How Far From the Kingdom?

Ruth 1:1-18; Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34

“This is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”·

In NE, we measure distance in time rather than miles. Think about it. If someone asks, how far is it to York, we tend to answer in minutes rather than in miles… “about 20 minutes from here.” But then, of course, it depends not only on which way we go, but also where we want to be when we finally get there.
· Usually, we want the fastest time, don’t we? Yet, we all know that the fastest time does not always mean the shortest distance. If you have a GPS, you know that there are all kinds of criteria to consider when choosing your route: fastest time; shortest distance; most or least use of highways; least use of toll roads. You make your selections, press a button, and a voice says, “Calculating Route.”
· “When Jesus saw that the scribe answered him wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’” (MK 12:34a), Jesus was not talking in terms of a satellite position; I think Jesus was talking about the scribe’s spiritual destiny, which was for him then, as it is for us now, an everlasting life with God.
· How far are we from the kingdom, friends? How do we even begin to tackle that question? We begin with the Holy Scripture, the Word of God.
· Scripture can reveal to us the way to the kingdom; but I believe it does something more valuable than just providing directions. The Bible speaks of truth and, as truth, it can teach us how far we are from the kingdom –yet not to discourage us or defeat us.
· It shows us so that we may locate where we are with God, get back on track with God, and find our way into the kingdom, to live forever with God as God has always intended for us to do.
· Many folks have settled for living too far from the kingdom, mostly because they think the kingdom is destiny much too far away, way out of reach. In actuality, the kingdom is so close we can practically touch it, taste it, smell it, hear it and sometimes even see it because the kingdom is not a destiny in life; it’s a journey of life, a journey toward life everlasting.
· The opening words we say each Sunday, “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you’re always welcome here” are much more than the words of a slogan; they are kingdom words. I have been doing an awful lot of thinking about them words lately.
· If we spin off from the scribe’s question to Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?” we might arrive at a question like this, “Which word in our words of welcome is the first of all, the most important—(as the scribe said) “much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices”? What might we answer?
· (Time for suggestions, feedback)
· I learned something about those words in the last few weeks or perhaps even the last few months. We say these words of welcome, and we mean them. Yet, what I’ve learned from interacting with some people “out there” in our community is that they just may not know they are welcome here; they know little of the bible’s teaching, of our denominations’ teachings, of radical hospitality. This totally blows my mind!
· Many people have experiences with “The Church,” and more often than I’d like to think, their experiences are not life-affirming ones. The message some receive is more like this, “You’re way too far from the kingdom to mix with us!” How far is that message from God’s Word as revealed to us in Jesus Christ?!
· More than once in the last few weeks, someone has said to me after I have invited them to church here, “You mean, I could come to church here?” “You let people with my background come here?” “I didn’t know I would be welcome in your church.”
· More and more I am convinced that as hard as I’ve searched and we’ve searched for our vision, our mission, it’s been right under our noses all the time: be the welcoming church. The church of the extravagant welcome.
· We live in a society where people are going through tremendous losses of jobs, homes, careers, families, dignity, peace of mind. Where does one go with all that stuff? Where does one find relief from all that pain? Where can one find comrades in the chaos? Where can one go and not be judged for what they do not have?
· Where can one go and find liberty even in the midst of limitation? People do not know that they are welcome in a church, let alone God’s kingdom! They do not even know they are welcome at this table, the greatest invitation to love that there is.
· Invite the people to a new place; it’s called the kingdom and there is a lot of welcome, affirmation, faith, hope, joy, and LIFE there—a place where first things are put first—and love is always first—and burnt offerings and sacrifices are not required; a place where you do not have to earn your way in the door or pay for your seat in the pew.
· We have an awesome opportunity and an awe-inspiring responsibility today, my friends: God is preparing us with the great welcome! Just think of all the transformation going on here. We are opening up our building, making it an adventure to experience not a museum to preserve.
· We have RED DOORS because we want people to notice the church of the extravagant welcome! We want them to know that even though they may feel like Ruth, a foreigner in a strange and hostile land, that we are ready to receive them and to love them, to companion them no matter whom they are or where they are on life’s journey.
· Ruth said it best:
o Where we go they too can go;
o Where we lodge, they may lodge, and call it home;
o Our people shall be their people as we all seek to become one people;
o And our God wants to be their God.
o When they hurt & in need of prayer, we hurt & we pray;
o When they are filled with joy and hope, we too shall rejoice and praise God;
· As they die, we too shall die and all of us shall be buried together and resurrected together to live with God in the eternal kingdom.
You see, distance from the kingdom is not measured in miles; it’s measured in milestone moments—moments like:
o Ruth’s speech of undying love and devotion;
o A scribe’s wise answering of the teacher’s ?
o Jesus’ profound teachings in simple stories
o Jesus’ being nailed to the cross
o Rolling away the and finding an empty tomb
o Talking with a stranger & realizing it’s Jesus
o Living for God
· Purifying our consciences from dead works and worshiping the living God
· How far from the Kingdom are we? Answer wisely, in milestone moments. We are a people blessed to feed on the Word of God, no matter who we are or where we are on life’s journey. So have your portion today, then get out there & welcome someone, invite people to the feast so that the kingdom of God may come nearer. Amen.