.Proclaiming the Kingdom: The Mountains
This year during Lent our focus is guided by Adam Hamilton's book, The VWay: Walking in the
Footsteps of Jesus. When Hamilton asks people where they feel closest to God, can you
imagine some of the answers? Where are some of the places where you feel closest to God?
This week we arrive at Hamilton's chapter on following the footsteps of Jesus into the
mountains.
From where we are situated by the ocean right here in Quincy, and I would like to invite all of
us to take a trip up into the mountains by just using the imagination God gave us. Let's quickly
visit the mountains as I recall them, about 7500 feet up... That's 1.42 miles-just a little under a
mile and a half into the sky from here. Can anyone guess how fast we need to travel to get that
high up in just one minute, if we were able to drive a big bus full of all of us straight up into the
sky? (Pause...) I did some math and the answer to that is close to 85 mph. Can you recall how
quickly the sights fly by when you drive along a highway going 65 mph? We will go faster than
that on this journey... For reference, the fastest any Boston-area commuter rail train travels is
79 mph. We are about to go faster than that... This next minute is bringing us into God's
creation way up high in the mountains...
(A timed minute offun about how quickly we are approaching the clouds, how much smaller
things look down below, and how we are even beginning to make our way right past some of
the clouds...)
My first trip into these mountains to arrive at my new boarding school left off where the bus
could no longer travel the one singular road which brought us through hours of hairpin turnse
with steep drops over the edge before letting us out. When I walked the final miles to the
school, we passed through cloudy mists, from the town area of close little shops and homes,
along a road which was traveled by local livestock: mountain goats, sheep, chickens, various
cows and the infamous Mullingar bull. The Mullingar bull was an enormous beast, the King of
the Road, and we all had to develop a certain amount of bravery to get past him any time we
walked back or forth from the town. Sounds of insects buzzed so load it was like a constant
chorus drone in the background, with birdsong punctuating the atmosphere. The entire way
was riddled with the appearances of rhesus monkeys of all ages, with the little ones riding atop
of the older ones, or clinging to the belly-side and peeking out. Ifound out I would not need an
alarm clock, thanks to the monkeys. The shy langoor monkeys did not show themselves, but
clattered across the metal rooftops some time before we needed to arise. It was like a snooze
alarm, how we had time to rest awhile before the rhesus monkeys bounced and clattered
overhead. Those little monkeys would play with our laundry when we hung it to dry, and
sometimes break into our rooms to look for snacks. Ionce found teeth marks on a bar of T:
wrapped soap, and I think the monkey was hoping it was a bar of chocolate!
As people, we surely make our mark on the world, but up in the mountains it is easy to feel how
nature makes its mark on us... Everywhere, we were surrounded by foliage of ancient trees and
seasonal flowers, with the scent of freshness always in the air. We looked out over the plains,
and from our lofty view the entire world seemed like a different place. Some mountains are in
drier climate, and the landmark bears different characteristics. Nonetheless, the mountains
beckon many of us when we seek to feel closer to God. Jesus himself spent a lot of time time in
the mountains. In fact, Hamilton recalls an experienced pastor who took people on tours of the
Holy Land, Rev. James Ridgeway Sr., who pointed out that most of the story of Jesus could be
told by telling about the times he spent in the mountains.
Our message from the Gospel of Matthew 13:44-53 gives us a key theme, with Matthew
describing the "kingdom of heaven" through several parables. When you think of the word
"kingdom," what occurs to you? And when you think of the qualities of a king, what is that
like? How is it different when we speak of God as our King? And where is God's kingdom
located?
The Greek word which is translated as kingdom is basileia. The word basileia is not so much a
reference to a place as it is to the idea of dominion, the quality of sovereignty, and the action of
reigning. Thus, the kingdom of heaven has to do with the way God is able to work in our lives,
when we seek guidance and follow the teachings of Jesus.
The first parable tells of a person who finds treasure on a piece of land where they have no
rights to that property or anything on it. In order to have access, they must raise the money to
gain access to it by selling all of what they possessed up until this point, in order to begin anew
with this treasure they caught sight of in the new place. The feeling is absolute joy, because
what they found now is worth giving up everything they ever had before. This is the feeling of
how the kingdom of heaven works in our lives, allowing us to feel life is rich even though we
could hang onto nothing of our former life.
Similarly, the merchant who spends their days in a quest for the most beautiful of pearls
recognizes their dream come true when they finally find a pearl beyond compare. It seems
they do not think twice or regret a thing when they realize it will cost them everything to buy
this miraculous pearl which is like no other. Again, the kingdom of heaven gives us something
better than the best of what we gathered into our life in the past.
When the nets draw in the fish, only the good will be set aside. This seems like a caution, to
live our lives so that we will be among the righteous, and not those who are cast into the fires
with weeping and the gnashing of teeth!
Jesus speaks of the scribe, the one who is trained in words and the way of the holy laws, who is
at home in all that he knows. This is the quality of one who possesses treasure in that "home"
of sacred learning, bringing forth the old treasure and also able to access new treasure, with
new understanding, because of their training as a scribe of the holy Word. Let us be like the
scribe with our ability to access God's treasures as we learn to follow the Word the way Jesus
taught us.
Whenever we need to spend time in contemplation to remind ourselves that the kingdom of
heaven is available to flow in our lives, let us seek the places in the mountains and by the sea,
wherever nature allows us to hear God's voice. Our signals from God may be like birds singing
over high meadows of flowers, or like monkeys clattering across the rooftop. God may speak to
us by giving us courage to get past the Mullingar bull who blocks the only path forward. But we
can trust God will speak and lead us to help to one another as we face the week ahead, and we
must proclaim the good news to others, that God is at work. Most especially during these
times when war afflicts the world and so many are in need, we turn to God to lead us on. Let
the people say, "Amen."
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