This evening we looked at another question Jesus asked, this time about the kingdom of God: ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?’ (Mark 4:30) It’s fitting to think about the topic of the kingdom of God on Palm Sunday, for it was on that day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy (Zech 9:9) and in this manner proclaiming that He was God’s Messiah (see Mark 11:9-10), yet showing us that His kingdom would not be like everyone expected.

To answer this question, Jesus told parables. A parable is ‘a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.’ It deals with a concrete story: a farmer sowing seed, a woman searching for a coin, a shepherd looking for a sheep, a business man selling a field to go and buy something more valuable. On the surface level, a parable is easy to understand because it’s telling a story about things we easily understand. Because of this, we are drawn into the story, and we become engaged in it. But a parable has a punch line which leaves us understanding that there is much more to the story than seems at first sight.

Jesus tells a number of parables in Mark 4. He starts with the Parable of the Sower, one of the most famous parables, and goes on to talk about the parable of the growing seed and of the mustard seed; in the parallel chapter in Matthew’s Gospel (Matt 13), He also tells parables about a fishing net and hidden treasure. In each of these stories, we hear the phrase ‘this is what the kingdom of God is like’ (Mark 4:26) or ‘the kingdom of heaven is like…’ (Matt 13:31, 33, 44, 45, 47) This figure of speech is known as a simile, where we compare two things and say one is like something else, and this kind of comparison helps us to understand spiritual truth by comparing it to something ordinary.

The Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29) reminds us that God is at work all the time in our world, even if we don’t see this easily or understand how He works. We have a role to play in God’s kingdom; we are co-workers with God, Paul says, but at the end of the day, God is the one who makes things grow. (1 Cor 3:6-7) God is in control. He is building His church and His kingdom. (Matt 16:18)

In the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mark 4:31-32), Jesus reminds us that the kingdom of God may not look much – a mustard seed is tiny – but will grow and flourish. Growth is hard-wired into our universe by God, and we need to understand the difference between what we plant and what we reap (see 1 Cor 15:36-38). Growth happens in the natural world through apparent death: you plant a seed and see nothing for weeks or months. Yet in due time, God will bring growth out of this planting, and we will see something completely different to what we planted. Similarly, the work God is doing in the world is often invisible to the natural eye and bears little resemblance to what we imagine.

The kingdom of God doesn’t necessarily look very impressive. It’s not full of ‘pomp and circumstance’. It’s not like the royal pageantry we are used to, with golden carriages, crowns, jewels, magnificent clothing.) The kingdom of God is a topsy-turvy kingdom, where values and principles are not necessarily what we would expect, but where God is at work in the humble and servant-like attitudes of the King who rode on a donkey.

We were privileged to welcome Joy Gascoigne from Grimethorpe Pentecostal Church this morning to speak at our Communion service. Joy spoke from Genesis 49 on ‘Keeping A Steady Hand.’ Here, we see Jacob wanting to speak blessing to his family. When it came to Joseph, he said that ‘his bow remained steady‘ (Gen 49:24). Archers attacked him, but his bow remained steady – a reminder to us that life has its ups and downs and often we feel overwhelmed by the tragedies around us, but we are called to stability in God at all times.

If we want a steady hand, we have to remember that God has not changed and is with us still. Joseph suffered much in life; his brothers’ betrayal when he was young radically affected all his life, but he found God was with him in the pit, in the prison and in the palace. The righteous may have many troubles (‘afflictions’, Ps 34:19), but God is still there with us through them all.

If we want a steady hand, we must learn to do what is right, even under pressure. Joseph is an example to us of doing the right thing (‘being made holy’) in potentially difficult situations, such as that with Potiphar’s wife. He retained his integrity at a difficult time. God is more interested in our character than our comfort. The world celebrates talent, but God celebrates character. We have to understand that God is at work in every situation in our lives. Joseph learned to recognise this, saying, ‘But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’ (Gen 45:7) He knew that God had been working for good in every terrible situation in his life. 

Joseph’s story reminds us that God is not interested in the ‘quick fix.’ What he has started, he will complete (see Phil 1:6). It took time for Joseph to see and understand God’s purposes for his life, but in the end, he realised that God had been in it all. God is still at work in our lives. He’s not finished with us yet!

Our reading today (John 12:20-26) looks at Greeks who wanted to see Jesus. Jesus took this opportunity to teach about the need for death to precede life; He was not about to be distracted as He prepared to make that final journey into Jerusalem. We might feel that this was not what people wanted to hear, but as always, Jesus focuses on what is truly important rather than on what we consider to be important.

Today is Palm Sunday, when we remember that Jesus chose not to enter Jerusalem in triumph, but chose the path of humility, riding on a donkey, ‘aligning himself with the outcast, those on the edge, sharing every part of our lives – the humdrum as well as the glamorous.’ (‘Sharing The Easter Story’, P 188) Love is not always seen in the spectacular or the remarkable. It is seen more often in meekness and humility, in service and in selflessness, in the ordinary acts of kindness and help which so many people demonstrate daily.

We were pleased to hear the following report from Fredrick and Reeba in India concerning Amshika, the little girl we sponsor.

‘Today we were able to meet Amshika and her mother again, they both looked good. They been to the doctors for more treatments. We are still praying for them. They conveyed a big thanks for all your support regularly. Thank you so much for all your prayers for them and helping them.‘

Here are the latest photos.

As always, a community event couldn’t take place without the many people who work so hard, often in voluntary capacities, in our area. Thanks to Pete Davies for these photos:

Goldthorpe Railway Embankment is one of my favourite local places, a haven of beauty away from the bustle of the main road. The daffodils looked magnificent there today.

There were plenty of colourful Easter bonnets on show:

We had both real rabbits and the Easter bunny present:

Dearne Churches Together told the Easter story and did Easter crafts: