Such Love
Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Rev. Patricia Barth
July 24, 2005
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; or a pearl of great price; or like a tiny mustard seed that takes over a field; or like yeast that a woman stirred into a large quantity of flour. It's also like a net, which is full of good and bad fish that must be sorted out. Jesus asks, "Did you understand that?" It amazes me that the disciples replied, "Yes."
Jesus told many stories about the kingdom, which is basilea in Greek. This word can be translated kingdom or reign or empire. We've heard about the kingdom of God for a long time, because that's the term used in the King James Bible, which was translated during an era of kings. But it's not so relevant anymore, as kings have been replaced by presidents, elected bodies, and prime ministers. Some feminist scholars use the word "kindom" instead, to lessen the male impact by removing the "king" reference, as well as highlight the fellowship and shared nature of God's reign. But I prefer the term "Empire."
If you're a Star Wars fan, you no doubt remember the Empire as the evil political presence, full of the dark side, that Luke and Leia and the other heroes struggled against throughout the series. When Jesus walked the earth, the Roman Empire was a larger-than-life presence that he struggled against and was finally put to death by. The Empire of Rome was a political reality that affected every aspect of life in Palestine, and Jesus' preaching must always be considered in contrast to it. Whenever his followers heard the term "empire" or "kingdom", they would have thought "Rome." Jesus began his ministry about a century after Rome conquered Palestine and began to wring every last drop of profit from it they could. The Jews experienced Rome as the dark side, unless they happened to be rich and powerful and in cahoots with the Romans.
The Romans thought they were the good guys, and in some ways they were. They were excellent road builders! They believed their empire brought peace, and in fact they called it the Pax Romana, the Roman peace. Roman citizens did have peace, if they weren't part of the army; and many social benefits- but the benefits were derived from the exploitation of conquered nations.
The Roman Empire depended on patronage- you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. One class supported another, and abused the class underneath. Because of the tribute Rome extracted from the governor, the governor levied stiff taxes on the Temple; and the Temple set higher taxes on the people; and so on down the food chain.
All the way at the bottom of the heap were the untouchables, the poor, the expendables. Many of the people in this class didn't have anything anyone wanted. They were the homeless, the landless, beggars; day laborers and women forced to work as prostitutes; men who could only work as tax collectors for the hated Romans; the sick and the lame. These people, the poor, the expendables, the despised; were the people Jesus spent his time with. Jesus taught that they were the foundation of the Empire of God; not only that, but they will enter heaven before everyone else. God's realm is not only founded on the expendables; it is for the expendables.
The Empire of Rome-at its head, the Caesar, demanding to be worshiped as divine. By contrast, the Empire of God is headed by a God who loved us so much that he came to earth, to be born into a poor family and to die a shameful death for our sake.
The Roman Empire has been dead for many years. So what are we to do now with Jesus' extensive teaching on the Empire of God? Is it irrelevant now? Unfortunately not. Instead of the cult of Caesar, we have the cult of the dollar. It's amazing how much money there is afloat in the U.S. today- and how little of it gets spent on the people who need it most. My husband goes to work in Chevy Chase, and I used to sometimes meet him for lunch and then shop in the ordinary shopping center near his office- places like a Giant grocery store, a bakery, a non-Starbucks coffee shop. All that is gone now! Too ordinary! Being torn down to make a luxury strip mall, with a large Cartier jewelry store and all sorts of designer stores I've never heard of. Jesus has a lot to say about how we spend our money, as individuals, as a church, and as a nation. The Empire of God cares deeply about people, not about things.
The church of today finds itself a marginalized position similar to the first century. In the industrialized world, we come to church freely. The most we risk is our neighbors saying, "What? You give up sleeping in on Sunday to do what?" But there are still parts of the world where Christians are persecuted, and people risk their lives and livelihoods to practice their faith.
The Empire of God starts out small, like a mustard seed. And then grows so tall that the birds of the air can nest in it. A lot of scholarly ink has been spilled trying to pin down this parable. Most mustard doesn't grow that tall, so we don't know whether Jesus is actually talking about a variety of mustard that does get big, or making a joke, or alluding to the tree of life, an important image in Hebrew and other mythology. [Remember the story of the Garden of Eden-there were two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life was often drawn with birds in the branches.] One interesting thing about this parable, and the one about the yeast, is that yeast and mustard were considered unclean under rabbinic law. Jesus told his disciples several times, "Beware the yeast of the Pharisees." What better symbol for an Empire for the expendable, untouchable people than substances that are considered unclean?
More importantly, both yeast and mustard are items that cannot be controlled easily. Mustard spreads like a weed in rural areas; and anybody who has tried to make home made bread can testify that yeast has a mind of its own. It can run away with you and expand all over the inside of your oven, or it can sit there and do NOTHING. We can help it along; try to make the conditions right; but in the end it's up to the yeast. We can't control it.
The Empire of God is likewise beyond our control. The cult of the almighty dollar can't control it. Terrorists can't control it. The religious right can't control it. Liberal Presbyterians can't control it. The Book of Order can't control it.
It may not seem like it at times, but God is in charge. God will break out where God will. God holds the world in his hand, and looks on it with love. The Spirit will speak for us when we can't. All things eventually work together for good, for those who love God. Jesus Christ has established his Empire on the inclusion of all, for the well-being of all, especially the poor and expendable, whom he loved and cared for when he was on earth.
The Empire of God is founded and drenched in Jesus' amazing love and grace, poured out in abundance like his selfless life. That's what we hang on to, when the going is tough. Such love! "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Thanks be to God! Amen.
Webmaster : Brian C. Monsell