WEBVTT

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I speak in the name of God, the Father, Son,

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and Holy Spirit. Amen. So as I promised in my

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sermon from last Sunday, this Sunday we get the

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conclusion of this section of parables from Matthew

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13. Just in this one chapter of Matthew over

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the past three weeks, we have heard eight different

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parables. all of which are designed to reveal

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for us more about what God's kingdom will be

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like. Unlike the last two weeks where we got

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one parable on each Sunday, we were able to sort

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of focus on that one parable. This Sunday we

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have six additional parables from Jesus about

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what the kingdom of heaven will be like. Sadly,

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we can't break down each one of these parables,

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so we'll have to look at them as a whole and

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sort of draw out from them these important details

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that Jesus is trying to teach us about what God's

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kingdom will be like. And these stories have

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so much to teach us about who God is and what

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God values. In the parable of the mustard seed

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and the yeast, we see a God from whom great things

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are possible in all types of situations. With

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God, things are not always what they seem. Even

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though we have limited imaginations, we can rest

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assured that God does not. From the mustard seed,

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the small mustard seed, God bring forth a large

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tree big enough for birds to come and make homes

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in. And in this parable, we learn that even our

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humble offerings are enough for God to create

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something big and lasting and good. In the parable

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of the yeast, we sort of have the opposite side

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of the coin from the parable of the mustard seed.

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In this parable, a single woman takes three measures

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of flour. And I think we might have this image

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of sort of like three cups of flour. But what

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three measures really equals is 60 pounds of

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flour. This woman takes 60 pounds of flour. And

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she herself mixes in yeast until the whole thing

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is leavened. So in this story, we have an idea

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of God as one who deals in abundance, extravagance,

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generosity, with whom there is plenty, with whom

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there is always enough. We also get the sense

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that God is one for whom no amount of mess, no

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amount of chaos, no amount of too much is so

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much that God can't do something good with it,

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can't make something fruitful and whole out of

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it. In the parable of the merchant and the parable

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of the field, Jesus teaches us about a God who

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loves us, but also how we respond to that love.

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In one parable, the merchant is actively searching

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for something, looking for those pearls of value.

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In the other, we have a man simply working a

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field. Both of them stumble upon something incredible,

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and both of them realize that what they have

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found is so precious that it is worth their dire

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action to acquire it. In these parables, we learn

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that God comes to each of us in a variety of

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ways. Sometimes we're looking for God's voice.

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Sometimes it breaks into our busy lives. But

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these parables remind us that when we are blessed

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enough to hear God's voice, that call of God

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in our lives, it is worth everything we have

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to follow it. These parables also work in reverse

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when we think about how precious we are to God,

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how time and again throughout the entirety of

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the scriptures, God is shown as letting nothing

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stand in the way of God's plan for reconciliation

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and salvation for us. In the scriptures we see

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a God who will go to any and all lengths to reach

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us and to save us because God loves us. In sending

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God's own Son to die for us, God shows us just

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how precious we are, how God will do anything

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and risk it all in order to bring us home. In

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the face of the knowledge of that kind of holy

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love, we are reminded that nothing in our lives

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is worth as much as responding deeply and holy

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to God's love. In all of these parables, both

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the ones from this week and the ones from the

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last few weeks, we see God more clearly as one

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who seeks justice, but deals in mercy, one who

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values goodness, who brings forth joy and light

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and life out of everything that we go through,

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a God in whom there is plenty and whom there

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is an abundance, not just for us, but for all

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of God's creation. All of these parables help

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us understand greater truths about God and by

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extension what God's kingdom will look like.

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But even as we listen to these parables about

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what the promised kingdom of God will look like

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on earth in the future, we have to hear these

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parables in a world that does not yet resemble

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the one that God longs for us to inhabit. You

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know for yourselves how very far this world is

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from God's perfect kingdom. We are so often inundated

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in our lives with pain and with grief and with

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loss. We are buffeted around by greed and selfishness,

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by pride and hypocrisy and fear, both from within

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our own souls, but also for the people in the

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world who wield power. Longing for God's perfect

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kingdom in the midst of a world that is so far

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off course is nothing new. In Paul's letter to

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the Roman that was written some 2 ,000 years

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ago, we also hear that we've been hearing from

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over the past few weeks. We hear this desperation

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echoing through those centuries of Christians

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in all times and in all places who have felt

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this sort of need to make the world that we inhabit

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just a little bit more like the one God wants

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for us. In last week's reading from Romans, we

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heard about how all of creation is waiting, longing.

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The word that Paul uses is groaning for a time

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in which our world will mirror God's. And in

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this week's reading, we have this beautiful sort

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of poetic line about how the Spirit intercedes

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for us when the world becomes too much. And the

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word is really beautiful with size too deep for

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words, but the Greek word is the same as creation.

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The Spirit sits inside and groans for us when

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we don't have words to express how far off course

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the world is, how much we want it to look more

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like God's kingdom. All of God's created order,

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humans and creatures and the earth and the water

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and the plants and the rocks and the sky, all

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of it is longing for a time intensely, immensely

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when God will set it all right. As we learn more

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about what God's perfect kingdom will be like,

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we are invited to live fully into the hope and

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the promise that it will one day arrive. But

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we must also remember that the work of building

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up that kingdom is the work of now, the present.

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God's kingdom is both the promised future and

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the worked -for present. Until we can look at

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the news and see the world around us mirroring

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exactly the one that we read about in Scripture.

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the one that we pray for every Sunday in the

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Lord's Prayer, I will be done here on earth as

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it is in heaven. There is still so much work

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for us to do. We who have learned about the kingdom

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of God, of what it should look like, we are the

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ones that God is inviting to make that kingdom

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as much reality as possible. God is calling each

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of us. God calls us to care particularly for

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those for whom the kingdom seems even further

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away, the hungry, the tired, the lonely, the

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forgotten, the oppressed, the marginalized, those

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who are without hope. There are so many people

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in this world that need to feel and hear and

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see the promise of God's coming kingdom now.

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And God is calling each and every one of us to

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take up that work. You have gifts that are essential

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for the kingdom of God. You have gifts that God

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has given you, talents that are essential for

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building up that kingdom now. So what are those

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gifts? How are you called to use them? When you

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sit down and you listen to that quiet but insistent

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voice in your heart, what are you being pulled

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towards to? What are you being pulled towards

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into? When you watch the news, what kind of injustice

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will just not let you rest? If you need help

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finding what that is, come talk to me. We can

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discern together. We have so many things that

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you can get involved in right here at Ascension,

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but I guarantee you that if you pay attention,

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you will have people and things and ministries

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that God will put in your path. each of us unique

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work in the world. If we do a tiny part, we can

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build up even more the kingdom of God here on

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earth. Throughout the Gospels and especially

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in these parables over the past three weeks,

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Jesus tells us what God's kingdom will be like

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and what the hallmarks of that kingdom will be.

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Things like mercy, and joy and hope and kindness

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and love and compassion and welcome and justice

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and reconciliation and peace. But even as God

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invites us to look toward that future with hope

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and believe firmly in the promises of that assured

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salvation, we know that the goal of the kingdom

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isn't just about tomorrow. It is also very much

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about today. It is about working with God right

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now to bring about that kingdom in the present.

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And until the world around us looks like the

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one that God promises, there is so much work

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for us to do and so ministry set for us to accomplish.

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Amen.