The kingdom of heaven

Preached at St Catherine’s, Catherine-de-Barnes, Solihull at 11am Eucharist
Sunday 20th July 2008, Trinity 9, Proper 11, Year A.
A shortened version of this sermon was preached at the 8am Eucharist at St Alphege Church, Solihull
Readings Wisdom 12: 13,16-19 Romans 8: 12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
(N.B. – The “Book of Wisdom” or “Wisdom of Solomon” does not appear in many standard bibles. To find it you need a bible that includes the Apocrypha, or a Catholic Edition)


One of the themes of Matthew’s gospel is the kingdom of heaven. In Chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel there are seven parables in which Jesus tries to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like. Today we heard the parable of the wheat and the weeds, which is quite a long parable, especially because Jesus explained it afterwards. The other six parables are very short, and we hear many of them in the gospel reading next week. But today, let’s spend a few moments thinking about the kingdom of heaven, as it is presented to us in Matthew’s gospel.
Jesus was concerned with preaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:23, 9:35). The kingdom of heaven requires of us repentance (Matt 3:2, 4:17). Repentance means putting God in the first place in our lives, and making sure that everything else in our lives finds its right place under God. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy kingdom come”. This tells us that the kingdom of heaven something that is coming. It is not something that is already here, or at least not already here in a full and complete way. Closely related to this we pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. So the kingdom of heaven is a place where God’s will is done, and heaven is already part of the kingdom. (See also Matt 5:19 and 7:21). In the beatitudes Jesus tells us that, “Blessed are the Poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3). He also says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:10).
The kingdom of heaven is something that we should be seeking (Matt 6:33) and we need to enter it with the simplicity and humility of a child (Matt 19:14). It is impossible for us to enter if we our attached to our personal riches (Matt 19: 23-24).
So let’s think again about the parable of the wheat and the weeds. What does this tells us about the kingdom of heaven? Well certainly the kingdom of heaven is something that grows. We are told that the good seed are the children of the kingdom and they have to grow. Hopefully this is something that we all experience. The life of God within us isn’t something static and stuck, rather it is something that grows and develops and matures and eventually it completely overtakes us. One of the six other parables is the parable of the mustard seed, which starts of very small and insignificant, but grows to be great tree. It is a bit like when a child comes into the world. To start with it is very small and hidden away, and only the mother knows it is there. Then the child is born and we all know about it, but it is very small and helpless. Slowly the child grows and develops. The child goes through many different stages and makes many different demands on the parents. Over time the child becomes as big and strong as the parents and starts to take over their roles. Eventually the parents grow old and frail and then die. At this point the child inherits all their processions and has taken them over completely. So it is that the kingdom of heaven grows within us, and eventually it takes us over completely. And this is a good thing, a wonderful thing, because our sharing in the kingdom of heaven is eternal.
And what about the weed in the parable? Jesus tells us that the weeds are the children of the evil one, sown by the devil. Notice that the weeds do not come from God, they come from the enemy; the one who rebels against God. And the weeds grow up alongside the good wheat, and what is surprising to the servants in the story is how tolerant of the weeds the Master appears to be. The Master says that pulling out the weeds would be more damaging to the crop than leaving the weeds in there. It is better to let the weeds grow up with the wheat and to separate them out at harvest time. And this goes someway to towards explaining our experience of evil in the world. As we grow up in the world we experience all kinds of sufferings and difficulties which we can attribute directly, or indirectly to the evil one. But we need to be patient. God has chosen to leave those weeds in there with us, for our own good, so let’s not grumble, but let’s get on with the uncomfortable business of living alongside them. And let’s not simply think of ourselves as good wheat and other people as weeds. There is plenty that is weedy about each one of us; we all need to repent and let our good wheat grow up good and strong, and hope that by God’s grace our weedy bits will wither and die. The more they wither and die now, the easier it will be for us at harvest time. We could paraphrase our reading from St Paul; “if you live according to the weeds you will die, but if by the wheat you put to death the weeds, then you will live.”
So let’s grow up like good wheat. But let’s also be patient with the weeds. God has chosen to leave them there for our good, and let’s be grateful that more time is given for ever greater and truer repentance (c.f. Wisdom 12: 10 & 20)