. Our lives and our world are shaped by the presence of God. The reality we think we know and understand grows and changes as we become ever more aware of God’s presence.
And being aware of this reality of God among us is really only the beginning. Recognizing the possibility that there is more to our existence than we usually notice is certainly a start. But for things to really take off we must give ourselves over to the process and fully participate. The parables which Jesus tells just a few verses after the “mustard seed / yeast” parables point us in this direction. God’s presence is like finding buried treasure in a field and selling everything you own to buy the field. God is most real — most fully known and knowable — when we do more than just observe from the sidelines. Faithful living is not a spectator sport, because life as God intends it is built on a foundation of relationship, connection and community. The more we are involved, the more we will realize the power of the sacred reality in our living.
In her book “Coming To Life,” Polly Berrien Berends puts it this way, “Therefore our quest for wholeness takes place neither through self completion or inter-self connection, but through discovering what it is with which we are one and, then, being one with it.” Paul said much the same thing to the Ephesians when he wrote, “You are children of light, so live like children of light.” When we begin to recognize the essential oneness of Life, we can’t help but want to jump in with both feet and give everything we have and everything we are to the business of being fully alive and being fully in God.
Having said that, however, it must also be acknowledged that it is painfully easy to get distracted and lose sight of this powerful truth. If you think that I stand up here every week and share sermons like this one because I have it all together and such living comes easy to me, then please allow me to correct your misconception. There are times when I absolutely “get it” – the truth of God’s presence in this moment fills my very being. But then there are those other moments, the ones when I forget to pay attention, and I wander off into some dark and hopeless corner. One Sunday several years ago I preached about remembering that God is bigger than our fears. And then within hours I found myself completely overwhelmed with fear and despair because I had forgotten to remember the truth – the truth that I am not alone, the truth that I am always and forever surrounded by the powerful and life-giving presence of God. It absolutely is not easy. Fear can be a powerful, blinding and destructive force in our lives. Which is why it is so important to remind ourselves over and over again of what, in our better moments, we know to be true. And it is why it is so important to surround ourselves with a supportive community that can help us remember when we forget. About ten years ago, during a period of reflection and discernment, when I was trying to figure out where God was leading me next, I began praying a prayer which helped to keep me grounded in this reality – “In this moment . . . this moment . . . this moment . . . I let go into Love . . . let go into trust . . . let go into abundance . . . and later today (5 minutes from now) I will do it all again . . . and again . . . and again.”
What would life look like if we were to REALLY live as if we were one with God and, indeed, with all of creation? How would we talk to each other? How would we listen to each other? How would we use our time? How would we use our money? What would rise to the top of our list of priorities? What would we let go of? What would we stop worrying about? What brokenness within ourselves would begin to heal? What brokenness in the world would we be able to touch in new and healing ways?
“The presence of God in the world is like a mustard seed . . . 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.” (Matthew 13:31-33) It can happen! Abundant, safe, protected life is possible for us and for all of creation. And for it to really take root and begin to grow will require everything we’ve got — our whole selves, given freely and with gusto, with nothing held back. Because only when we let go of the illusion that we are separate selves who have to do everything by ourselves can we begin to experience the fullness of our connected self — the self that is one with God and one with all of creation. How is God’s presence waiting to grow in you? When will you open your eyes, and your heart, and your lives and jump into that presence with both feet and everything you’ve got? I invite you to let it be today – this very moment. Amen.
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