For some time now, Lotto Max commercials have featured a dream coach named Max who encourages people to dream to the max. This typically means dreaming how to spend lavishly on vacations, vehicles, homes, helicopters, and things made of gold. The focus is on treating oneself to glitz and glamor.
Society tells us that wealth is an ideal for which we should all strive. We should desire the freedom wealth brings and enjoy our purchasing power to the max. After all, who wouldn’t want gold toilet seats, lavish vacations, and massive yachts? Who doesn’t want to go into space or take a submarine to the Titanic? Why shouldn’t we all dream to the max?
It can be fun to imagine what we might do if we were to win a significant amount of money. I’m sure at the top of all our lists is to donate a big chunk to the church, right?
Jesus said: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
How often do we dream about the Kingdom of Heaven? How do we imagine the Kingdom of God will be? The Bible begins and ends with these lavish descriptions of gardens and hope and peace. There is a sense of harmony, a sense that all are one in God and community.
Does that phrase sound familiar: Being One in God and community? This is the goal we set for ourselves some 10 years ago. It is posted at the entry to the church as a reminder that we continue to work towards that end. It speaks to an intentionality to embrace our faith and create spaces where we connect with and honour those around us. It is an invitation to a different way of being, a different orientation, a different set of priorities from society’s ideals of wealth and individuality.
Being One in God and community started as seeds planted. Like John, a beautiful face in the sanctuary who taught us how to embrace simplicity and joy in community and opened our hearts to welcome Sandy and connect more deeply to the folks at Community Living. How wonderful it is that Sandy’s house and John’s house provide baked goods for our markets. How much more wonderful it is when our friends from Community Living come to events and feel comfortable in this space.
There are also seeds scattered among the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Flags, pride services, and advocacy that tells a different story. By our actions we show a community that has experienced spiritual trauma that they are loved by God and by us. That message ripples outward and creates spaces of hope and possibility. The youth in WECAP have found sanctuary in this space because of the seeds that have been planted and the story we tell.
There was also that seed planted when a parishioner felt discouraged by bags of clothing outside donation bins getting soaked by rain. Today, I bet that, for every person on our parish list, we serve at least 10 people through the clothing cupboard each year. That generosity matters. It has helped to teach us about the struggles of those in need and open our hearts to giving more, to advocacy, and special friendships.
‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
There have been mustard seeds planted in this congregation that are now like bushes creating spaces for community to find shelter and hope. God’s power working in and through us has already been doing more than we can ask or imagine providing a glimpse of what the Kingdom of heaven is like! This is what God promises through Jesus, the one who forgave, and included so lavishly it annoyed those with different priorities.
To what extent do we draw from these experiences when we dream to the max? Knowing what has happened here, to what extent are we willing to sell what we have to buy that treasure or precious pearl that we see as the Kingdom of Heaven? What is it like to be reminded that God has already paid a lavish price for us?
The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, yeast, treasure hidden in a field, a pearl, and a catch of fish. May these stories remind us to dream to the max and challenge us to live into the Kingdom here and now. This we pray as we sing together: (VT) 412 My Soul Cries Out