2nd Sunday After Pentecost
June 18-19, 2006
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Mark 4:26-34, Ezek. 17:22-24, 2 Cor. 5:1-17
“With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own disciples He explained everything.”
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Dear fellow Christian disciples,
Consider the kingdom of God. Is it like an Egyptian pyramid or a mighty mountain? Is it like a noble cedar, an ornate tent, or a magnificent temple? Is the kingdom of God like the Roman empire or like the world’s only superpower, the United States of America? According to Jesus, the kingdom of God is NOT like any of these temporary, earthly things.
[Jesus]… said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
To the untrained eye, the seeds may not appear to be very impressive. By themselves seeds don’t do much except lie there. They need the nourishment and stable foundation which the soil provides. In the first parable for today, the man does NOT add anything to the soil. The man gives the seed to the soil. He scatters it.
All by itself, the soil produces the grain. The rich, moist soil needs no help from the man. The soil produces the grain just fine, just as God intended. In this way, we begin to recognize the Kingdom of God that grows from the rich, moist, Gospel-laden Word of God.
Just as the soil produces grain, so also all by Himself the Word of God produces Christians. Just as the man in the parable adds nothing to the mystery of this God-given growth, so also do we add nothing to God’s Word when it comes to salvation in Jesus Christ. As Martin Luther exhorts fathers or the head of each household to teach in a simple way to his household, the Holy Spirit calls you by the Gospel. He enlightens you with His gifts. He sanctifies and keeps you in the true faith (Luther’s explanation to the 3rd article of the Creed).
He produces that faith, where and when it pleases God, in those who hear the Gospel (Augsburg Confession V).
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
The seed, then, could be like the unbeliever who must be brought to hear the Word of God to be converted and made into a Christian full of repentance and faith.
As for the man, well the man could be like a pastor but more likely he’s like a layperson or anyone in the priesthood of all believers. The man could be you, or rather Christ working through you. The man brings the seed where it needs to be, so it can die and come to life (1 Corinthians 15:36). The seed is converted by the soil to produce the harvest of mature, ripe grain. The pastor and especially the laypeople bring unbelievers to the rich, moist, Gospel-laden soil of God’s Word. This soil is found in the Church of Jesus Christ.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
Of course, God is present everywhere, all the time. He’s present in the constructive and destructive forces of nature. But in His Word, and nowhere else, God promises to come and save you forever. We need the full kernel of repentance and faith in Jesus. He has earned for us the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation from hell. We need what He gives to us and we receive it where He gives it to us. We need Jesus. We need Him who promises to come and save us through His Word.
In this way, the soil of God’s Word provides the nourishment and the foundation we seeds must have so we can die and come to life in Him. Through all the troubles we experience in this world it’s good to remember that:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
To the untrained eye, it may not be very impressive to see men, women, and infants being sprinkled with or dunked in water combined with words spoken by a man in a white robe. But by this simple act of God through His manly instrument, you know that you and your fellow worshippers were made subjects of the Kingdom of God.
To the untrained eye, the empty pews in the Divine Service and the empty chairs in Bible Study might be a discouraging sign. To the untrained eye, the uncommon music may not be very attractive. The images of a dead man hanging on the walls may be offensive.
To the unforgiving eye, you and I look like poor, miserable sinners. We appear too lazy to do the work that we ought to be doing to help bring other seeds to hear the Word of God. And if we don’t appear lazy, we appear too busy or self absorbed with what (we like to think) are more important things. Some kingdom!
If this is God’s kingdom, then send me somewhere else. Send me: where everybody knows everyone’s name and cares enough to share each others’ burdens; where people are eager to hear and study God’s Word together; where they are eager to eat and drink the Lord’s body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.
God’s kingdom sure doesn’t look like we want it to. There is no certainty that the work we do will be fruitful in the way we want it to be. There’s too much work to do anyway, so why bother?
Simply because, God’s Word reminds us that:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
The Kingdom of God is a mystery. In the parable of the scattered seeds, Jesus does not explain the mystery of His kingdom. It’s not the sort of mystery that can be precisely explained with anything God has created on earth. It is a heavenly mystery. It can only be believed. But Jesus does offer comfort and hope by telling us how this mystery ends. The seed that’s been sown will produce a crop. And when the soil has ripened the grain, the harvest will come. It might not come according to our timing, but the harvest will come. Then, the grain will be gathered into the Lord’s barn, and there will be a harvest festival bigger than there ever was!
The Lord of the harvest is in control. There is no need to worry. Jesus died for all so that we who live no longer live for ourselves but for him who for your sake died and was raised. So as we live, Christians work to bring others to hear His Word and receive His rich, Gospel-laden gifts.
God’s kingdom will come. But does that mean his kingdom is now absent? Is the promise of God’s kingdom only a future hope, with no present comfort or shelter for us? By no means!
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
After comparing the kingdom of God to a patient man whose scattered seed grows mysteriously from the ground, our Lord used another earthly image to throw along side and compare the kingdom of God. He chose something miniscule but with a lot of hidden potential. He chose a teeny tiny mustard seed.
Again [Jesus] said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
Likewise, while we believe the kingdom of God is among us, it remains hidden. It is a mysterious kingdom. Jesus’ followers were confused. They had been waiting a long time for the promised Messiah. Finally, there were signs that He had come! The blind were being made to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk! And this man from Nazareth taught with authority like no other.
But, somehow, the pieces didn’t all seem to fit. Rome still had Israel under its thumb. The corrupt house of Herod still cast a dark shadow over their land. And the One to whom they were looking for deliverance was in no hurry to take up a crown or raise an army. If Jesus was the Father’s beloved Son, why wasn’t He doing more to glorify Himself and His people?
To top it all off, this man was associating with all the wrong people. He ate with sinners! Formerly unfair tax collectors and former women of ill repute were among his most faithful followers. They could have gone back to their old ways at anytime. It just didn’t seem to fit. It just didn’t seem like the best way to build a kingdom.
On the one hand, Jesus was clearly no ordinary man. On the other hand, His kingdom sure wasn’t what people normally think the kingdom of God should look like. But, then again:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
Jesus knew what they were thinking—and he knows our thoughts as well. He knows that our fallen, sinful minds just can’t wrap themselves around the mystery of His kingdom. So Jesus told His disciples many such stories. Then He privately explained to His disciples what they meant.
And He forgave their sins.
As our Lord reminds us through His prophet Ezekiel and Gospel writer Mark, the Lord provides a safe place to rest and dwell while we live on this sin scorched earth. On the mountain height of Israel, on mount Calvary, He has planted the tender twig of His Son. By dieing a low & humble death, the Seed of the first Woman has become a noble cedar. As His dead body hung from the tree of the cross, His body was drained of blood and water. The green tree of life was dried up. And from the dry tree, God has caused His branches to produce fruit through the waters of Holy Baptism and through the Flesh and Blood of His Supper.
Even now, birds are resting in the branches and enjoying the shade. Even now, we find comfort and shelter in God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God is not only a promise for the future—it is a present reality! In the good news that our sins are forgiven on account of Christ, we have real rest and peace that passes all understanding. In our Lord’s Holy Supper, we are lovingly fed and given sure protection from the enemies that attack us. In Christ, we find peace and shelter in God’s kingdom.
Yet this is a kingdom that is visible only to the eyes of faith. Though it’s understandable that we might wish God’s kingdom would look more glorious, more radiant, and more majestic, that is not what we should expect in this life. That isn’t what the kingdom of God is like.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
As we heard from Ezekiel, this is a kingdom where low trees are brought high and high trees are made low — where God’s own Son is glorified by suffering and dieing for sins not His own. Buried in the rocky soil of a tomb, the Seed of the Woman has died and become the first born of the dead. Your Lord and Savior lives.
His is the kind of kingdom where the first shall be last and the last shall be first: a kingdom where poor, miserable sinners are welcomed with open arms and are served by the King at His table.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
It’s not the kind of kingdom we ever would have imagined. But it’s exactly the kind of kingdom we need. And, by the grace of God, it is the kingdom in which you dwell because Jesus was lifted up on the lowly tree of the cross.
So the Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and said: “All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
In +Jesus’ Name. Amen
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through + Christ Jesus.
[Adapted from sermon notes by the Rev. Aaron A. Stinnett, PhD, pastor, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Polson, Montana, and Zion Lutheran Church, St. Ignatius, Montana, published in the Concordia Pulpit Resource, Volume 16, Part 3, Series B, June 11, 2006—September 10, 2006.]
Vicar Michael Monterastelli
Text: Mark 4:26-34, Ezek. 17:22-24, 2 Cor. 5:1-17
“With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own disciples He explained everything.”
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Dear fellow Christian disciples,
Consider the kingdom of God. Is it like an Egyptian pyramid or a mighty mountain? Is it like a noble cedar, an ornate tent, or a magnificent temple? Is the kingdom of God like the Roman empire or like the world’s only superpower, the United States of America? According to Jesus, the kingdom of God is NOT like any of these temporary, earthly things.
[Jesus]… said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
To the untrained eye, the seeds may not appear to be very impressive. By themselves seeds don’t do much except lie there. They need the nourishment and stable foundation which the soil provides. In the first parable for today, the man does NOT add anything to the soil. The man gives the seed to the soil. He scatters it.
All by itself, the soil produces the grain. The rich, moist soil needs no help from the man. The soil produces the grain just fine, just as God intended. In this way, we begin to recognize the Kingdom of God that grows from the rich, moist, Gospel-laden Word of God.
Just as the soil produces grain, so also all by Himself the Word of God produces Christians. Just as the man in the parable adds nothing to the mystery of this God-given growth, so also do we add nothing to God’s Word when it comes to salvation in Jesus Christ. As Martin Luther exhorts fathers or the head of each household to teach in a simple way to his household, the Holy Spirit calls you by the Gospel. He enlightens you with His gifts. He sanctifies and keeps you in the true faith (Luther’s explanation to the 3rd article of the Creed).
He produces that faith, where and when it pleases God, in those who hear the Gospel (Augsburg Confession V).
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
The seed, then, could be like the unbeliever who must be brought to hear the Word of God to be converted and made into a Christian full of repentance and faith.
As for the man, well the man could be like a pastor but more likely he’s like a layperson or anyone in the priesthood of all believers. The man could be you, or rather Christ working through you. The man brings the seed where it needs to be, so it can die and come to life (1 Corinthians 15:36). The seed is converted by the soil to produce the harvest of mature, ripe grain. The pastor and especially the laypeople bring unbelievers to the rich, moist, Gospel-laden soil of God’s Word. This soil is found in the Church of Jesus Christ.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
Of course, God is present everywhere, all the time. He’s present in the constructive and destructive forces of nature. But in His Word, and nowhere else, God promises to come and save you forever. We need the full kernel of repentance and faith in Jesus. He has earned for us the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation from hell. We need what He gives to us and we receive it where He gives it to us. We need Jesus. We need Him who promises to come and save us through His Word.
In this way, the soil of God’s Word provides the nourishment and the foundation we seeds must have so we can die and come to life in Him. Through all the troubles we experience in this world it’s good to remember that:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
To the untrained eye, it may not be very impressive to see men, women, and infants being sprinkled with or dunked in water combined with words spoken by a man in a white robe. But by this simple act of God through His manly instrument, you know that you and your fellow worshippers were made subjects of the Kingdom of God.
To the untrained eye, the empty pews in the Divine Service and the empty chairs in Bible Study might be a discouraging sign. To the untrained eye, the uncommon music may not be very attractive. The images of a dead man hanging on the walls may be offensive.
To the unforgiving eye, you and I look like poor, miserable sinners. We appear too lazy to do the work that we ought to be doing to help bring other seeds to hear the Word of God. And if we don’t appear lazy, we appear too busy or self absorbed with what (we like to think) are more important things. Some kingdom!
If this is God’s kingdom, then send me somewhere else. Send me: where everybody knows everyone’s name and cares enough to share each others’ burdens; where people are eager to hear and study God’s Word together; where they are eager to eat and drink the Lord’s body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.
God’s kingdom sure doesn’t look like we want it to. There is no certainty that the work we do will be fruitful in the way we want it to be. There’s too much work to do anyway, so why bother?
Simply because, God’s Word reminds us that:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
The Kingdom of God is a mystery. In the parable of the scattered seeds, Jesus does not explain the mystery of His kingdom. It’s not the sort of mystery that can be precisely explained with anything God has created on earth. It is a heavenly mystery. It can only be believed. But Jesus does offer comfort and hope by telling us how this mystery ends. The seed that’s been sown will produce a crop. And when the soil has ripened the grain, the harvest will come. It might not come according to our timing, but the harvest will come. Then, the grain will be gathered into the Lord’s barn, and there will be a harvest festival bigger than there ever was!
The Lord of the harvest is in control. There is no need to worry. Jesus died for all so that we who live no longer live for ourselves but for him who for your sake died and was raised. So as we live, Christians work to bring others to hear His Word and receive His rich, Gospel-laden gifts.
God’s kingdom will come. But does that mean his kingdom is now absent? Is the promise of God’s kingdom only a future hope, with no present comfort or shelter for us? By no means!
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
After comparing the kingdom of God to a patient man whose scattered seed grows mysteriously from the ground, our Lord used another earthly image to throw along side and compare the kingdom of God. He chose something miniscule but with a lot of hidden potential. He chose a teeny tiny mustard seed.
Again [Jesus] said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
Likewise, while we believe the kingdom of God is among us, it remains hidden. It is a mysterious kingdom. Jesus’ followers were confused. They had been waiting a long time for the promised Messiah. Finally, there were signs that He had come! The blind were being made to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk! And this man from Nazareth taught with authority like no other.
But, somehow, the pieces didn’t all seem to fit. Rome still had Israel under its thumb. The corrupt house of Herod still cast a dark shadow over their land. And the One to whom they were looking for deliverance was in no hurry to take up a crown or raise an army. If Jesus was the Father’s beloved Son, why wasn’t He doing more to glorify Himself and His people?
To top it all off, this man was associating with all the wrong people. He ate with sinners! Formerly unfair tax collectors and former women of ill repute were among his most faithful followers. They could have gone back to their old ways at anytime. It just didn’t seem to fit. It just didn’t seem like the best way to build a kingdom.
On the one hand, Jesus was clearly no ordinary man. On the other hand, His kingdom sure wasn’t what people normally think the kingdom of God should look like. But, then again:
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
Jesus knew what they were thinking—and he knows our thoughts as well. He knows that our fallen, sinful minds just can’t wrap themselves around the mystery of His kingdom. So Jesus told His disciples many such stories. Then He privately explained to His disciples what they meant.
And He forgave their sins.
As our Lord reminds us through His prophet Ezekiel and Gospel writer Mark, the Lord provides a safe place to rest and dwell while we live on this sin scorched earth. On the mountain height of Israel, on mount Calvary, He has planted the tender twig of His Son. By dieing a low & humble death, the Seed of the first Woman has become a noble cedar. As His dead body hung from the tree of the cross, His body was drained of blood and water. The green tree of life was dried up. And from the dry tree, God has caused His branches to produce fruit through the waters of Holy Baptism and through the Flesh and Blood of His Supper.
Even now, birds are resting in the branches and enjoying the shade. Even now, we find comfort and shelter in God’s kingdom. The kingdom of God is not only a promise for the future—it is a present reality! In the good news that our sins are forgiven on account of Christ, we have real rest and peace that passes all understanding. In our Lord’s Holy Supper, we are lovingly fed and given sure protection from the enemies that attack us. In Christ, we find peace and shelter in God’s kingdom.
Yet this is a kingdom that is visible only to the eyes of faith. Though it’s understandable that we might wish God’s kingdom would look more glorious, more radiant, and more majestic, that is not what we should expect in this life. That isn’t what the kingdom of God is like.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
As we heard from Ezekiel, this is a kingdom where low trees are brought high and high trees are made low — where God’s own Son is glorified by suffering and dieing for sins not His own. Buried in the rocky soil of a tomb, the Seed of the Woman has died and become the first born of the dead. Your Lord and Savior lives.
His is the kind of kingdom where the first shall be last and the last shall be first: a kingdom where poor, miserable sinners are welcomed with open arms and are served by the King at His table.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS MUCH GREATER THAN MEETS THE EYE.
It’s not the kind of kingdom we ever would have imagined. But it’s exactly the kind of kingdom we need. And, by the grace of God, it is the kingdom in which you dwell because Jesus was lifted up on the lowly tree of the cross.
So the Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel and said: “All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”
In +Jesus’ Name. Amen
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through + Christ Jesus.
[Adapted from sermon notes by the Rev. Aaron A. Stinnett, PhD, pastor, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Polson, Montana, and Zion Lutheran Church, St. Ignatius, Montana, published in the Concordia Pulpit Resource, Volume 16, Part 3, Series B, June 11, 2006—September 10, 2006.]
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
6/19/2006
