Identity Politics

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23 July 2017 Emmanuel Church, Greenwood Parish 1 Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (The Rev.) Christopher Garcia

Identity Politics What is this kingdom of heaven thing? Who or what or when does it mean, to be in the kingdom of heaven? Last week and this week and next week, we hear Jesus telling parables, teaching stories, found in Matthew’s Gospel, in chapter 13. In Matthew 13, Jesus refers to “the kingdom of heaven” some eight times, and makes even more references to “the secrets of the kingdom” or “the word of the kingdom” or “children of the kingdom,” or “the kingdom of their father.” So what is this kingdom thing? It helps if we pull back the focus a little bit, and zoom out. Today we hear part of Matthew 13. Last week we heard another bit. Next week we will hear a bit more. Together, seven parables in Matthew 13 make up one of Jesus’s five teaching discourses. Matthew organizes his Gospel to around five of these great speeches or teaching sessions of Jesus. The first one is the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5 to 7. The second is a teaching on discipleship, in Matthew 10. The third, and central discourse, are these seven parables on the Kingdom. Later, we get the fourth discourse, on church discipline, in Matthew 18. And near the end of Matthew, in Matthew 23 to 25, when Jesus passes judgment on religious leadership and talks about the times to come. As I said, Matthew 13 is right in the middle, this discourse, or teaching, where Jesus keeps talking about the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of heaven. Now usually, we think about a kingdom as a physical place, a type of government, a country, a nation, a principality, ruled by a king or a queen. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom of France. The kingdom of England. And most kingdoms we think about are nations of the past – medieval nations, that have long since given way to more progressive types of government. So we think about kingdoms defined by place, and by time.

Proper 11A, Revised Common Lectionary (Track 2): Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30,36-43. “Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.” Amen. 1

2 But Jesus was not talking about a kingdom defined by place or by time. It’s helpful if we look at what comes in Matthew’s gospel, right before this teaching discourse, right before these seven parables in Matthew 13. Listen to how Matthew 12 ends: While [Jesus] was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And pointing to his disciples, [Jesus] said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’ Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Jesus begins his active ministry in Galilee, reaching out to those who were closest to him growing up. Jesus broadens his ministry to all of Judea, teaching in Jerusalem. But Jesus is not received and accepted by establishment Judaism. What we see here, in the middle of Matthew’s gospel, is a shift in focus. Jesus’ kingdom is not focused on racial identity. Being born a Jew, being in the right tribe, having the right ancestors, belonging to the right country club, having a big income, going to the right college, does not get you into the kingdom. This kingdom is not defined by time or place or ancestry or ethnicity or racial identity. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Jesus redefines kingdom, inviting everyone into relationship. Indeed, in the rest of Matthew, we will see Jesus travelling more widely, reaching out to the very borders of the kingdom of Israel. More importantly, we will see Jesus reaching out to those who are pushed to the borders of society, to the marginalized, to the outcasts, to those who collaborate with Rome – yes, you can be part of the kingdom. To women, who have been forced into lives of prostitution, by an unjust society. Yes, you are welcome. You can be part of the kingdom. To the physically and mentally afflicted, to those who might appear to be less than perfect. Yes, you, too, are welcome. You too are included in the kingdom. You are loved by God and have value. Come. So today, we focus in on one of these teaching stories. Jesus compares this kingdom to a fertile field, where God has spread out good seed, and the devil has spread out bad seed. Good seed and bad seed grow up together. This parable is sometimes called the story of the wheat and the tares, from the word used in the King James Version, that we read today as “weeds.” Tares are darnel, a form of rye grass, and when darnel or ryegrass first begins to grow, I am

3 told it looks a lot like wheat. It’s very hard to tell the difference between fresh young wheat shoots and fresh young darnel shoots. As modern readers, we might have problems with notions of some sort of cosmic farming battle, with God sowing good and the devil sowing bad. We like to think that we are beyond all of that, that there is no evil one out there trying to trick us or mislead us. But if we just go with for a little bit, and look within our own selves, I think we can all recognize evil and good, and the challenges of trying to separate the two. There are clearly thoughts we think and things we do and say that lead us away from God. There are clearly things we do and say, and thoughts we think, that lead us toward God, that help usher in this kingdom. This parable reminds us that sometimes it not so easy to tell the difference. You and I are very quick to draw lines, to decide who is in, who is out, who is for us, who is against us. This parable reminds us that identity politics are nothing new. Trying to sort people out as good or evil, has been going on generations, for centuries, for millennia. This parable challenges us to slow down, to not rush to judgment, and to recognize that sometimes those we think are outsiders, or enemies, might not be outsiders or enemies at all. This parable reminds us that when we try to rip out all of those who disagree with us, we might just be ripping out the good along with the bad, because you and I cannot always tell the difference. Jesus tells us that in God’s good time, he will send out his messengers, his delegates, his angels, and they will do the sorting out. You don’t have to do it. I don’t have to do it. God will take care of it. You and I are not supposed to be in the judgment business. Even God’s judgment gives me great hope. Jesus promises in this parable that not only will his messengers sort out those who do good from those who do evil, but that they will collect all causes of sin. The Greek word for causes of sin is σκάνδαλα (skandala) – so God will collect up all scandals, the things that cause us get confused and turn away from God and from our best selves. God will get rid of the things that cause us to stumble.

4 This kingdom of heaven is not defined by time or place or ancestry or ethnicity or racial identity. This kingdom of heaven is here and now. You are invited in. I am invited in. All who want to do the will of God are invited in. As we go into the kingdom, as we let the kingdom take hold of our lives, define who we are, define how we live, we are in for some surprises. Just as you and I will be surprised to see those who God welcomes in, there will be those in the kingdom who are surprised to each one of us. Thanks be to God.