Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
Sermon Gen 29:15-28, Mt. 13:31-33, 44-46 – The Kingdom of Heaven is like …
July 27, 2008
This week I am finishing up my first year with you as your pastor. Last August I came here fresh from graduation at Fuller and after a quick visit to South Korea I arrived here as your student pastor under the very capable supervision of your interim pastor, Rev. Bill Van Ness. A year ago I wondered what the Kingdom of Heaven would look like here at Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church after Grace and I had a chance to do ministry here. I had many hopes and expectations. I can say that many of those hopes and expectations have been realized, but there have been many surprises along the way. In many ways this church is far different from what it was a year ago and is becoming something we didn’t expect. But God is at work building her kingdom.
Will you pray with me? Lord Jesus we ask that you transform Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church into God’s kingdom. Lead us in the ways you would have us do ministry here in this neighborhood. Prepare us to minister to the needs of the people in this community. And bring us the great joy of participating in your work in our world. We pray this in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Matthew 13:31-33 31 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32 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." 33 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."
Matthew 13:44-46 44 "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. 45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; 46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Kingdom of God, or as Matthew calls it, the Kingdom of Heaven, was the central message of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus taught about the Kingdom of Heaven using parables where he compared the unknown Kingdom of Heaven to something that was already known. So Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny little seed that grows up into a big bush. Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like the invisible gas leavening bread dough. Or the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure you have found and in great joy sacrifice everything you have to get that one precious pearl.
God started building the kingdom of heaven at creation, and the work continued with the blessing of Abraham and the command to Abraham and his descendants to be a blessing to all families in the world. God’s kingdom work continued though Isaac and his son Jacob.
Now, Jacob’s mind must have been swirling around as he walked silently and all alone to his uncle’s house in Haran. In his dream God had told him many things that he had to think through. It was hard for him to imagine what God had in store. How could this lone man, whose family hated him and had the reputation of being a schemer and cheater, become the seed for a family of God’s people that would cover the world like dust to its four corners? Jacob must have considered himself so small when compared to all that God had in store. Maybe, like his descendant 2000 years later, he thought about himself as a mustard seed so small and yet, somehow, would grow into a bush so large that it would be a blessing even to the birds flying in the heavens.
But even to Jacob, God’s ways were mysterious. Whatever God was doing or about to do with Jacob it was certainly hidden far from Jacob’s thoughts. God was working behind the scenes orchestrating Jacob’s life for a greater purpose. But Jacob had no idea what God was doing. Maybe, like his descendant 2000 years later, Jacob thought of God like yeast working in a ball of dough, hidden, invisible but still working to produce the final leavening.
Like Jacob we too are part of God’s plan for the Kingdom of Heaven. We are all characters in a play directed by God. We can only discern the board outlines of God’s overall plan, but we know that we are in some way a part of that plan and though us God will accomplish far more than we could ever dream. We are but the tiny mustard seeds that God will use to grow her kingdom. Although we can see some of the things that God is doing among us, most of what God is doing is hidden from our view. But God’s work is bubbling up in dough of this world and his accomplishments will one day rise into the magnificent loaf of her kingdom on earth.
When Jacob arrived at Haran his heart was filled with the feeling of pure joy when his eyes first perceived a pearl, a treasure, the beautiful Rachel. Jacob would do anything to have Rachel as his wife. And when he found out that she was his cousin, Uncle Laban’s daughter, Jacob leaped with joy over his good fortunes. Jacob thought that God had given him just what he needed. Then Jacob agreed to work hard, very hard, for seven years to gain Rachel’s hand in marriage.
When we realize that we are part of God’s work of building up the Kingdom of Heaven we too rejoice. It is truly joyful to be used by God in this glorious work. Just ask Bob and the other Retreds about the great joy they have experienced in maintaining these buildings. Ask Art about the great joy he has experience by carefully watching over the financial resources of the church. Ask June about the great joy she has experienced when teaching Bible to people in this church. Ask Vern and Rosie about the great joy they have experience helping international students learn English. Whenever we realize that what we are doing is part of God’s bigger plan we rejoice with praise and thanksgiving.
Jacob should have seen it coming, but a schemer and a cheater is the last to realize that someone has launched a scheme to cheat him out of what was rightfully his. Jacob didn’t know until it was too late that Uncle Laban had no intention of letting Rachel be married until his older daughter Leah had found a husband. Poor Leah, the NRSV translation of the Bible calls her eyes “lovely”. This was a very generous translation. In reality Leah suffered by comparison with younger, prettier sister, Rachel, in just about every way. So when Laban substituted Leah for Rachel on Jacob’s wedding night Jacob was understandably very upset. Yet he knew that this too was somehow in God’s plan. So Jacob gave Leah her a week of a joyous wedding feast and gave her father a week of years to get the other sister.
Once Jacob was married to both sisters he began realize the pearl, the great treasure, he had found. He noticed that Rachel was dishonest, a thief, worshiped pagan gods, and had real trouble getting pregnant. But Leah was a good wife and bore him ten sons. This made Leah very happy and Rachel, the pretty one, very sad. So God blessed Rachel with two son of her own, but her happiness was cut short when she was giving birth to younger son, died and was buried alongside the road. The pearl the Jacob had found was none other than Leah, who cared for his family making God’s promise of numerous descendants possible. Jacob and Leah spent their lives together and were buried together in the tomb of Abraham and Sarah and of Isaac and Rebecca. In Leah, Jacob had found a pearl of great value. Blessings from God come in unusual packages. We may think that God is blessing us with a Rachel, but in the Kingdom of Heaven God’s blessing often comes to us as a Leah.
So what does the Kingdom of Heaven look like at Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church? The growth that we have hoped for and prayed for is happening in our evening service, but in ways that none of us could have imagined. Each week more and more people our coming to our evening service and staying for the fellowship dinners. And something exciting is happening.
Recently I have been getting together with people from other churches here in Eagle Rock to discuss the issues of homelessness in our community. There are many people, here in North East LA living on the streets. They live in cars, vans, trucks and recreational vehicles. Rents for apartments in Eagle Rock are way too high for many people. So many now have to live on the streets. Most have some form of limited government assistance. Some have jobs. But many are hungry and desperate to find a meal. The Seventh Day Adventist church has a dinner on Thursday nights. St. Dominic’s Catholic Church has a dinner for 150 people every Friday. And on Sunday nights right here at Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church dozens are coming into this sanctuary to hear some good news and then join us for dinner in Montgomery Hall. We are becoming a church for the poorest people in our community. We have found our Leahs and they turn out to be pearls whose great value in the Kingdom of Heaven will bring us great joy. Those who have very little are the seeds God has sown to grow, right here in this church, the Kingdom of Heaven.
So I urge you to come on Sunday nights to see what God is doing with this church. Come for worship, and come for fellowship with our neighbors who live in this community and whom we drive passed every day. Pray for us as we look for sources of food that will help us to meet this pressing need. And continue to support this church with your tithes and offering so that our important mission of working with Christ to bring people in this community to God will continue.
Lord Jesus, help us to meet the needs of our brothers and sisters in our neighborhood. Give us the resources to proclaim the good news and demonstrate your kingdom to Eagle Rock. Bless us as we minister to the poor in your name. And use our efforts as the seed which will grow your kingdom in this church. We pray this in your strong name, amen.
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