July 27, 2008

The Kingdom of Heaven in Parables

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

Matthew 13: 44-52

Opening Illustration – The Wrong Sharon

Question of how Christianity is related to other religions.

Matthew’s gospel written during split of Judaism and Christianity.

Matthew’s community felt they had the best interpretation of the Torah. (Slide)

Reason why they understood the Torah better than the experts is because they had accepted Jesus and his teachings. (Slide)

For a long time there had been a sense that God could be understood more profoundly in parables. (Slide)

Chap. 13 is a series of seven parables that describe the kingdom. Only people who accept Jesus can hope to grasp their meaning.

Parables 5-6 emphasize level of commitment to God’s Kingdom. Builds on Shema (Slide).

Parable 7 reflects expectation of God’s judgment at the end of the world. (Slide)

Compares his disciples to trained experts in the Law.

Scribes always looked at ways to interpret the law in new situations. (Slide Jer 31)

Jesus is saying his teaching builds upon what God has already revealed to Israel.

His disciples are able to teach people how Christianity is a newer, purer form of Judaism.

Christianity is the weaving of old and new. How do we apply this to our faith experience today?

Innovatio-phobia – Anything new is suspect.

Traditio-phobia – anything the church has done traditionally is useless.

We have to be like the householders who realize the connectedness of our history and our future in ministry.

Final Illustration – Old and new in the church.

For us to be successful in this church in the future, we have to balance between our history and our vision.

We don’t throw away who we have been. We build on it while also relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance.

Consider what that means for us when we plan the things we want to do in the church. When we plan VBS, when we plan contemporary services; when we look at promoting missions; when we think about how to do Sunday School.

We are blessed with the treasure of the people and songs and traditions of the people who came before us. We’re also blessed with the excitement of what’s going to take place in the lives of people in the church who are here long after we’re gone. That’s what it means to be in the kingdom.