Living the kingdom style
I survived the homiletics class, so I'm republishing my last sermon assignment here.
Note: MIN 380, the sermon preparation and presentation class, was one of the most challenging classes I have taken since 2021. I aced the class, however, and now with 79 credits, I have earned a Diploma in Ministry, in addition to a Certificate in Chaplaincy and a Commissioned Pastoral Certificate, with a 3.882 GPA (something of an accomplishment for someone who never did well in school). Nearly four years after I enrolled amidst the pandemic-era boredom and depression trying to find something to do, the coursework ended up changing me a lot. In 2021, I was just beginning to reconstruct my Christian faith after two decades of walking away from it, and in recent years, I was for all practical purposes behaving like an atheist. Also, as a former bible college dropout (forced to drop out due to mental health problems, to be more accurate), this experience gave me a second chance and a sense of closure. — Willow, Dec. 5, 2024.
Text: Matthew 18:1-14
As we come near the end of this eventful year 2024, perhaps the biggest of all events was this month’s [note: This was written in November.] presidential election. It took over most of the news cycles this year, and dominated the social media timelines, too. You might be tired of all the political fundraising text messages and the flood of negative TV ads and are relieved that the election is over.
"Defend the democracy!" It was one of the prominent slogans of this year's presidential campaigns. Each candidate accused the other candidate of undermining democracy, and appealed to voters that if the other side won, it would be "the end of democracy" and even the "end of the American Experiment."
We tend to idolize democracy in this country if only once every four years. Elections almost function like a civic ritual in which we are led to think that the destiny of the nation is on each and every ballot. From time to time, the United States even sends its armed forces abroad ostensibly to "spread democracy," although the outcome is often far from, or even contrary to, its ideals. Anyone questioning the legitimacy of American democracy is immediately viewed with suspicion.
Maybe in the 21st century United States, we grew allergic to kingdoms. After all, a kingdom feels so antiquated, it is so feudalistic, patriarchal, and aristocratic, with lots of historical baggage attached. So much so that many of my progressive Christian friends even avoid the "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "Kingdom of God" in the New Testament altogether; they'd rather prefer a neologism like "kin-dom" or a euphemism like the "realm of God."
Yet, the Kingdom of Heaven -- or Kingdom of God -- was the centerpiece of the Gospel teachings. In each of the three synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ teachings are introduced as proclamations of the good news of the Kingdom -- Matthew 4:23, Mark 1:15, and Luke 4:43.
So the Kingdom is apparently the core theme of the Gospel.
Now, I see the reasons why many people, perhaps including you, are leery of the word “kingdom.” But bear with me for the next few minutes.
Today’s reading is from Matthew chapter 18, verses 1 through 14:
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then he called a little child over to sit among the disciples, and said, “I assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. (verses 1 through 5, Common English Bible)
We like being “great,” don’t we? A certain presidential candidate seemed obsessed with the word “great” -- and greatness was a winning message. No one likes being not-so-great. Imagine that!
In the original Greek text, the word here is “megas." (Strong's G-3173) That's where we get words like megabytes and megalomaniac. It can also be translated into "exceedingly, high, large, loud, mighty, and strong." Jesus knew that we all have a desire to become great.
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He asks his audience. Before anyone could answer, Jesus grabbed a random kid by his arm and held him out in front of the disciples. Perhaps Jesus understood that his disciples may have followed him with a motive to be great. So he sets the records straight. "I assure you that if you don’t turn your lives around and become like this little child, you will definitely not enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who humble themselves like this little child will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
What does that mean? The Greek word that’s been translated as “child” -- or in some other versions, “children” -- is paidion (Strong’s G-3813). According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, this is a derived form of pais (G-3816), which can also mean “servant.” The lexicon also mentions that in the Septuagint, this word is used to translate the Hebrew words for son and little one, as well as for retainer and servant. So this isn’t just some random child who may or may not be humble -- we all know those kids, don’t we? -- but perhaps a child servant who worked for a wealthy household.
A humble, little servant child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Think about that. Not a billionaire. Not a well-connected. Not a Nobel laureate with multiple postgraduate degrees. Not a philanthropist. Not even a famous religious leader.
This underlying theme of an "upside-down" and "grounds-up" kingdom repeats throughout the Gospels.
Maybe you’re still wondering why I’m still at this “kingdom stuff.” Let me explain before we move on.
About half a year ago, theologian Beth Felker Jones wrote an article called “If God has no gender, why speak the Father’s name?” Professor Jones responds to some of the common objections to Christianity as being a patriarchal faith, and agrees that “to gender God is to make God in our image, the very definition of idolatry.” Yet, she also does not abandon the “father” imagery of God. She continues, “What if God the Father is God the Father to destroy the patriarchy? What if God, as Father, reveals the lie of all false fatherhood, which would claim patriarchal power, rather than being identified with the Son.” (Church Blogmatics, June 24, 2024.)
So we could argue that Christ took the word “father” and fundamentally subverted its meaning on its head.
Likewise, Christ took the whole idea of a “kingdom” and turned it upside down, in proclaiming a different vision of the heavenly kingdom, contrasted with those of Caesar and Herod.
Jesus was not convicted and executed for being a religious leader. He wasn't even convicted of being a "son of God." The Roman Empire did not concern itself much with the local deities and worship of its territories, and there were many fringe religious sects then, as they are today. When the Jewish leaders handed Jesus over to the Roman authorities, Pilate initially rejected them, saying "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your Law.” (John 18:31, CEB.) In the end, he was executed as being “the king of the Jews” (Luke 23:38).
Governing a conquered people isn't an easy task. There are a lot of unhappy and angry people, who hold a grudge against their colonial overlord. Many find comfort in their history and legends, hoping for a return of freedom and sovereignty. As often is the case today in parts of the world, the first-century Judaea had a number of nationalist movements. The Roman authorities remembered an earlier Jewish nationalist figure (cf. Acts 5:36), who was also executed after recruiting roughly 400 followers. The Roman Empire saw these messianic figures as a political and security threat, just as the Chinese government today cracks down on the Uighur and Tibetan separatists, and Hong Kong democracy activists.
Yet, Pilate initially did not believe Jesus was a threat because Jesus claimed that his kingdom "doesn’t originate from this world” (John 18:36 CEB).
What, then, is this kingdom like? Earlier, in today’s text, Jesus poses this question: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
We have a “greatness problem.” We want to have more. More power. More things. More fame. More influence. More connections. More money. More, more, more, often at the expense of other people’s lives. We feel great when our social media posts have hundreds of “likes.” We feel sad when no one “likes” those cat pictures or the photo of yesterday’s dinner on Instagram. Maybe you want to become an influencer. But what does that mean? You get lots of “likes.” You have millions of views and subscribers. Maybe your content gets monetized so much that you wouldn’t need another job. You’ll be elated if corporate sponsors begin reaching out to you for advertising or endorsement deals.
A big part of who we are craves attention and validation from others. Some of that of course is natural and important for our mental health. But too often, we go far beyond our human need for being seen and heard, and venture into a very dark place.
One of the ways in which this greatness problem manifests is our instinctive impulse toward domination. Since we were in preschool, we've seen bullies in every class. They put other kids down and take delight in cruelty and in the miseries of the others. There's even a word for this: Schadenfreude. As soon as our childhood selves discovered that our social experiences often involve competition, we began exploring how to get ahead at any cost, even if we cheat others and destroy their lives. Every boy, as it seems, wants to be the king of the schoolyard at least once.
As our childhood selves turn into our teenage selves, this drive for “greatness” intensifies. Many teenagers, of course, are hard-working and honest. They learn to channel their desire for greatness through academic excellence, community service, or sports. But many others try to become “great” by beating up on someone, stealing and cheating, and even joining a gang -- as if hanging out with a “tough guy” and becoming his follower of the lowest pecking order can make them feel superior to those uncool kids.
This sense of superiority above others is addictive. If we can’t become “great” through our own hard work, we might look into a proxy. Maybe he is a loud-mouthed alpha male on a talk radio who endlessly demonizes those you either dislike or don’t understand. Perhaps he is a politician who promises to crack down on and deny equal rights to those you feel are subhuman, such as the unhoused folks, people from other countries, disabled people on public benefits, or our favorite scapegoats of the day, undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ+ individuals. I do not care what we “believe” about any of these people, or which Bible verses we quote to justify our sense of superiority above them and to shut down our human capacity for empathy.
If we, either on our own or vicariously through our favorite talk show hosts, podcasters, and politicians, feel a need to dominate them and put them "in their place," so as to defend our fragile sense of superiority, then we are not great in the kingdom of heaven.
How, then, should we live the kingdom? As I titled this sermon, how can we “live the kingdom style”?
Verse 10: “Be careful that you don’t look down on one of these little ones. I say to you that their angels in heaven are always looking into the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (CEB) In the 1995 edition of the New American Standard Bible, the verse reads, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones.”
“Despise” or “look down on,” the Greek word here, katafroneo (Strong’s G-2706), means “to think against.” If we silently or aloud, think bad thoughts toward those people, wish them misery and delight in making their lives “a living hell,” that is not the kingdom style. Indeed, Jesus considers this sort of attitude an equivalent of murder (Matthew 5:21-22). Matthew 15:18-20 (CEB): “But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. These contaminate a person in God’s sight.”
In Luke’s Gospel, it is said that “God’s kingdom is already among you." (Luke 17:21) There are two things to be said about this. First, the kingdom of heaven isn't just some sweet by-and-by we go to after death. It is here and now, calling us to put it into action. Second, the kingdom dwells within each of us through the Holy Spirit. If we despise certain people in our hearts, words, and deeds, then we are not “great” ones in the kingdom of heaven.
“All who lift themselves up with be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up” (Luke 18:14 CEB).
In verse 12 of today’s text, Jesus asks: “What do you think? If someone had one hundred sheep and one of them wandered off, wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hillsides and go in search for the one that wandered off? If he finds it, I assure you that he is happier about having that one sheep than about the ninety-nine who didn’t wander off.” (Matthew 18:12-13 CEB.)
The kingdoms of humans -- political, business, and cultural kingdoms -- value the top one percent while discarding the ninety-nine. The kingdom of heaven, on the contrary, gives attention to the bottom one percent and does not consider them expendable and unprofitable burdens.
To recap, Christ's kingdom of heaven is an upside-down antithesis of the human kingdoms built on their quest for power, acquisition, and dominance. Jesus used a lowly servant boy as a metaphor for who is the greatest in that kingdom: those who are humble, simple, nameless, and without power or privilege. In that kingdom, no one is discarded and thrown under the bus for the expediency of the elites or for the comfort of the majority. And that kingdom resides within and among each of us, calling for us to make it the first thing in our lives (Matthew 6:33).
So friends, how can we live the “kingdom style”? We can start small, just as Jesus likened the kingdom to a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31). Small actions and intentional changes in our lives can make a big difference over time.
Perhaps the first step is self-examination, to check what is on our minds. Do we harbor prejudice, willful ignorance and indifference, and hatred toward a specific person, or certain groups of people? Do we consciously or subconsciously dehumanize them, or wish them harm? Do we feel indifference or even pleasure when "those people" suffer, when we feel sadness and pain if our loved ones were to go through similar situations?
The second step is to reach out. Make an effort to learn about those people who you once despised, by listening to or reading about their life experiences in their own voices. Realize that they too are humans in the image of God and share far more in common with you than you think. When we build a bridge with these people, we also expand the reach of the kingdom.
That’s living the kingdom style.