St. Mark 4:26-34
Divine Service
Pentecost 2 (Proper 6)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Look around you.  Right here.  It doesn’t look like very much.  Then again, it may be a lot more than you think. 

To begin with, it sure doesn't look like a kingdom.  Not you.  Not me.  Surely not a kingdom worthy of God.  Well, that's the way it is.  The kingdom of God can be quite a letdown.  We know that we live in God's kingdom of grace.  But when we look around, what do we see? Empty seats.  (Empty seats tending to be concentrated in the front pews!)

And to make matters worse, when we look at the seats that aren't empty, what do we see? Sinners!  Poor, miserable sinners.  We see people who aren't as active in the church as we think they ought to be.  People who don't always treat us, or one another, as kindly as we think they should.  People whose lives outside the church don't always rise to the standards we might set for them.  And if we take an honest look at ourselves, each of us would have to admit that we, too, seem altogether out of place in the kingdom of God. 

          Yes, we know that the kingdom of God is among us.  But sometimes it's hard to believe.  It just doesn't look like we think the kingdom of God ought to look. 

           Well, we aren't alone in feeling this way.  In fact, Jesus' first followers felt the same frustration and possibly even more so!  They had been waiting...and waiting...and waiting...for the promised Messiah.  At last, there were signs that he had come!  The blind were being made to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk!  And this man taught with authority like no other. 

But, somehow, the pieces didn't all seem to fit.  Rome still had Israel under its thumb.  The corrupt house of Herod still cast a dark shadow over their land.  And the One to whom they were looking for deliverance was in no hurry to take up a crown or raise an army.  If Immanuel had at last come, why wasn't he doing more to ransom captive Israel?

To top it all off, this man was associating with all the wrong people.  He ate with sinners!  Tax collectors and women of ill repute were among his closest friends.  It just didn't seem to fit.  On the one hand, this was clearly no ordinary man.  On the other hand, this sure wasn't what people thought the kingdom of God ought to look like. 

Jesus knew what they were thinking- and he knows our thoughts as well.  He knows that our fallen, sinful minds just can't wrap themselves around the mystery of his kingdom.  So Jesus tells a parable:

           He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.  All by itself the soil produces grain-- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.  As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

In this parable, Jesus doesn't explain the mystery of his kingdom.  It's not the kind of mystery that can be explained.  It can only be believed.  But Jesus does offer comfort and hope by telling us how this mystery ends. 

The seed that's been sown will produce a crop.  And when the grain is ripe, the harvest will come.  It might not come according to our timing, but the harvest will come.  The grain will be gathered into the Lord's barn, and there will be a harvest festival like no other!

Meanwhile, Jesus tells us, we don't need to rush out every day and anxiously examine the grain to see if it's harvest time.  When a field has been planted, the farmer doesn't need to worry and fret about when the harvest will come.  The harvest will come in its own time. 

              In this parable, Jesus also gives us the comforting assurance that responsibility for the kingdom's growth does not rest on our shoulders.  The seed has been sown, and the growth will come by itself – not as the product of our efforts and ingenuity.  The Lord of the harvest is in control.  There's no need to worry. 

God's kingdom will come.  But does that mean his kingdom is now absent?  Is the promise of God's kingdom only a future hope, with no present comfort or shelter for us?  By no means!  Let's hear another parable from our Lord:

            Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?  It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.  Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

Even now, birds are resting in the branches and shade of the mustard tree.  Even now, we find comfort and shelter in God's kingdom of grace.  The kingdom of God is not only a promise for the future-it is a present reality!

In the good news that our sins are forgiven on account of Christ, we have real rest and a peace that passes all understanding.  In our Lord's Holy Supper, we have sure protection from the enemies that attack us.  Through Christ's holy Word and Sacraments, we find peace and shelter in God's kingdom of grace. 

Yet this is a kingdom that is visible only to the eyes of faith.  Though it's understandable that we might wish God's kingdom would look more glorious, more radiant, and more majestic, that is not what we should expect in this life.  That isn't what the kingdom of God is like. 

Many at the time of Jesus had false expectations that the kingdom of God would be one of visible glory.  In today's Old Testament Reading, we heard Ezekiel say the kingdom of the coming Messiah would be like a great cedar.  The Israelites of Jesus' times had heard that same passage, and many of them misunderstood what God was telling them.  They hoped for and expected a kingdom that to all the world would look as mighty and majestic as a cedar. 

But any such illusions should have been shaken by Jesus' words in today's text.  He describes the kingdom of God not as a great and mighty cedar, but as a mustard plant.  Yes, its size is remarkable in comparison to the smallness of its seed, and it certainly does provide shelter and shade to birds that perch in its branches.  But it's not exactly a cedar.  The mustard plant is a shrub.  Though it sometimes reaches heights of 10-15 feet, it typically grows no more than 3 or 4 feet high.  And although some cultivated it for oil, it was widely considered an undesirable plant.  In fact, because its rapid spread made it hard to get rid of, the mustard plant could be quite a nuisance. 

To human eyes, the kingdom of God is not so much like the mighty cedars of Lebanon.  It's more like a shrub that many people wish would just go away.  Only the eyes of faith can see that this mustard plant is, in fact, the promised cedar tree!

            That's what the kingdom of God is like.  As we heard from Ezekiel, this is a kingdom where low trees are brought high and high trees are made low.  It's the kind of kingdom where the first shall be last and the last shall be first: a kingdom where poor, miserable sinners are welcomed with open arms and are served by the King at his table. 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE. 

It's not the kind of kingdom we ever would have imagined.  But it's exactly the kind of kingdom we need.  And, by the grace of God, it is the kingdom in which we live. 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.   Amen

(original text: Rev. Aaron Stinnett, PhD., Pastor, Mount Calvary LC, Polson, MT)

+ SDG +

Sermons | Sermon Archives