Matthew 6: 24-34, Isaiah 49:8-16a, 1st Corinthians 4: 1-5
Epiphany 8A, February 27th, 2011
Grace Lutheran, Evanston, IL
Katie Hines-Shah
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Let me just say, it is good to be here this Sunday preaching at Grace. For those of you who don't recognize me, let me introduce myself. My name is Katie Hines-Shah. For the past few months my family has been worshiping here at Grace. We recently moved to Evanston from Berkeley California, and yes, in case you are wondering, we moved here for the weather.
Actually the weather is a real highlight. Our six-year-old son, John had only experienced snow in isolated incidents before we moved here. I realized a few weeks into our move that he had never actually seen it snow. For all he knew snow grew up out of the ground or was deposited by magic fairies in the night. It just as plausible as falling out of the sky, I suppose.
That's one of the wonderful things about having children. They help us see the world through a new set of lenses; they help us experience reality as a new vision. Which, of course, was much the same thing Jesus was always trying to do with his strange parables and odd teachings. Jesus was trying to introduce us to something he called "The Kingdom of God."
In today's Gospel comes to its emotional and rhetorical pinnacle when Jesus urges his disciples to seek first the Kingdom of God. But here's the problem. I don't think the people of Jesus' time really knew what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God, just as we have a hard time imagining it now.
Jesus’ early followers thought that the kingdom of God would be a very specific place, namely Jerusalem, but not as it stood then. No, Jesus’ early followers imagined that the kingdom of God would look like a Jerusalem purged of Romans, filled with God fearing Jews and a restored temple. Sometimes modern Christians think the kingdom of God looks like this too. But Jesus was adamant. The kingdom of God would not be some kind of specific place. The kingdom of God is more than that.
Most modern day Christians have an idea not of where the Kingdom of God is but when it will be. They would say that the kingdom of God is some kind of a time, a time far off from today. They imagine the kingdom of God as some kind of a heaven, or some kind of a philosophical idea to be achieved in some far distant future. Or at least they’d like to put off the kingdom of God until after school was over or the kids were done with soccer or when they retired. But Jesus was adamant. The kingdom of God cannot wait. The kingdom of God is here now.
What the kingdom of God looks like is pretty clear. Jesus’ first sermon in Luke centers on it. His earthly ministry makes it evident. His parables and teachings revolve around it. The kingdom of God looks exactly like our first lesson from Isaiah today. The kingdom of God will be a time and a place where the desolate will be lifted up, when the prisoners will be freed, where no one will hunger or thirst, when all will walk in safety and suffering will come to an end. That’s the kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God, Jesus reminds his disciples, reminds us today, is to be our first priority.
The kingdom of God is here, the kingdom of God us now, and we will see it if we are willing to put it first.
And this, my sisters and brothers, is one of the great challenges of faith. Are we willing to put aside other very real, very important concerns, to embrace Jesus' radical vision of peace and justice? Do we realize what might happen when we do seek out the kingdom?
I've been thinking about the kingdom of God a lot over these last few weeks. Jesus' radical vision of justice for all people continues to speak to inequalities within our world and within our church. I've been thinking specifically about the way our world and the way our church treats sexual minorities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people.
Coming from Berkeley, California I had the experience of working with and walking with several pastors who were in gay and lesbian relationships. They were not allowed to be ordained within the ELCA's systems and so were, as Krister Stendhal named it "Extra-ordinarily ordained." Two of the churches that performed such ordinations were removed from the ELCA as a consequence.
Looking for the kingdom first for these pastors, for these congregations, came at a cost. I know that congregations have lost pledges and members as a result of having these conversations. Some have used the ELCA's movement toward inclusion as an excuse to withhold money from our greater national church. Our Churchwide office has laid off many employees, including some Grace members.
And that is why, my sisters and brothers, that it is so important to remember that when Jesus promises us that seeking first the kingdom of God means that everything we need will be added to us that this isn't some kind of prosperity Gospel. Putting the kingdom first does not mean that all of our dreams will be fulfilled. Do not believe any of the Joel Orsteens, those preachers who promise that the life of a Christian comes means success, money, and happiness. Remember, Dr. King and Dietrich Bonheoffer, eleven of the twelve disciples, and Jesus himself died for the faith. While you and I may not be asked to sacrifice so much, perhaps this is a good reminder. Seeking the kingdom does not mean earthly success, not necessarily, anyway. But there's a flip side. Finding the kingdom means finding something that sorrow and hardship cannot touch. Not even death can take the riches of the kingdom away.
The trick, then, is learning to see the kingdom where it can be found. That's why we listen to these stories of Jesus, why we come to this place week after week, why we read our Bibles, why we pray. It's to learn to see the way of God's Kingdom of justice and peace. A kingdom that is like a mustard seed and some leaven in the dough. Like a treasure in a field and a pearl bought for a great price. It is a place where the poor, the meek, the mourning, and the persecuted are named blessed. It is a place right here, right now, for each of us, if we know what to look for. We need some new lenses.
As I said earlier, children can help with that. When my son John was about eighteen months old he had basically two words. Wow-wow and Woo-woo. A wow-wow, of course, was a dog, and a woo-woo was, of course a train. These were his two favorite things in the world and everywhere we'd go he'd be on the look out for them.
I remember once I was driving and all the sudden John excitedly started yelling "wow-wow, wow-wow" from the back seat. I looked around, as much as someone driving can, but could see no dog.
Gently I said to John, "Honey, there's no dog, I know you'd like to see a dog but there's just no one out right now. Maybe later we can go to the park and see a dog..." And then I saw it. Four blocks ahead - a dog - pulling at its owner's leash.
On another occasion my husband Jay and I were in the back yard when John started yelling "woo-woo, woo-woo!" We parents listened, but could hear no train. We thought perhaps John had brought a toy train outside, or wanted his train book, or had some other train related thought, and then we heard it. In the distance. A train.
At first Jay and I thought we hadn't seen the dog, we hadn't heard the train because we were getting old. We thought maybe our eyesight wasn't what it once was or that our ears weren't as keen as they were when we were small. Which I suppose could be true, but I don't think is the whole story. I think that the reason that John was so good at seeing dogs and hearing trains was that this was all he was looking for. John could care less about other motorists or traffic signals. All he wanted to see were dogs. John could care less about the whirl of the lawn mower or the beep of the timer on the stove. All he wanted to hear were trains. He had simply filtered out everything that was unimportant to him.
Seek first the Kingdom of God, Jesus says. Do not worry about everything else, including what you are going to eat or what you are going to wear. Filter those things out because they are less important. Look for the kingdom, encourage each other on the way. What you really need will be given to you. It is happening even now.
The kingdom is here even now. The kingdom of God is just a little more visible for GLBT people this week.
This week we heard word that the Obama administration will no longer defend the Defense Of Marriage Act. Its a small step, and certainly there's a long way to go, but I believe it is a sign that the kingdom of God is coming a little bit nearer.
The Kingdom of God is coming near. It is here in our ELCA churches. In 2009 at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly the ban against gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships was lifted, and gradually that message of justice has been coming into our synods and churches. Just last week I traveled with a whole carload of Grace folks to a workshop about extending the welcome to GLBT folks inside and outside our parishes. Today in California St. Francis, one of the two congregations expelled for ordaining gay and lesbian pastors will officially rejoin the ELCA. Sure we still have a long way to do, but isn't it good to see this early sign?
A friend of mine from North Carolina posted an update on Facebook this week. "Open daffodil sighting. This is not a drill." He wanted us all to know, winter's end it at hand, spring is coming. We are spotters of the Kingdom in the same way, pointing out the earliest signs to give each other hope, until the Kingdom is evident for all.
Of course this means we have work to do. The Apostle Paul says that we are bearers of the mysteries, and with this fancy title comes great responsibility. With our vision of the kingdom, we need to be workers for justice and peace. Don't worry, there's plenty of work to go around. Whether you see the kingdom coming in the work of revolutionaries in the Middle East, or in protests in neighboring states, or in extending the welcome in our churches, there is something for everyone. We can pray. We can write letters. We can organize. We can put our money where our morals are. We can dare to bring in the kingdom because we know that Christ has already won the ultimate victory for us. The Kingdom of God cannot be stopped.
This week watch and listen. Filter out what's less important. Encourage each other on the way. Be on the watch for the kingdom of God. It’s right here, in Evanston. It’s right now, in February. Be a part of helping it bloom.
Thanks be to God,
Amen
I've been thinking about where I might see the Kingdom coming - too hard for me to discern what's up far away - even in Wisconsin - I'll focus closer in - try seeing it in Safeway and on I80 and right in my neighborhood.
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