The Kingdom of Heaven is like....

Matthew 13: 24-35; Mark 4: 26-34

Matthew 13: 24

24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 

We have considered that Jesus, His teachings and practice are the taught and lived expression of the announcement of the inaugurated Kingdom of God announced in the Nazareth Sermon (Luke 4: 16-30). We are putting into practice a commitment to take the words of Jesus seriously and apply them to our lives. His teachings and practices are normative for us in our decision making. Therefore, when Jesus makes the statement in Matthew 13 ‘³¹ …. “The kingdom of heaven is like …’ we pay particular attention. Jesus claim is a radical one; the claim is that He the fulfilment of the prophecy of the One that inaugurates the Kingdom here in our time and space. The Kingdom has come and is still at the same time coming. The Kingdom of God is a present and eternal reality yet at the same time is a process of increasing transformative, personal and community participation.  Jesus says it best:’ it’s as if a man should scatter seed on the ground….’ (Mark 4:26), And then again, ‘it’s like a mustard seed…’(Mark 4:30) and how about; ‘like treasure hidden in a field…’ (Matthew 14: 44).  The point I want to emphasise here is this. The Kingdom of God is! There is a Kingdom in which we are invited to participate. The transformation of our lived reality depends on it. Jesus describes the Kingdom for us: it is made up of diverse people from all different backgrounds and it is the most precious of life transforming choices. The Kingdom is invisible at times and apparently without effect on the world and at other times it appears to be the refuge of the masses. The reality is this; it is all these things and more all at the same time.  If we find all this too challenging to consider Jesus simplifies the process of participation for us.  In Matthew 7: 24 we hear these words from Jesus ‘“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock…..’  The wise are the Kingdom participants who are engaged in the ongoing transformative process of ‘hearing and acting’. I feel another description of the Kingdom coming on: The Kingdom of God is like a diverse community of disciples who hear and act on the teachings and way of life of Jesus their teacher. The challenge for us remains the 2000 year old challenge: will we hear and act in obedience to the teachings of Jesus of the Nazareth Sermon.