The Message, July 30, 2023: "Heaven is Like ..." Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
August 01, 2023

 

“Heaven is Like …”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

            I invite you all to step into the “Way Back Machine” with me. Turn the dial back to your childhood, to your earliest memories of Sunday school.

(With apologies … I know that some of you do not share these memories. As we said earlier in the service, some of you may be taking your first tentative steps with us now. But I hope that you can still imagine with me.)

            What are your earlies memories of Sunday school … even if those memories are only a few weeks old? What were you doing in your class? What lessons are you learning? What songs did you sing?

            Were you coloring pictures of Jesus surrounded by children, or sheep, or fishermen?
            Did you draw a picture of God?
            Did you create a Nativity scene with shepherds and sheep, angels and magi?
            Did you draw a picture of heaven? Did it look something like the photo on the front of the worship bulletin this morning … blue sky, fluffy clouds, doves flying through the air?

            Try as I might, I cannot recall ANY of the Sunday school lessons of my childhood. NONE. What I do remember is that every child was given a cigar box that we kept our supplies and projects in. I tried to convince myself that I must be wrong. My teachers must have used shoeboxes, or something else other than cigar boxes. However, I have a very vivid memory of that cigar box … and then all of our cigar boxes stacked in the cabinet in the classroom.

            I will have to speak with the Christian Education director from the church of my childhood. (My mother.) Clearly, the curriculum did not make an impact. (Or did it?)

            My own history aside … what are those earliest memories that come to mind?  Now think about where you are in your faith journeys. We do not color pictures of Jesus as we gather here in the sanctuary, although I did have you draw pictures of God a couple of years ago. Hopefully, this trip in the “Way Back Machine” brought warm memories, fond memories to mind.

            Even though we may not color pictures of Jesus as we grow older, those early lessons are still with us. Those early impressions do not leave us, we do not discard them. They are our starting point, and they grow and mature as we grow and mature.

            Look at me! The cigar box of my childhood grew into the “God Box” that I use for my Children’s Messages every Sunday!

            Our starting point this morning is the point that Jesus made as he closed his lesson that we just read. Jesus is bringing a new message, but the old is not discarded. The emphasis that Matthew makes in his record of Jesus’ life and ministry is that Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus did not come to replace the old lessons of Hebrew scripture, rather he came to fulfill them … to complete them.

            Essentially, Jesus is saying that we do not start in the middle of the story. We have to consider and remember the whole story of God. Taking this approach … taking the long view … helps us to see the arc of God’s work in the world.

            Jesus knew that helping the people understand a new way of living was made easier if he employed familiar concepts and images.  His preaching and teaching utilized stories that already fit the ears and the minds of his listeners. But, at the same time, he was not simply repeating the old stories. Instead, he used them to present a new idea, a new light for the new situation in which his listeners found themselves; and continue to find themselves.

            The teaching of Jesus Christ, like the words of scripture, are not static. His teaching is organic, it lives and breathes within the context in which it is shared. Our world is very different than that of First Century Palestine, and yet the truth of Jesus’ word and way are just as relevant today as they were then.

            Which now brings us back to our lessons for this morning. The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven were directed at the crowd that had gathered to hear him teach. They were for those who were exploring their relationship with God and with Jesus. The parables of the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price were addressed to Jesus’ disciples. Those lessons were directed at those who desired to follow the Way of Christ.

            Both of the initial parables, the mustard seed and the leaven, are lessons about how God is already at work with the world. You may have noticed that Jesus never actually said WHAT the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He did not say anything about clouds, or pearly gates, or doves. He did not say anything about angels playing harps. And I think that the reason for that is easy to understand. Jesus knows that the Kingdom of Heaven may look, and feel, and be experienced differently by different people. He also knows that God is active bringing about every manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven.

            The lesson is that God can take that which seems ordinary or insignificant and use it in an extraordinary way. God can take the smallest of seeds and grow a great bush which can feed and shelter birds within its branches. God can take a portion of yeast and it will interact with the ingredients with which it is mixed to create a whole new thing … an extravagant feast.

            God can take that spark of the Divine which exists in every human heart and do something extraordinary. God can take our passion and our desires, our hungers and our longings, and nurture them and feed them, and help them grow. God can use them to create and build the kingdom. Every human spirit shares in God’s Spirit and the Kin-dom grows. Each heart has a place that provides welcome and shelter within its “branches.” The growth is slow and steady. Sometimes it is imperceptible to the human eye. But remember, God began this work at the dawn of Creation.

            The remaining two parables pose a question for those who desire to follow the Way of Christ. The parables speak to HOW we respond to God’s work in the world.

            First, let me say this … the parables are NOT saying that the Kingdom of Heaven can be purchased. It is not something that can be acquired by those who have more worldly goods than their neighbors. God cannot be purchased. God’s services are not for sale. Grace is not a commodity that can be traded or bartered for.

            The parables are about what we are willing to give up in order to live in the Kin-dom of God. What attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, or possessions do we hold dear, cling to, that prevent us from truly living the Kin-dom life?

            It was God’s love and desire for us that called the universe into being. God’s steadfast love remained with the Children of Israel through every time of trial. God’s love came down in the flesh that we might know God face to face. And it is God’s love that is active in the world and in our lives every moment of every day, until the end of the age.

            We are the recipients of God’s love and grace. Created in God’s image, we share in God’s work in the world.

            What is Heaven like? It is like the wonderful peace that we feel in the safest place that we know.
            What is Heaven like? It is like the warmest, gentlest embrace that we have ever experienced.
            What is Heaven like? It IS you … and me … loving, and working, and serving together so that every “bird” can find shelter in the branches of our tree.
            What is the Kin-dom of Heaven like? Look around. It looks a lot like us. Amen.

BACK