Hi everyone,

Here is the recording of the sermon that was preached on July 26, 2026, for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost.
Readings
Bulletin
Live streamed service

O God, may the light and wisdom of your Word shine on us, that our hearts and minds be opened by the presence of your Spirit and kingdom, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

I’m sure you all very fondly remember this sermon of mine from a few months ago, where I talked about the at-the-time-not-yet-released new live action Masters of the Universe movie, which reboots one of my favourite cartoons from when I was a kid.  When that sermon was given, the trailer had just dropped and I talked at length about how it made the movie look surprisingly good.

Well, I didn’t get the chance to see it in theatres, but this past week it was added on one of the streaming platforms that I happen to subscribe to so I was finally able to watch it.  And let me tell you, that trailer was totally misleading.  Like, what on earth?  It was not good at all.  I thought it was poorly written, poorly acted, just poorly executed throughout.

But to be honest, this would be pretty on brand for the franchise, as in spite of the cartoon’s original popularity and success in the early to mid 80s, every attempt at a reboot since came with not exactly stellar reviews and reception.  I don’t know, I guess the premise of the Masters of the Universe lore didn’t age very well.  I mean, who woulda thunk?

Like, who would have thought the idea of a goofy privileged prince who can turn into a he man type hero literally named He-Man that can save the day with muscly muscles and brute force wouldn’t speak to this day and age?  Who would have guessed that He-Man’s insanely bulging biceps and magic sword but also a very wealthy and royal background as his defining identity wouldn’t be as popular now?  Who could have ever known that equating power with mighty strength and having the bigger stick so to speak, would not make a good movie in these times that we’re in?

Actually, it kind of seems like the creators of the movie knew.  From the long line of rewrites, director changes, and production delays, it sounds like they just knew they had a flop on their hands.  And the finished product even tried to shift away from that narrative of power = mighty strength, as in the end it came down to team work and dialog to save the day and not rely on the power of just one… sort of.  Like, they tried to push those community ideals and get away from the typical lone-ranger He-Man that rode on a green cat instead of a white horse, but the ended up have a big final one-on-one battle anyway, complete a lot of trying-too-hard-to-look-cool moves and special effects.  And then at the film’s finale, their “happily ever after” is depicted as prosperity, control, and having that power over enemies and circumstances by using mightier strength and better magic and cooler weapons.

Because really, as much as we’d like to say that power doesn’t belong to the one who punches the hardest or yells the loudest or strikes the most fear in others, we still kind of believe it does.  As much as we’d like to think that respect doesn’t come from forcing it through intimidation, it still seems to be the tactic that worked throughout history even until now.  As much as we’d like to believe that money doesn’t make the world go around, it still sort of does.

I think that’s why Jesus’ parables that we get for today seem so odd.  Well, maybe not at first glance but if we look at them… like really look at them… they make no sense whatsoever.

Like the mustard seed isn’t the smallest seed nor does it grow to a great shrub nor do any birds of any kind make nests in them.  Three measures of flour is waaaay too much flour, especially if you don’t have a freezer to store all that bread.  Buried treasure isn’t worth anything no matter how valuable it is.  Tying up all your assets into a single pearl won’t put food on the table.  And don’t even get me started on equating throwing evil into a furnace of weeping and gnashing of teeth to releasing bad fish into their own life-giving habitat. 

See what I mean?  Nonsense.  Every last one of them.

But I think the disconnect comes from how Jesus sets up these parables.  He starts each one off with, “the kingdom of heaven is like…”  Really?  This is what the kingdom is like?  A bunch of weird stuff?

It doesn’t really sound sensical because… well, calling it the kingdom makes it sound like it should be powerful.  And like we already established, when we think about power we think loud, big, and maybe overbearing.  We think strength, authority, intimidation.  We think fear, respect, or even submission.

What we hardly ever think when it comes to power though, is nonsense.  Ain’t no one conquering others with mustard seeds.  Ain’t no one trying to rule anyone else with over-flouring their yeast to make bread.  Ain’t no superheroes with supernatural treasure-unearthing or pearl-finding abilities. 

It just doesn’t jive.  It doesn’t track with how we know the world works.  It doesn’t fit into our definitions of power, authority, and a kingdom.

And maybe that’s the point. 

The kingdom of heaven doesn’t fit our worldviews.  The kingdom of God can’t be shoehorned into our narrow paradigms.  The kingdom that we are all invited and welcomed and included into isn’t confined to our worldly understandings and definitions, rather it is understood and defined by God’s gentle love, humble grace, and inclusive salvation.

See the kingdom of heaven is like an insignificant seed that grows into an insignificant weed, but can still be seen as worthy and even beautiful.  The kingdom of heaven is like generosity in abundance that just goes a little extra to provide for, to feed, and to show graciousness.  The kingdom of heaven is like an infectious joy that brings value to whatever it touches.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is power not in might and strength, but in relationship, empathy, and love.

And again, the kingdom of heaven is like this giant net that doesn’t weed out and exclude people that it doesn’t like, but brings all people together as one, just as they are, to be refined, reformed, and redeemed to be all that they are as God’s beloved people in the world.

Still, that seems a bit weird to us.  Especially when we are told so different with these militant images that dot our lives in the world and even in the church.  Especially when our definitions so contrast these lessons from Jesus.  Especially when we sometimes think that power means strength, faith means discipline, and salvation is a product of our own wills.

But I think that is what Jesus is pushing up against here.  He reminds us that the kingdom isn’t going to exactly fit our assumptions of what it should be.  That the kingdom’s power is more about humility and grace than strength and might.  That the kingdom shows us how God will be unexpectedly God in God’s place, revealing to us the beauty where we didn’t think we’d see beauty, the joy where we didn’t know there could be joy, and the love where things seem so devoid of love.

Because you know what?  As much as I disliked that Masters of the Universe movie, many of my peers absolutely gushed over it.  While I thought it was trash, many of the comic nerds I follow on YouTube said it was pure gold.  While I wasn’t the only one who thought it was bad, there was more than one who was able to recognise and appreciate it as good.

And I think that’s what the kingdom of heaven is like.  Not one of same sameness, one tracked one-track-mindedness, and predictable predictability, but one that surprises, uplifts, and reveals to us the mystery and majesty of God.

And this kingdom is one that allows us to just be.  Not perfect and having it all together, but flawed and forgiven by God’s grace.  Not completely secure in our understanding and knowledge, but humbled and healed by God’s mercy.  Not established by the power as it is defined by the world, but welcomed and made whole by the power of God’s love.

The love that made us.  The love that saves us.  The love that declares us as God’s people, regardless of class, gender, and physical ability or lack thereof. 

My friends, this is the kingdom of heaven that is promised to us.  This is the kingdom that God gathers us into and joins us as the one body of Christ.  This is the kingdom that is built by the power of the Spirit, the power of community, the power of God’s unending and steadfast love.

So in this season after Pentecost, let us embrace the counter-cultural nature of God’s kingdom in the world, that it might shake us, move us, and empower us to live in humility, grace, and love as God’s saved and redeemed people in the world.  Thanks to be God.  Amen.