The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Matthew, the ninth and tenth chapters:
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
What is the Kingdom of Heaven? That phrase is mentioned often throughout the New Testament. The Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of the Father, the Kingdom of Christ and God, the Kingdom of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Our God. These are all the ways that Jesus and His apostles talk about this “kingdom.” But what is it?
I mean, whenever Jesus talks about it, it’s like it’s a place, right? He says the Kingdom of God is at hand, the Kingdom of heaven is in their midst, the Kingdom of God is coming, the Kingdom of God is preached. This place, this thing, whatever it is, does a lot, apparently. And we should talk about it, recognize it, preach about it. That’s what Jesus says.
But, it’s one of these things, where, because we’ve been in the Church so long, I think has lost its meaning to us, or we never really knew it. If I asked you today, you’d probably tell me that it’s heaven, right? The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is heaven itself. That’s probably true to some extent. But, have you asked what heaven is?
Let me tell you, right now, heaven is not the end all be all of the Christian faith, at least not how it’s usually thought about: big pearl gates, streets lined with the most worthless substance in the universe, gold, clouds everywhere, little baby angels playing their harps. It’s like a cross between Precious Moments figurines and a cotton candy factory. But, that’s not how heaven is described at all through the Scriptures.
We see angels, scary angels all around. There are angels that literally have eyes all over their bodies. There are angels with six wings, two to cover their feet, two to cover their eyes, and two to fly. There are angels with swords, angels who sing, angels who open out plagues upon the earth. Then there are the elders who praise God unceasingly. There are hundreds of thousands of people gathered around. There are rivers and trees. There is a giant altar, under which are all the martyrs. And the most important thing, there is a throne room, which everything in heaven and on earth centers around. There God sits in judgment and in worship.
In reality, outside of John’s revelation, we’re not given a whole lot to go on. So, if heaven is your goal, if heaven is the entire end of the Christian life, then you’re not really putting your hope and trust and faith in a whole lot of something you know, are you?
So, what is heaven, what is the Kingdom of Heaven? Jesus talks about it so much, so we should know something, right? Well, apparently it’s a place where a shepherd leaves 99 sheep to find one. It’s a place where an entire field is bought with everything and a dear treasure is dug up from the ground after finding it merely by chance. It’s harder to get there that trying to get a camel through an eye of a needle. It’s like a mustard seed. It’s a place where a man throws seed out willy-nilly into the world and sees what happens. Heaven is confusing.
Unless, unless you think of heaven as Jesus Himself. Jesus goes after the lost. Jesus spreads His Gospel to the ends of the earth. Jesus is the only way, the only truth, the only life, and you can only get to eternal life through Him and no one else. Heaven is wherever Jesus is, and where Jesus is, heaven is there.
So, sure, when you die in this life, your body, you are laid in the ground, but you also go to heaven, where Jesus is, to await the resurrection, when your soul is reunited with your body and you are made perfect as Christ is perfect. You go to be with Jesus; you go to heaven.
But, what about when Jesus returns? What about when Jesus descends through the clouds and comes back to earth to dwell among His people forever? Where is heaven then? It’s where Jesus is.
That’s not to say that God will not have the place where He has always dwelled, which is somewhere and God only knows where that is. It is, however, to say that God will dwell with His creation, you, and He will bring heaven to you. He will bring eternal peace, and comfort, and security, and sinlessness to you.
But, what about now? What does Jesus mean when He says that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand? He commands His apostles to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. To me, that sounds heavenly. But, why could the apostles do that? Jesus sent them out, away from where He was, at a time when the earth was still suffering under the weight of sin.
Here’s what I want to tell you, heaven is where Jesus is, and when you have been united with Christ in Holy Baptism, when you hear His Word, when you are strengthened and forgiven in His body and blood, Jesus is there. And where Jesus is, Heaven is. Jesus is here today, friends, truly. We don’t just say this. When the man who promised that He would be murdered on a cross but would raise Himself in three days, and that turns out to be true, says that where two or more are gathered in His name, there He is, we believe that. It’s true. When Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you always,” we believe that.
These aren’t just mere platitudes to make us feel better. They should scare us a little. Jesus is with me? Jesus is with me when I yelled at my kids this morning? Jesus is with me when I told my parents that I hated them? Jesus is with me when I watched that pretty lady walk in the room? Jesus is with me when I bought those expensive shoes and didn’t tell my husband? Jesus is with me when I cut off that driver? Jesus is with me when I think horrible things?
It’s true. Jesus is with you wherever you go. I read that book to my son every few nights. It’s a kid’s book. Jesus is with me wherever I go; I read the Bible and that’s how I know… I got it memorized. It sticks with you after the hundredth or so reading. Jesus is with me always, because He promised He bound Himself to me through His Word and Sacrament. And that’s scary, because Jesus knows everything I’ve done, Jesus knows everything you’ve done. And He sees your sin. When you sin right before the eyes of God, what should you expect?
Let’s put it this way: Let’s say you’re a peasant and you’re called before the king of your land. You walk into the throne room, and you make a pass at his daughter, or you wolf call at his son, what do you think the king would do? And if a king would do that, what do you think God should do?
Yet, the reality is that we live within the Kingdom of Heaven now, and we are not struck down, we are not destroyed. God in His mercy sent His Son to die for you, and for His sake forgives you all of your sin. In His loving-kindness, He has patience with you and leads you to repentance, so that all your sins would be forgiven in the blood of Jesus. You are not struck down, for God loves you and dwells with you. God doesn’t desire to kill you, for He could no more do that to a Christian than He would kill His own Son again. Christ died once for all, that was enough. And He died for you.
But, what am I to do now? I know more about this heaven thing, that where Jesus is heaven, and Jesus is with me, so heaven is with me. What do I go and do?
Easy. Go do like the apostles. I don’t mean that you go out and heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, or cast out demons. You see, they did those things because Jesus told them to do it in His name. That was their job, that was their vocation. But you go do like the apostles; you go do what Jesus tells you to do.
Are you a father? Then go out and be a good daddy to your kids. Are you a husband? Love and serve your wife, to the point that you would lay down your life for her. Are you a doctor? Heal. Are you a teacher? Teach. Are you a handyman? Work. Are you a mother, a son, a daughter, a wife, a nurse, a volunteer, a lay person? Then go out, fulfill your duties. Do them, love them. God called you to that role so that you may serve others through it.
God serves others through you. In a way, you are bringing a bit of heaven to others when you serve them. You end up showing them now just a bit of the love and self-sacrifice that will be so evident when we are perfected. You are bringing a little slice of heaven to your neighbor now when you serve them in their needs.
The father with a dirty diaper up to his elbows is giving more love than we could know. A son who cleans the dishes without asking is showing great love to his mother. A teacher who spends countless hours grading, decorating, praying for her students serves the kids and their parents. A craftsman or factory worker who works 60 hour weeks just to makes ends meet puts food on his family’s table.
We are called to serve, friends. And we do that through our vocations. And through those vocations, we first show the love of God to people and then we get to tell them of the love of God to all people.
Our Lord, yes, desires laborers for the harvest. He wants pastors and teachers and deaconesses and church musicians to aid in spreading the Gospel. But, He wants you, too. He has called you, He loves you so much that He has called you to His work.
It sounds daunting, perhaps. I know that I fail in my vocations all the time; but in the promise of Christ, in the promise of forgiveness, I know that He will never leave you nor forsake you, for He is with you always. When you sin, when you fail, come back to where you know the Lord preaches to you, forgives you, strengthens you. You can then serve without fear, for you always have the Kingdom of Heaven with you through this world, you will always have Jesus, and He is there to forgive you, to restore you, and ultimately, to resurrect you. So shall you be. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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