The Law and the Prophets
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
~ Matthew 5:17-20 (NRSVUE)The Parable of the Mustard Seed
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 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.”
The Parable of the Yeast
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with[e] three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
The Use of Parables
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden since the foundation.”
…
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
~ Matthew 13:31-35, 47-50 (NRSVUE)The Parable of the Mustard Seed
He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
~ Luke 13:18-21 (NRSVUE)
What a day, my friends! What a day of excitement. What a day of mystery. What a day of “Already and Almost.” Friends, did you have trouble sleeping last night, too, out of excitement for what was going to happen today? Were you not sitting on the edge of your seat this morning, filled with anticipation and intrigue?
Not sure what I’m talking about? Well, as some of you know, today is Groundhog Day! And Groundhog Day is one of my favorite holidays! Today is the day that we watch and wait for a cute, furry, chubby groundhog to peek out of his home and see whether or not he sees his shadow. As folklore dictates, if he sees his shadow, he goes back into his burrow, and winter lasts for six more weeks. If he doesn’t see his shadow, he emerges, and spring is sure to come quickly. For those of you who have not yet heard the news, Phil saw his shadow and ran back into his burrow, so we’ll have six more weeks of winter.
Okay, so I have to be honest, back in my seminary days, I never would have imagined that I would be standing here in the pulpit talking about Groundhog Day. After all, it’s a secular celebration, let alone a kind of “silly” one. But every year as we await the report from Gobblers Knob, PA, to see if Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow or not, we find ourselves standing in an undefined place of mystery, a place of mystery between the cold harsh weather of winter and the promise of a warm emerging spring, a place where we dream and wait and long for what we want, a place of already and almost. I guess you could say that it is kind of like the Kingdom of God.
Well, the Kingdom of God is not a place you can point to on a map like Gobblers Knob, PA or a time, like winter or spring. It’s more like an idea, a way to live, a dream, really. It’s God’s dream come true. Folks, imagine with me for just a minute what a kingdom would be like if God were 100% in charge and in control. What would that look like? Feel like? Sound like? Well, to me, the world would finally match God’s dream, and the things that we talk about week after week here in worship would be an actual way of life! All people would know that they belong, that they are beloved, and that they are delightful. All people would care for and about the Earth, and all would truly love and care for one another. And things that don’t match what God is like? They aren’t there! Such as suffering, cruelty, unfairness, injustice, and even death. Sometimes we simply call this idea heaven. Sometimes we call it the kingdom of heaven. And sometimes we call it the Kingdom of God.
Now, does anyone find it a little weird that we call it a kingdom when there aren’t a whole lot of kings or queens in the world anymore? That’s why some people have started to call it the kin-dom of God, because kin means family. And isn’t that a beautiful idea? Jesus came with good news: that kin-dom–or the coming together of the family of God–might start happening now. Well, that’s just one person’s idea.
Depending on the words that you use, you might say that God’s Kin-dom is happening now, or that God’s kingdom is happening now, or that God’s dream is happening now. Just like when Jesus came to earth and was God in a human body, our world is now God’s dream coming true. And the good news is sometimes, we can already feel it, sometimes we can already experience it, and sometimes we can already catch glimpses of it in the world around us.
Because it is an “Already and Almost” kind of situation, there is a mystery to it. There are parts that we don’t fully understand. There are other parts that we can only dream about. And there are still other parts that, if and when we live by faith and simply believe, we can begin to see and experience them in the here and now. Folks, this idea of “Already and Almost” is not something new. But in order to experience it, we need to open our hearts to endless possibilities and our minds to something brand new.
Now, there is one more place where we experience Already and Almost, just like on Groundhog Day or with the Kingdom of God, and that is at the table that Jesus set for us. Friends, when we gather here at the Table and share in communion together, we are reminded of God’s unconditional love for us. Through the breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup, we remember the story of Jesus and the amazing gifts of grace that he shares with all of us.
Now Communion is a sacrament, which is a fancy word for a sacred mystery, and because it is a sacred mystery, none of us fully understands what happens when we gather at the table. But like grace, communion is not something that we need to earn or to be good enough for. All we can do is receive it, experience it, and be thankful. And I have always believed that the sense of Already and Almost is one of the most important concepts of communion. Because when we celebrate communion, we gather at this very table with all the saints, those who have gone before, and those who will someday be. It’s a memory of the past, but an even more wonderful foretaste of what is to come.
Folks, there are lots of people in the world who just want to know the facts. They want to be in control at each step of the way, and they always want to know what is coming next. But when we choose to live a life of faith, we let go of that need to control. We follow in Jesus’ footsteps. We trust in God. And we invite the Holy Spirit to guide us in new and exciting directions. Is it always easy? NO! We need to be patient, open, and curious. And we need to be comfortable with the mystery of not always knowing, and that sense of teetering between the already and the almost. But if we can do that, then we can begin to receive an amazing gift because it is then and only then, that we begin to see and experience the kingdom of God that is all around us!
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, as you go out into your busy week ahead, are you going to jump right back into controlling every minute of your life? Or are you going to try to embrace the mystery and stand in the sacredness of Already and Almost? I know it takes a little practice. And some days, the busyness and the business of the world take over. But if every once in a while, you can get a glimpse or two of God’s dreams here on earth. I promise you that it will fill you to overflowing because you’ll begin to see the presence of God spilling in bit by bit all around you!
My friends may it be so. Thanks be to God, Amen!
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