July 31, 2023 — Psalm 97

“The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory. All worshipers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him. Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O God. For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. The LORD loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” Psalm 97

“The Lord is King, let the earth rejoice.” We read it, and perhaps we move on without much thought about G-d’s reign. But perhaps today is a day we can take a moment and consider what it means that G-d’s reigns. Does the Lord reign over terrorists who blow up innocent victims? Does G-d reign over the atrocities we see committed in our cities — in all countries around the world? Does G-d reign over floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters that claim thousands of lives each year? Does the Lord reign over famine, starvation, and deadly diseases?

We hear the psalmist’s pronouncement that the Lord’s reign should be a cause for rejoicing — and we pause for a moment and wonder. Now, the Psalmist does not say, “The Lord reigns; grit your teeth and grudgingly submit.” He certainly does not say, “The Lord reigns; shake your fist at Him and let Him know how angry you are because of your trials.” No, he clearly says, “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice.” You see, the Lord’s reign has just begun, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But it has not come to completion. We are still in the struggle. That is why so many bad things and people continue to thrive. One day, the earth will be redeemed and the Lord will reign on high.

Thus the psalmist also says, “The LORD loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.” The reality of life is that many do not rejoice because of the Lord’s reign. Some do not believe, some speak against the Lord’s sovereignty, and some do not accept the Lord’s judgment. So the message of Psalm 97 is this: Because the Lord reigns over all, those who believe should rejoice — and those who do not should fear the coming judgment. “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!”

The Lord’s sovereignty should cause all people to be glad – for that day is surely coming.

Prayer

O God, you clothe the sky with light and the ocean depths with darkness. You work your mighty wonders among us. Give us new and honest hearts, that we may hate evil and love justice; and let us see the dawn of your glory in the face of your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

July 30, 2023 – Pentecost +9A; Matthew 13:31-33; 44-52

[Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “Have you understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

In the Old Testament, the realm of G-d is described as “like” a tall Cedar Tree. Jesus does not deny that teaching. He just says that the Kingdom inaugurated by the Son of Man is also like an insignificant single seed — something so small, yet grows into an invasive presence. Jesus uses the parable of the seed to make a comparison: “the Kingdom of Heaven is like…” not a tall magnificent Cedar Tree — he changes direction unexpectedly “…like a mustard seed that is sown in a field.”

Jesus was trying to tell his disciples something that they, and we might learn about G-d’s kingdom — and perhaps it takes some more discernment to gain some insight….and if I were to whittle it down to one lesson, not three but one, that lesson is: “It just takes one”.

In the Gospel of Thomas, there is a saying of Jesus, number 8, that probably is older than the parable of fish that appears in this Matthew text:

And He said, “The man is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is like one large fish. Just like the parable of the Pearl of a Great Price, the fisher keeps the one large, good fish which would be more valuable to him. How is the Kingdom like that? Well, as we all know, there are many things in life that want to promise us good things that we think we cannot live life without — things we should value above other things. But our discernment requires we learn that though many little things in life may bring temporary joy, the one thing of great value, like Jesus’ promise of eternal life, is of much greater value — one we should prize above everything else. It just takes one….large, good fish — one thing we value, like the Kingdom of G-d, more than anything else. The Kingdom of Heaven has the character of a treasure hidden in a field — which someone finds — hides it again — and then in his joy sells all his possessions to buy that one field.

You see, though we may not see it as it really is, G-d continues to work in and around us, in each one of us, through each one of us, when we plant one seed, pray one prayer, do one good deed, put one person before ourselves — through each single Christian act, each single moment, hour by hour, day by day, week by week. Sometimes the Kingdom of Heaven will be obvious to us — so present we can’t help but see it. When we gather as church, when we partake in the sacraments, when we do one act of love for our neighbor, then we know the Kingdom is near. But it is also one seed planted, like a mustard seed, one treasure found, one large fish to feed many, one tree that grows and spreads so all can rest in the shelter and comfort of its shade.

Pastor Dave