SERMONS

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Sean Gilbert – 13/7/08

Christ Church “The Kingdom of God is like a sower…”

The founder of the Taize community, Brother Roger, once wrote,
 “From the depths of the human condition a secret aspiration rises up. Caught in the anonymous rhythms of schedules and timetables, men and women of today are implicitly thirsting for an essential reality, for an inner life.” 

An inner life…   

A lively substance of character that informs, inspires, consoles and makes connection wherever it goes. A self, if you like, secure in its own unique identity and even alive to its own special purpose; its pressing mission in life.

Well, asked at one point as to where this obvious or ubiquitous kingdom was that he kept talking about, Jesus replied confidently that it was here amongst us, if not within us. That being, the love and mercy of God, pulsating, radiating in the now; not needing clerical, institutional or biblical mediation, simply needing receptive, imaginative hearts and wills.

A far cry, I think from the “jump through the hoops” approach of many religious leaders and movements down the ages. Cross the t’s, dot the i’s, and then you might be a fit candidate for this lofty and exalted realm, one most often posited beyond this world, fair and lovely as it may be.

The parables, and more particularly the authentic sayings of Jesus, reveal a teacher  well grounded in this life-experience,so that the presence of God and the faithful life are in no way separate from it. This metaphor of Kingdom, then, is ironic or paradoxical to its core. As Brandon Scott said the other night, it is a kingdom without a king, its premise and goal being totally about communal love, equity, justice, not hierarchies or institutions of power and control.
                                                  
As I’ve suggested a number of times recently – maybe ad nauseam – the immediate future of Christian communities like our own, lies not in ensuring that the structural frameworks (or even finances) are in place and that we work even harder to maintain them, come hell or high water; rather that, as Bro. Roger observes, we be a reliable and living resource of spirit and soul that can at least begin to provide the need for the development of an inner life. To meet a truly human and  urgent need of modern society.

In case it has escaped our attention, most Australians have stopped listening to institutional leaders; rather they flock to hear someone like the Dalai Lama whose only purpose, really, is to embody the spiritual principles he advocates. In other words, his own practice is his teaching; his own spiritual experience is ultimately his guide.

And so, it is the authentic expressions of his inner life that then resonates and creates interest. Not pontificating or posturing, no great complexities or grand designs. No, simple human happiness and compassion, and from that all else flows. A depth of soil or soul that can produce creative and lasting fruit, and therefore is credible and attractive. In other words, a self-worth that rises up and truly expresses the given beauty that exists in all of us. Indeed a laying-hold of the Kingdom without a king, participating with all our heart in this given and ‘wild’ life.

Let us take a few moments for our own thought and prayer…..