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God’s Kingdom, Reign, or Community: What Is It Like? by Peter L. DeGroote |
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Notes for Bible Talk: July 13, 2005 Please read: Matthew 13: 31-32 (Luke 13: 18; Mark 4:30) |
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Bible Talk is an informal
discussion of biblical passages, ideas, and related material. The discussions are on Wednesday
evenings at 7:30 pm, following the Service of Word and Table. Occasionally,
they will not be held due to special events. These Notes are intended to
assist participants in thinking about the passages and some of their
implications prior to the gathering. Usually, the Notes are
prepared and the discussion is led by Rev. Peter L. DeGroote The sources for biblical quotations are
labeled as follows: NRSV: The New
Revised Standard Version, Copyright ©1989, The National Council of
Churches of Christ in the SV: The Scholar’s Version; i.e., The Five Gospels, The Search for the
Authentic Words of Jesus, Robert W. Funk and Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar, Copyright © 1993 by Polebridge Press. TM: The
Message, The New Testament in Contemporary Language, Copyright ©
Eugene H. Peterson 1993. navpress,
M: My paraphrase. |
1. In most of Jesus’ teachings we have a sense of the
Kingdom or Reign of God being already among us if we but had “eyes to see”
and “ears to hear.” In the Parable of the Mustard Seed Jesus gave us a stark
and surprising image: "The
Reign (kingdom) of God is like a very small seed that someone has planted; it
is the smallest of seeds but grows into a bush with sturdy branches that
gives shelter to the birds. The Middle Eastern mustard plant is
considered a weed, growing from a tiny seed to a bush, often six, sometimes
10 feet high. Being an annual, it grows, produces thousands of seeds, and
dies in a single season. In the retelling of the parable, Luke
refers to the kingdom as being like a seed that someone planted in a garden
and grew into a large tree. This version probably reflects Luke’s general
unawareness of the geography of Israel/Palestine. While this version probably
retells the story in a way that communicates to his community, some of the
original character of the parable is lost. The placement in a garden suggests
an urban environment and its growing into a tree suggests a sense of something
fine, respectable, handsome, and lasting. As we see below, these are far
removed from the rural images that Jesus left us with. 2. Jesus’ original image is of a common and humble bush
that dots the country-side, often rejected or overlooked. In other words,
this place of God already exists. Not requiring our construction or
improvement, Jesus frequently reminded us of the need to use our ears to hear
and our eyes to see. That leads to at least two conclusions: A. Jesus did not propose an
ideal that is beyond human comprehension or understanding. B. While God's domain or
kingdom does not need construction or improvement, we apparently must do
something in order to both recognize it and learn to live within it. 3. Like all good parables, it leaves us thinking
thoughts we do not often consider. Included among them are the following: A. As a place that already
exists, we are able to find our way to God's kingdom. Because no single
parable can say everything, we need to couple this thought with what we already
know of the rule of love; i.e., God’s kingdom or domain is first and foremost
built on the relationships that arise out of the love of God and others. B. The mustard bush is
described as having sturdy branches and foliage that provides shelter for birds.
We recall Jesus saying not to worry about our lives for if God takes care of
the birds of the air, God will surely take care of us. We are also reminded
that the rule of love produces human community that provides a place of
safety from the hot suns and tumultuous storms of the world, an alternative
to the ways of normal human society. On the other hand, even the birds have
to fly out into the world. In that sense, the community becomes a home for
our work in the world. C. Each mustard bush grows
from one of the thousands of seeds produced by each bush, taking root where
it lands. We are reminded of God's freedom, that God's Reign is not reserved
for our land, our country, or even our church. The seeds grow where they are
blown, where the birds take them, where they find suitable soil. In short, we
do not control where God chooses to be at work nor do we control the nature
of those communities that are created out of the rule of love. D. There is no shortage of
mustard plants; they grow all over the landscape. One looks much like the
other. Left to themselves, they can take over a whole landscape; alter the
appearance of the world. Year after year, new plants appear, new flowers
blossom, new seeds are dispersed. The Reign of God spreads, as if by nature itself—that
is the promise, the potential. 3. Choosing the mustard plant as an example, Jesus is
also pointing to an uncommon understanding of God's kingdom. An annual plant
insures its reproduction by producing many seeds before it dies. It was
common in Jesus' day, as well as in our own, to think of God's kingdom as a
society or government of justice and righteousness that, once established,
would continue eternally, or at least to the end of time. For that to happen
the plant would have to be a perennial; i.e., one that continues to grow each
season. Jesus leaves us with a sense of the task never being finished, of
each generation having to establish it relationships with God and each other,
and in so doing, finding God's domain in its own time and place. Peter L. DeGroote |
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