TRINITY 7 YEAR A, 26th July 2020What is the kingdom of heaven? Where is the kingdom of heaven? Who will enter the kingdom of heaven and when will it be accomplished?Those are very tricky questions which we all have to examine during our Christian journey, and I am going to make the bold assertion that for every one of us there are slightly different answers. The reason for that is perhaps more to do with our individual life journey than our scholarly interpretation of the Bible.Our starting point when we consider our goal is something which affects us dramatically. All of you taking part in this service this morning have a past which is secret to yourself, and I include myself in that, a past which moulds us into what we are and how we see the world and how we see God. If you were to write an autobiography would you tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I wonder. But God really knows you, he knows all your failings, and all your good points, and gifts, and he wants to use you to build his kingdom,The kingdom of heaven is from my viewpoint being in the presence of God. This was accomplished by the presence of Jesus in his incarnation and remains with us if we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. So the kingdom can be with us now and we can help to build it and we will be eternally in God's presence if we are judged at our death to love him as he loves us.Every day we say the Lord's Prayer and pray “Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. God's kingdom of heaven is secure and certain, but we all have a job to do to try to make our world more heavenly, by fighting evil wherever it is, starting with ourselves.Today's Gospel reading is a succession of parables that St. Matthew has linked together to try to give Jesus' proclamations concerning the kingdom of heaven.The first two signify how the kingdom will grow. The fruitfulness of the Church is dramatically emphasised by Matthew, where a mustard seed grows into a tree where the birds can make their nests. This transformation from a shrub as depicted in St. Mark's Gospel is perhaps just an exaggeration (a mustard seed might make 8 - 10 feet in really good conditions), but as in all good story telling a bit of hyperbole helps. The spread of the Gospel is then stressed by the parable of the yeast, with the emphasis on the small amount of yeast required. During the lock-down, I like some of you I am sure, have resorted to making bread. I know lots of you have been making bread, because for several weeks it was almost impossible to buy bread flour, and even harder to get yeast. Making a loaf this week it took only 2 level teaspoons of died yeast to make a loaf, and some of you oldies like me might also remember having a Ginger Beer Plant that went on for months with the original mixture of yeast and bacteria. So these tiny seeds or fungi bring about mighty produce, they are examples to us all about, however insignificant or unconfident we might feel, we can spread the Gospel, to build the Kingdom of Heaven.The second two short parables describe how the kingdom of heaven is so valuable that it is worth exchanging all the other thing we treasure to obtain it. In New Testament times where there were no banks, only the super-rich had treasuries which had to be guarded at all times, so ordinary people if they had any wealth would bury it in their land and sometimes if they died the whereabouts of their treasure would go with them to the grave. This still happened in our country until two or three hundred years ago when the banking industry became reasonably secure, as we occasionally see hoards of coins or jewellery being discovered by metal detectorists. On this occasion a man found treasure in a field, but knowing that he would get found out, sells everything to buy the field and then everything in it was legally his. He must have been a poor man to have to sell everything he had to buy a field, but he hit the jackpot. The second parable is obviously about a more wealthy man, a dealer in pearls, but a man who was seeking the best and when he found it was prepared to sell everything he had to obtain it. So we have two different men, one a poor man who hits the jackpot by accident and then through ways of this world secures it, and then a wealthy man who was searching and then found what he wanted and was prepared to give up everything for it.The final parable goes back to judgement with the story of the net, which would have been very familiar to most people in Jesus' day and we still see today where trawlers catch everything and then throw back all they are not fishing for, or they are not allowed to catch. So judgement will come to us all, but the God that we know as Christians, is merciful and loving and if we approach him in love and humility we will be taken to him.Jesus finally addresses the disciples and says basically “have you understood that”. They say “yes” which considering how they messed up at the time of the passion gives us all hope. Then Jesus finishes with a final sort of parable or slightly obscure sentence “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 old and new”. This may have been added by Matthew to point out that he was a scribe, but much more than the Jewish scribes; although he was writing more for a Jewish readership. He knew the treasures came from both the Jews and their traditions and the gentiles who were searching for the kingdom of heaven.Just one final thing – when you say the Lord's Prayer – don't just say it – pray it.Jesus told us it was OK to be worldly at times and you know I like to include a joke or funny story so here goes.Before going to America on business, a man drove his Rolls-Royce to the City of London and went into the Bank of England to ask for an immediate loan of £5,000. The loan officer was quite taken aback, and requested collateral. “Well, then, here are the keys to my Rolls-Royce”, the man said. The loan officer promptly had the car driven into the underground parking for safekeeping. Two weeks later, the man walked through the bank's doors, and asked to settle up his loan and get his car back. The loan officer checked the records and told him, “That will be £5,000 in principle, and £15.40 in interest”. The man wrote out a cheque, thanked the loan officer, and started to walk away. “Wait sir”, the loan officer said, “while you were gone, I found out that you are a multi-millionaire, why in the world would you need to borrow?” The man smiled. “Where else could I securely park my Rolls-Royce in the City of London for two weeks and only pay £15.40?”Pray for the Kingdom. Amen
Thought for the day on St James the Apostle, 25th July 2020King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church, he had James the brother of John killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Sometimes I think we can get confused about Biblical references to King Herod, as there were several of them.This one is not Herod the Great, who massacred the Holy Innocents. He died around 4 BC-Work that one out! Nor is it Herod who had John the Baptist killed, that was Herod Antipas. The one we are dealing with here is Herod Agrippa, king of Judea 41-44 AD. grandson of Herod the Great. It is clear that a ruthless and cruel streak ran through this family.We have to be thankful that we do not live today under such wicked despots who held human life so cheap.Why Herod Agrippa decided to lay violent hands upon the church we can only guess.We are told that the martyrdom of James pleased the Jews, however Peter who was next in line was only imprisoned, although he escaped. James is one of the best known of the 12 apostles.His father Zebedee was a well known fisherman in the area where Jesus lived. He was called as one of the first followers along with his brother John. Along with Peter we have the three who formed the inner ring of the disciples. He therefore witnessed the raising of Jairus’ daughter, he was present at the Transfiguration and was at the Garden of Gethsemane on the first Maundy Thursday. In Mark’s Gospel he was one of the disciples who asked Jesus about the future destruction of the temple, “When will this be and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”It is however somewhat reassuring to know that the disciples were human like us and made mistakes. It was the mother of James and John who asked if they could be granted seats on his left or right in the kingdom. Naturally Jesus rebuked them for this, the other disciples were not best pleased either. We do well to remember that we are not involved in Church work to be the greatest, to be in some way important, but to serve. A fitting reminder to us all!None of us can lay claim to the best seats in the kingdom of heaven. Another mistake by James and John happened in a Samaritan village. The village did not welcome Jesus because he was going to Jerusalem and Jews and Samaritans were not exactly the best of friends.The brothers said “Lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” Again they were rebuked by Jesus.Good to remember that even the greatest saints were not perfect.The two brothers were nicknamed Boanerges or Sons of Thunder. Some have suggested that James had a fiery temper, which may have been why Herod Agrippa took a dislike to him. Why should James die and Peter escape? James is in any case the only disciple whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament, the first disciple to die, unlike his brother John who was not martyred.James is often referred to as James the Greater, to distinguish him from the other disciple called James the Less. Numerous churches have been dedicated to him, including several in this diocese. Our one time curate Andrew Quigley is Vicar of the well known church of St James the Greater in Leicester. According to legend James’ remains are in Santiago de Compostela in Spain, although some scholars dispute this. Be that as it may the fact remains that Santiago has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world. The way of St.James is a network of routes leading there. Some people have walked the last 100 km to get there or 200km by bicycle.St.James is the patron saint of Spain.When 25 July falls on a Sunday it is called holy or Jubilee year and a special door is opened for entrance to the great Santiago Cathedral, the next Jubilee is 2021As we reflect on St.James, his close relationship with Christ, and his human failings we might say as of many saints, in the words of the hymn writer, “they were mortal too like us, Ah when we like them must die, may our souls translated thus, triumph, reign, and shine on high” (but not in the best seats!)
Thoughts for Today From the real world, sublime and challenging Arica – symbols in the desert…pointing to PeruOur last port of call in 9 days of travel along Chile is said to be ‘the driest inhabited place on earth’, Arica. There are rarely any clouds over Arica. The greatest difficulty being able to supply enough desalinated water to a place which is just 11 miles from the Peruvian border. This was the day that we would journey into part of the Atacama Desert ‘the driest in the world’. The road we travelled from the city is called the Pan American highway. First we visited the Cathedral Church of St Marco, the only steel cathedral in the world and designed by Eiffel (as in Eiffel Tower) in 1875. The original was destroyed by earthquake and tidal wave in 1868. On the way to the desert we saw little and large roadside memorials called ‘Animetas’. These were not the scene of tragic accidents, but family sites for anniversaries for families to pilgrimage.The heat of the desert is hard to describe. The gentle breeze made it bearable at 40 degrees C. It was to be a day of ancient and modern. In this desolate spot were two sculptures: ‘Man and Woman in the Desert’. The man has hands on his hips, demonstrative of masculinity. They are by Piaz Fleming, a Chilean sculptor. They were erected in 1997 in the style of the ancient Chinchorro (the Fisher Folk) Culture going back to 7,000 BC.Bizarrely a band appeared with five dancers. They were in blue and silver costumes and danced their ‘Sol Dancing’, going back to the times of slavery and oppression to the rowdy band of drums, cymbals and trumpeters. It wasn’t the only bizarre happening of the day. By the barren roadside on a hillside was an enormous ‘geoglyph’ celebrating the 125th Anniversary of Coca Cola emblazoned in large white letters! The real geoglyphs going back to the 11th century were not far away, with the Atacama Giant (393 feet high) further into the Atacama Desert. The ones we saw were of Llama and dancing humans or apes? You decide!The modern cultural museum, San Miguel de Azapa included a shady garden and open-air display of prehistoric art murals, wall tile ceramics and ancient pestle and mortars. Inside were the 7000 year old Chinchorro mummies of all ages. The people then didn’t live beyond 35-40 years due to ear and lung weaknesses caused by exposure to sea-water as fishermen. Also, the eating of raw fish brought new fatal infections to whole families.This insight into an ancient culture through these archeological treasures was very moving. The most ancient of Bolivia, Peru and Chile are the Aymara people who were pre Inca. There are 2.3 million indigenous populations within those countries. They treat the Llama as heavenly and so the story goes that the Llama sips the water from the ocean and sprays the rain of heavenly urine upon the population - hence the llama Geoglyphs (which did not illustrate this phenomenon).We say farewell to Chile, from the glaciers of the fjords to the hottest of places. Coming away we had a real insight into a troubled time; such diversity, extreme sights, sounds, flavours and beauty. Arica describes the diversity with its aridity and lush valleys for which the Arican city of 222,000 people is called the ‘City of Eternal Spring’. Peru beckons with a day’s sailing to Paracas, Peru…Blessings,Edward and Jane
Matthew 13:24-30,36-43The Parable of Weeds among the WheatHe put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’Jesus Explains the Parable of the WeedsThen he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!I wonder how many of you are fans of Charlie Brown and the comic strip cartoon Peanuts? Sadly, its creator Charles Schulz died in February 2000. Lucy is one of the main characters – a little girl that likes to play the psychiatrist from a lemonade stand. Charlie Brown and his friends go there to be heard, but only get useless and clichéd responses in return for the 5¢ they pay. There is a little bit of Lucy in all of us: when someone speaks to us, sometimes we aren’t really listening; we are already thinking of the answer we will so generously give, because we want quick solutions to problems. It is in our nature to rush in our judgments and conclusions. We all have a need to be listened to, but we also need the time to listen to ourselves and to give our ears to hear God. Well, maybe you have found that our period of lock down has given you more time and space to think, to listen, to articulate your feelings, to hear and reflect, and to decide. The Gospel of Matthew was written at the time of the early church community, a community full of contrasts and conflicts, where some thought of themselves as better than others and had difficulty having fellowship with those who were judged to be false and impious. In our reading today, Jesus’ parable seems to say that this is not God’s way of being. God acts with patience and meekness and often invisibly. He does not love hasty judgments; He loves to take His time and He invites us to be patient.The parable of the weeds among the wheat would have made a lot more sense to Jesus’ original audience. When one farmer wanted to sabotage another, it wasn’t unheard of for them to sow bearded darnel into their wheat. This weed name is translated from the Hebrew word zunim or the Greek word zizanion and is also known as tares, or even bastard wheat. Bearded darnel is a noxious weed that initially mimics the characteristics of wheat. Before they mature, the two plants are almost identical, but as they ripen, the differences become apparent. When the darnel is fully grown it has long upright ears and its grain is black and poisonous. The true wheat has shorter ears and a bowed head. Jesus has sown the wheat seed of the children of the Kingdom of God into the good soil. The enemy has planted the weeds, representing evil, amongst those who belong to God. It is never easy to understand how and why God does not intervene to remove the weeds that make the life of the wheat so difficult. Yet God, in His wisdom lets them grow together. As we look at what disturbs us in our world, the greed, corruption, injustice, disease, the damage to the environment, all that disturbs us in our personal lives, we need to ask God for the wisdom and courage to deal with them as He does. How do I deal with imperfection in myself and with others? Can I live with limitations in myself and others?Jesus makes it clear that any attempt to root out the weeds will only do more damage to the crop. And yet, Christians from every age have been tempted to be over zealous weeders, keen to purify the community by rooting out the bad seed. However, we are not the ones to make the judgment call; we are being proud and arrogant if we think we know for certain the difference between the wheat and the weeds. All too often, damage has been done to the church when individuals, congregations or denominations have judged others either within or outside of the church. This can seriously damage the church and its mission. On a personal level, we may think that perfection is acquired by becoming more aware of our faults and working to root these out. But Jesus accepted us in our sinful state and he knows our limitations. We don’t need to be fixated about our failings, rather we should appreciate the fullness of life that Jesus has already given us. Stay close with Jesus and let Him teach you how to grow, even whilst surrounded by the weeds. He sees that you are a beautiful wheat plant and he will not jeopardise your growth. He delights when He sees us bearing fruit for the Kingdom. The advance of the Kingdom of God will take place through a process of slow growth. Be kind to yourself and trust in the Lord of Creation, the most experienced of cultivators, that He has the matter well in hand.We do get frustrated and impatient by the presence of evil in our midst. It poses one of our biggest questions in life. The idea that good and bad might coexist gives trouble to the tidy mind, and so Jesus calls us to humility, patience and tolerance as we allow God to work in our lives. In our parable Jesus tells us that the struggle between good and evil is to the death, but we can rest assured that God will have the last word. At the end of the age, it’s the job of the harvester to judge who is or who isn’t a member of God’s Kingdom.In conclusion, let us use these strange times we live in to take the slow food approach to our growth as wheat plants. Let us take time to listen, to hear and to reflect, individually and as a community of believers. Don’t be anxious about the poisonous potential of the weeds around you and leave it to God to judge others. God is patiently waiting for His Kingdom to grow and come to maturity. When all people have to stand before our Lord to give account of their lives, some will stand big and proud, with their heads up and say ‘I did great’, but the genuine believers will bow their heads in grateful thanks to Jesus for the sacrifice he made for their sins, knowing that they were on earth to feed the world in humble service to Him. Amen
