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“Such Is the Kingdom of God”
Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Deuteronomy 10:12-22;
Job 1:1, 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Mark 10:13-16
Rev. Sandy Nuernberg
Oakland-Cambridge Presbyterian Church, Cambridge, WI
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time -
HIV/AIDS Awareness Sunday
October 8, 2006
Please pray with me, O God, as we ponder your Word, pour your Holy Spirit upon
us, that we may prepare ourselves to best serve your people in your world.
AMEN.
There seems to be somewhat of a
profound truth as one theme in our gospel text, as Jesus blesses the little
children–an assurance of God’s desire and love for God’s children just the way
that they are. It reminded me of a story I read recently, and after being
reassured of this love of God for me, time and again, by my parents as a little
girl. There lived, a long time ago, a king. And in a small village a lonely
family of children, orphans without a father. The king decided to adopt the five
children from any of their family-less misfortunes. As the king was to come and
visit the children, they were fully excited and wanted to impress the king with
their talents. For the towns people had told them, ‘only those with great
talents would be allowed to live in the King’s castle.’ Four of the young
children prepared their gifts; one carving wood, another an artist, another as a
singer, and a child full of knowledge and wisdom. They knew that the king would
certainly be impressed with all of their talents.
But the fifth child, a sister, was
clumsy with her hands, she may have been missing a few fingers, she couldn’t
paint, sing, or read; really, she believed she had no talents at all. But her
heart was good and she decided to spend her days at the town’s gate to welcome
people as they came to the village. She soon knew the visitors by name, she took
care of their pets, and greeted and questioned everyone as she cared about
people just as they were–whether rich or poor, young or old, men or women. Her
sisters and brothers had no time for her as she asked them to teach her any
skill to impress the king, for she wanted to have a father. They did not have
one minute’s time for her as they were too busy perfecting their own talents for
the king’s visit.
Soon, a merchant came to the gate
of this small village, and asked the young girl to care for his donkey as he
visited the town–he looked worn, well-traveled, tired. But his smile was the
best–the girl felt warm in her heart when she saw and was with this visitor. He
rested and slept near the village gate, and upon opening his eyes one day, found
the girl near him, starring, watching his every move! She told him, “ I like
being near you, you seem kind, loving, and very peaceful.” After visiting the
village, the merchant came back to see the young girl and told her that on his
visits in the village, the woods-smith, the artist, the musician, and the wise
child had no time for him; and the child thought, ‘ these are my sisters and
brothers, he must be the king!’ He told her he just wanted to be with his people
and not look or act like a king. He told her he wanted to hear of their day, to
laugh and even cry with his own people, to be their father. He said that adults
think they have to impress a king, and he wanted to adopt the children because
children don’t want to impress; they just want to talk, and they know I love
them just the way that they are.
The girl asked about herself,
having no talents but yet she wanted to be his child. He said, “You have given
the best gift you can give—you are giving your heart at the gate.” He told her
that her talent was in her kindness and in her love of others. He told her he
wanted her as his child, just as she was! (Pause...) And so it seems that the
children with the many talents missed out seeing and visiting the king, and the
girl with the only gift of her entire heart became the child of the king!
(Adapted from, Lucado, Max, Just The Way You Are, Crossway Books, 1999 ).
Other than the festivals in
Jerusalem it seemed that Jesus liked and showed a preference to bring his
ministry, perhaps for more than half of his life, to rural townships and small
communities, just such as ours. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it ( Mark 10:15).”
We can ask, what is it, this kingdom of God? The biblical symbol of the kingdom
of God, it seems, is quite closely linked to God’s dominion over every dimension
of human life in the past, present, and future. It’s not a coincidence that our
text in Mark follows Jesus’ discussion of marriage and divorce!
In the O.T. the kingdom of God
was where the prophets looked for a kind of ‘new age’ where the nations would be
peaceable in their covenant with God–their obedience to the one true God,
the Holy One of Israel. God impressed upon Moses, ( that word impress)
that the law of the Lord was the most important part of the covenant–their
obedience; fear the Lord, love the Lord your God, walk in
all God’s ways, serve the Lord with all your heart and soul, and keep
the commandments of the Lord your God, for your own well being!
John Calvin says that the aim
(gist) of the law is to join ourselves by our holiness of life to God. If we can
carry out these deeds; fear, love, walk, serve the Lord, that are expressed in
the image of God, we will express ( not impress) the image of God. We will be
made to ‘cleave’ to ( be close to ) God in our own lives.
(Calvin’s Institutes, 1960, Book Two, “
The Knowledge of God the Redeemer ”, Ch. 8, p. 415).
In the N.T. Jesus Christ is this
embodiment of the ‘new age.’ In his Galilean ministry, and as Jesus proclaims
earlier in Mark, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near,
repent, and believe in the good news (Mark 1:15).” One of my favorite images of
God’s steadfast love for us, in this ‘new age’, this age of being in Christ,
is as a kind of shelter for us. In our constitutional Book of Confessions, as
Presbyterians, in The Brief Statement of Faith, we state that our trust
in God is making us heirs with Christ of the covenant; the love of God is, “Like
a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to
welcome the prodigal home.” Yes, God is faithful still (lines 48-51). As
children of God, or as a parent, we receive God’s love for us as a shelter,
protection for our whole life long. As this shelter, God nurtures us, as God’s
steadfast love in the past, present, and future; for me, this is and will
continue to be the kingdom of God!
God has established a covenant–an obedient relationship
with God’s people, and we have been expected to live in response to God’s
steadfast love; an assurance, a shelter, a protection for us as we serve and
care for others. The good news of the gospel is that God’s truth is seen for us
in the presence of the law through a human form in Christ Jesus. As God reveals
God’s self to us through Jesus Christ in amazing and mysterious ways, we can be
assured of God’s steadfast love for us just as we are. Let it be so for each of
us, that as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth, in our lives of trust
and hope, for our own well being, such is the kingdom of God.
AMEN
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