Hello,
Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows to
a great shrub, a woman who mixes yeast in a ton of dough and it effects the
whole mixture, a treasure so valuable that one would sell everything to have
it, and a net thrown into the water bringing back a catch of every kind of
fish.
When Jesus spoke of the
kingdom of God, he wasn’t speaking of a place or a time (in other words, Jesus
wasn’t talking about heaven after we die), instead he was giving images of how
God exercises his power and authority over all things and all time. So, maybe a way that more accurately
gets at what Jesus was speaking of when he spoke of the Kingdom of God would be
to say it this way, “This is what it is like to live in the power and presence
of God….”
Jesus always used things that happened to people of his day to describe
God’s kingly reign. Well, last
week a couple of things happened to me that opened my eyes to the Kingdom of
God….or “What it is like to live in the power and presence of God….”
Pastor Jerry says, “The kingdom of God is like walking near hip high
grass and a huge wild turkey unexpectedly explodes out of the grass only a foot
away from you….or the kingdom of God is like a 7 foot snake that you notice
lying on the patio just outside your door after you realize it isn’t your
garden hose.”
Let me explain. Last week I
was out walking my dog, Duncan, through the fields that surround our
house. Much of the fields are
unmowed and thick with vegetation, but paths have been cut along which one can
walk, which is what Duncan and I were doing. As we strolled along, taking in the beauty all around us,
the solitude was suddenly interrupted by a huge wild turkey bursting out of the
tall grass no less than a foot or two from where we were. Duncan went wild with hunting blood aboil. I froze and my heart accelerated like a
dragster at the sight of the green light… SHOCKED!
Likewise last week, I set out to brace the railing on my deck which
flexed a bit too much when my brother in law leaned on it. So, I opened the patio doors from our
walk-out basement, looking up and trying to discern where I might drill holes
for the supporting bolts, when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw my
garden hose about a foot away from my right foot. But when I turned my head to the left and noticed the garden
hose a couple of feet away from me, a quick glance to my right made it clear
that I was a foot away from a 7 foot snake! I don’t know if I let out a screech of terror, but I do know
that I jumped away, dashed for the door, and in the safety of my house I could
feel my heart once again racing at dragster speed…SHOCKED.
So, how did these encounters broaden my vision to the kingdom of
God? Well, it occurred to me that
just like that turkey and snake, in whose presence I had undoubtably been
before they made themselves known to me, so also do I often find myself living
in the power and presence of God.
But then there are times when God’s presence erupts in my life like the
wild flutter of a turkey, bursting upon me and grabbing me (it has happened to
me many a time when I keep kicking myself for what seems to me to be
insurmountable failure, and someone will come along and hug me with divine
forgiveness and mercy). SHOCKED!
And
there are times when life plods along and I am captivated by the day to day
events of life, that I don’t even notice God’s presence, until I take a second
glance at what is right in front of my nose (like so often when I come to the
Communion table, preoccupied with job, family, tasks and a little piece of
bread is placed in my hands, and a little sip of wine slides down my throat…and
I hear the words, “This is the body of Christ given for you…this is the blood
of Christ shed for you)….SHOCKED!
What is it like to live in the presence and power of God?
It is like walking near hip high grass and a huge wild
turkey unexpectedly explodes out of the grass only a foot away from you….or the
kingdom of God is like a 7 foot snake that you notice lying on the patio just
outside your door after you realize it isn’t your garden hose.”
Have a great week…in the kingdom of God.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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