Solve the Puzzles of Jesus to See the Kingdom of God

3 Pentecost Cycle B proper 6     June 13, 2021
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 Psalm 20
2 Corinthians 5:6-10,  14-17  Mark 4:26-34

Lectionary Link

At least two topics arise from our appointed Bible readings for today, which I would characterize as thoughts about kingdoms and what it means to have enlightened seeing.

How did the notion of kingdom arise for the biblical people?  The key factor in a kingdom, is the king, the central unifying person who would convene armies to protect people and livelihood but who would be very demanding of his people.  Kings also were associated with controlled and settled lands and territories.  In the biblical story of the people of Israel, they were first wandering nomadic shepherds who came to take possession of a land and when they did so they clamored to be like other people around them who had kings, even though God through the Judge Samuel warned them about the problems of having a king.  Yes, a king might convene armies for protection but they would exact taxes and sons for the armies and they would become the necessary dominant focus of the resources of the land.

How do you go about choosing a king?  If a king is supposed to be a warrior, then you probably want some big hunk of fighter.  Samuel believed that all of the older sons of Jesse had the big hunk look to be the next king after Saul, of Israel.  But God told Samuel, "You are looking on the outward appearance; Saul was a big hunk too but look what happened to him?  No, you are going to select the youngest son of Jesse, the one who has been relegated to tending the sheep, spending lots of time alone, enough time to develop a love for poetry and singing and playing the harp to his sheep.  And why are you going to choose David?  Because I see his heart; he has the heart to be the best king for his people."

Seeing David as the anointed king, the Messiah required an ability to see in a different way, to see a person with different kinds of quality than the "status quo" image of kings of the day.

And what was the result of having David as king of Israel?  David was unsurpassable.  There were some moderately good kings after David, but it was mostly downhill for Israel and their kings.  Things went so downhill that the country split into two kingdoms before the people of Israel and Judah were carried off into exiles by the conquering armies of the East.  Israel was occupied for so long that David as a king became a national dream.  "We need another king like David, but the challenge is so great now, we need a king greater than David, who has the complete anointing of God, we need this superhero Messiah."

So, the notion of a perfect ideal king became the metaphor for how God would intervene in the world to bring deliverance.   But the notion of king became a metaphor for God as well.  "Blessed are you, O Lord God, King and Sovereign of the universe...."  This became a invocation prayer of the the psalmist.  God was seen as a king, a ruler, a sovereign who chose a special king to make God's will done on earth as it is in heaven.

What is another name for kingdom?  The realm.  How does one know that one lives in a kingdom?  The king's picture is displayed, especially on the coins for paying the taxes.  The taxes pay for the armies so each soldier stands as an arm of the king.  The local administrative officials who did the king's business, they too were proof that you lived in the king's realm.

During the time of Jesus and St. Paul, one might say that there was a confluence of kingly realms.  There seemed to be a junction of at least three notions of kingly realms.  There was an obvious literal kingly realm in the world of Jesus; it was the worldwide realm of the Caesar of Rome, who had his franchise surrogates in Palestine in the persons like King Herod and Agrippa and Pontius Pilate.  The the Caesar's soldiers were everywhere and so were his tax collectors so that money could be rendered unto Caesar.

At the same time there was a dream kingdom.  The dream kingdom was the political entertainment of the oppressed people who dreamed about a greater David arriving to oust the Romans and re-establish the independence of Israel.  The dream king was a Messiah, a superhero, but this kind of messiah king did not arrive.  The dream Messiah had to remain a dream and a future hope.

But then there was the kingdom about which Jesus spoke and taught, called in the early church either the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven.

If the dream kingdom of a future Messiah like David was not evident, what was the evidence of the Kingdom of God?

Jesus came to say that the realm of God had always been.  Yes, there are many pretenders who come and walk on the stage of history as temporary kings in the lands of people on earth, but they are only temporary, even if for  50, 100, or three hundred years.  Kings don't live often past eighty-something, but Jesus came to say that God as the sovereign of the universe has always presided in the universe.  But God does not do it obtrusively, God does with with a hidden winsomeness.  God does not force worship or allegiance, God does not collect taxes,  God does not send armies, God works through the inner charisma which is the Spirit of God in the universe, the omnipresent effects of God in all that is.

Jesus came to say, "Everyone, you literally are tripping over God at every turn and very often not even recognizing."  "But Jesus we want God to be more obvious as our king, just like the Caesar was obvious."

Jesus said, "No, the kingdom of God is a organic as we see in the growth of nature.  The kingdom is God's planting of this world and it grows through phases and cycles, through sameness and differences."  "You look to the artificial cultures of humanity for kingdoms and when you glorify human production who miss what has been God given all along.  The world is God's planting, God's garden, God's realm.  Don't miss this obvious fact."

"And you think greatness is in wealth, power and big armies, but just consider God's uncanny kingdom.  It is like a tiny mustard seed.  Nearly invisible but it steadily takes over.  You think that the Caesar is great; but  he is only as great as having a kind mother and people who tended to him with myriads of deeds of sacrifice.  The Caesar is only one of the results of the work of God which is everywhere.  The collection of all of God's tiny sustaining kindnesses is what the existence of the world is built upon.  Be aware of this stealthy but significant kingdom of God."

How can we learn to achieve this seeing of the kingdom of God?  How can we learn to see as God sees, the heart of things?

The way in which we can learn to see differently is to have our interior word reservoirs continually agitated and added to.  To be born from above by water and the spirit is to take up the education of our hearts.  One of the ways in which Jesus tricked the logical mind was to teach in parables.  The parables of Jesus were like word puzzles which invites the listener to change one's thinking in order to understand and see new insights about the order of things, about the all embracing realm of God within which we live.

Today, we need to let the parables, the word puzzles bring us again to the easy to miss, always, already Kingdom of God.  It is easy to forget the omnipresent unseen and assume that humans are really in control.  Let the parables of Jesus shock us back to the real kingdom, the kingdom and realm of God in which we have always lived, but often forgot.  Let our seeing be converted to recognize the surpassing reality and greatness of God's realm today.  Amen.