[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 12A: "Thy Kingdom Come"

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 7/29/17  6:46 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 12A: "Thy Kingdom Come" 


Dear Friends,

 

This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Thy Kingdom Come” and
deals with the Gospel (Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52).  Here it is: 

 

“Thy Kingdom Come”- where’s that from?  Sure, the Lord’s Prayer.  We heard Jesus teaching about God’s Kingdom
in today’s gospel.  This morning, I’d
like us to look at the that very familiar phrase, so when we say that beloved prayer
later on in our liturgy and when we say it this evening before we go to bed, it
will have even greater meaning.  

 

Have you ever visited a new car showroom or watched
automobile commercials on TV and dreamed?  I wonder if the Kingdom of God is like a
beautiful new automobile- full of promise and excitement.  Did you hear the story of the couple who
needed a new car?  He wanted a tough,
rugged truck, but she wanted a pretty little sports car.  Finally, the wife figured out how to get her
pretty little car.  Her birthday was
coming up in a few weeks, so she told him, “I just want something that goes
from 0 to 200 in just a few seconds.  Now
surprise me.”  Her husband did just that.  He did get her something that goes from 0 to
200 in a few seconds, and she really was surprised!  What was it? 
A bathroom scale!  They went to a
marriage counselor the very next day!

 

Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like- not a car, but a
mustard seed- strange, but true.  Years
ago, someone planted the seed, the God seed, in your life.  How did you first become a Christian?  Who first told you about Jesus, got you
baptized, started you going to church? 
Maybe that seed took root right away, or maybe it sat there in your mind
for a while; but when the time was right, it took root and here you are.  That seed which started so very small, is in
process of blossoming into a mighty tree strong enough to withstand whatever
storms life throws at you.  Jesus is
right.  The Kingdom of God is like a
seed.

 

Jesus also said that the Kingdom of God is like yeast in
three large batches of flour (actually about 80 pounds of flour- enough to make
bread for 100-150 people).  You’ve seen
this at work in your own life and the lives of others. Think of the times the
God used one willing person to bring about His will in a family or a group or a
class or a nation.  Moses was the yeast
that empowered the children of Israel to escape from Egypt and travel through
the dessert to the Promised Land.  Harriet
Tubman and other (mostly anonymous) underground railroad conductors- they were the
yeast that empowered American slaves to claim their freedom, in spite of huge
adversity.  The Rev. Martin Luther King,
Jr. was the yeast that started our great country in its march toward racial and
social justice.  God uses people as His
yeast to bring forth His will.

 

Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like treasure
someone happens to find in a field or a pearl someone finds in a jewelry shop.  That person makes purchasing that field or
pearl his or her highest priority.  God’s
will doesn’t just happen.  God uses
people who put God first, who make God their highest priority.  

 

Finally, Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a net
full of fish.  What’s he saying
here?  The church is like the net, and
Jesus is saying that everyone is welcome. 
No one should ever pick and choose who’s welcome in their church.  It’s not our business.  The angels decide at the close of the age, in
other words when we die, if we truly are part of the Kingdom.  

 

The Kingdom of God is
like a mustard seed- keep fertilizing and watering it.

The Kingdom of God is
like yeast in 80 pounds of flour- speak God’s Words of justice, peace and love-
no matter what the cost.

The Kingdom of God is
like treasure in a field or a pearl in a jewelry shop.  Spend what you must of time and energy to
achieve it.

The Kingdom of God is
like various kinds of fish in a net.  The
ground is level at the foot of the cross.

 

Thy Kingdom come, O
Lord!  Amen.

 

For anyone who is
interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are
posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .

 

Blessed preaching,

Judy Boli

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw, Michigan





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