The Kingdom of God in Today's World

Lent 2

Year C

16 March 2025

Genesis 15:1-12, 15-18

Psalm 27

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Luke 13:31-35

Hope beyond all human hope,

you promised Abraham and Sarah

descendants as numerous as the stars.

You promise light and salvation

in the midst of darkness and despair,

and redemption to a world that will not listen.

Gather us in tenderness

and open our ears to your word,

so that we may live faithfully and confidently in your promises.

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

________________________________________

I’ve experienced an interesting coincidence this week when I looked at the readings assigned for today.

In the past, I’ve worked through the bible study: The Questions of Jesus, in a previous congregation. It’s a delightful little devotional for Lent and this particular day the question was “What is the kingdom of God like?” (pg 9)

Then I began to work on today’s sermon, and I read the passage from Philippians for today.

In the passage from Philippians, for today, we find the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, trying single handedly, it seems, to bring about the kingdom of God amongst us.

At the same time, he acknowledges that this is an uphill climb, and at the same time, really, this is a message that is countercultural because there is conflict and troublemakers in the world around us.

Paul tells us that “many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.” (Phl 3:18b-19)

And we can look around us and see evidence of this kind of self-absorbed and societally destructive behaviour in the world, still today. If we watch the news, or read the internet, we are able to see random acts of violence being committed in the world around us, sometimes by those whom we least expect to be given to violent tendencies.

At the same time, we are able to see the violence that still dominates in Israel, in the Middle East, in Ukraine. We see the struggles of those who wish to remain in their homelands although they have been subject to the violence of war.

At home, we are able to look around us and see a general air of dystopia, a general sense of a lack of hope in the world, in society, all around us.

A general feeling that society is broken and not working for the betterment of all of humanity but rather maintains the lifestyles of only a few at the top and the rest of humanity is cast away, by these few, without purpose, or feeling.

At the same time, we search for hope in the world around us, but it is able to feel futile in such environments to the point that we have as much difficulty finding hope as we have of finding the kingdom of God.

And really, isn’t that the point? Too much of the world turns their back on an active life of faith, because they cannot find the hope in the moment, they cannot find the love of God that is present between one person who believes and another, and so they will claim to be Christians, if pressed, but really wouldn’t like you to press the point.

So, it’s interesting, that even in our gospel for today, we find a group of Pharisees who are aware that Jesus actions threaten the power structures of the day, and have come to him to warn him that those in power will retaliate, with violence, to regain their sense of absolute hold over the lives of those beneath them.

Examples of this kind of desire to maintain power can be found in movies and literature as well as in the wider world, today. We are able to turn to the ever-popular Hunger Games series, when President Snow says to the game maker, Seneca Crane, that a little hope is fine, but a lot of hope is a dangerous thing.

President Snow likes his strangle hold on power, on the lives of those around him. Power that is maintained through fear and intimidation, and the presence of brutal soldiers; and we see played out in the stories that President Snow will do absolutely anything to maintain that hold, that base of power, that subjugation of the territories that maintain his lifestyle to the detriment of the people there.

A less fanciful, example can be taken from the movie “The Help,” or even the movie “Selma,” both of which deal with the civil rights movement in the United States in the 1960’s.

In “The Help” the story is about revealing the abusive working conditions suffered by the maids of Missouri society. We see that these black women were seen as little more than slaves, and expected to do the grocery shopping, the cleaning, and the raising of the children for the white women of the community. But they couldn’t use the toilets in the houses that they were so diligently scrubbing six days a week.

And into this situation comes a socially conscious white woman who wants to be taken seriously as an author.

In a similar way, “Selma” depicts the civil rights marches in Alabama from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery to secure voting rights for black people. A time when the white majority of the population would, and did do many actions in order to maintain their grip on the way society would be run – segregating people by race and colour.

So, this is the type of reaction, the type of blind brutality that we see that people are willing to bring to bear in order to maintain the way of life that they are comfortable with, and how that life is easily threatened by the minute sense of hope that is carried in the hearts and words of such people as Paul to the Philippians, or Jesus to anyone who has ears to hear such words of hope.

In the parable of the mustard seed, it being the smallest of seeds, it would take about 20 000 seeds to make up one ounce, and yet, these minute seeds will grow into bushes that are 10 feet high.

The bible study says: “Jesus truly had a sense of humour. In this passage he compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed! We’ve all heard that big things come in small packages. … Jesus understood how insignificant things can make profound differences … [He] made reference to the mustard seed on another occasion. He said that if we have faith as a mustard seed we can move mountains. Once again great things come from humble beginnings. Despite our occasional reservations, Jesus empowers everyone of us to be key agents in the world today. Christ helps us to ‘cut the mustard’ and live up to the challenge.”

At the same time, we don’t see Jesus or Paul, or any of the characters of our fictitious tales of places being without hope. Rather what we see, in today’s gospel is that Jesus has set his face toward Jerusalem, and all that that means for society around him.

He acknowledges that he’s rocking the boat. He acknowledges that this will lead to his death. At the same time he acknowledges that no prophet, in reality, no one who has come to proclaim God’s word to the people of Israel will die outside of the city.

Jesus says: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” (Lk 13:34)

Bringing to mind the question discussed during the bible study was “What is the kingdom of God like?”

And in our bible study, the answers ranged from ‘beautiful’ to ‘all around us’ to ‘within us;’ to ‘the tiniest of seeds we plant in the hearts of others that will one day bear fruit as big as a mustard plant.’

As you can see, the answers are about as introspective as the question that Jesus asks.

At the same time, Jesus comes to us, is among us, offering us hope, and yet the gospel for today tells us that the reaction, by those who live around us is, go away or you will be killed.

The same dystopian image is offered of those in positions of power who are desperate to hang on to those positions, and the wealth the privilege the power that go along with it, especially if those in positions of power and authority can suppress the hope in others, in order to firmly maintain a grip on that power and position.

And the images that Jesus gives us, today, as well, fits well with this image of intimidation. He calls Herod a fox, and describes what he has wanted to do with Jerusalem as the actions of a mother hen and her chicks. And society has given us long standing tales of foxes in henhouses to tell the rest of the story that the Pharisees have come to Jesus to warn him about, today.

At the same time we look at Paul, and the message he has for the Philippians, encouraging them to hold the kingdom of God in their hearts, to share it with the world around them, yet, at the same time to be aware of what others will say and do to discredit their efforts, to hold on to their earthly treasures.

Paul tells us: “Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Phl 3:19b-20)

And again, this brings us back to the question: “What is the kingdom of God like?

The kingdom of God lives in our hearts, and is able to fill us with hope and with love every day. At the same time, the kingdom of God is our refuge and protection when we are threatened by the structures of the world that wish us to live without hope, without love.

The kingdom of God is our future, its where we will all reside, when this life is completed, and Christ comes for us, but not only that, it’s all around us, now, today, and forever.

The moment we opened our heart to the message of God’s love for all of humanity, the moment we look upon Jesus on the cross and believe that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who takes away our sins, the moment we see the light of God through the events of Good Friday and acknowledge the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday, as the light of God’s love rises in our hearts as well.

Every day, we strive to live our lives in a linear fashion. But instead, everywhere we turn, we find before us the cross of Christ. Everywhere we are, we look at incarnations of the kingdom of God, before us, behind us, on all sides, as well as within us.

Every day we strive to live our faith in and to the world, following Paul’s encouragement to the community at Philippi. Faith that God renews each morning and is shared out each day with all who are in need of God’s loving touch. Faith that has the ability to see us through those moments when we are searching for the Kingdom of God, that smallest of seed that produces the greatest of plants that will shelter all life within its branches.

Amen.