The Religion Works

Sermons by Harry T. Cook

July 27, 2008

To read this week’s sermon, “The Domain of Goodness,” just scroll down. This is an exercise in making contemporary and accessible sense out of a time-worn biblical term: kingdom of heaven. We’re not much into the concept of kingdom any more, and heaven has been a largely empty word since Galileo and Newton discredited the assumptions of antiquity. We’ll substitute domain for kingdom and goodness for heaven, and see how it goes. Do read on.

Harry T. Cook

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Harry T. Cook

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-49a

By Harry T. Cook

We encounter today one of those familiar but fuzzy biblical terms that has come to stand for the ideal society. The term is kingdom of heaven, which is almost invariably Matthew’s twist on what the other gospel writers called the kingdom of God. One explanation for Matthew’s circumlocution is what may have been his communities’ Jewish sensibilities about not speaking or writing any name for the deity. So is heaven in this text a synonym for God? Maybe. But why not seek a more contemporary term altogether?The New Testament word commonly translated as “kingdom” can just as well (and I think more accurately) be translated “domain.” May we then substitute domain of goodness for kingdom of heaven, thus making this passage more accessible and useful to us? The domain of goodness would be an ideal dispensation that normal and stable human beings would desire, for the realization of which such human beings would be willing to work in a way not dissimilar to how people keep their homes in good order, plant flowers and tend to their gardens both for enjoyment and appearance’s sake. We canvas for the American Cancer Foundation; we participate in PTA projects; we work together in our communities for the public welfare. We work to attain, maintain and enhance a domain of goodness. That “domain,” this text suggests, is like the seed of a mustard plant – small, almost infinitesimal. When planted and presumably cultivated, however, it grows into a tree many times greater than the size of its seed. I think this means that many small, well-intentioned individual efforts, when put forth in sincere consistency, turn out to be a formidable reality that benefits not only those who planted the seed but all who now enjoy the fruit of that planting. The “domain,” this text suggests further, is like yeast – a substance that is not the flour, is not the moisture, is not whatever flavoring, but the catalyst that works in and around all of those substances to make the desired thing itself: a loaf of bread. I think this idea is connected with Jesus’ observation to the effect that the domain of God is within. That unselfish sense of what is good and desirable is the catalyst working like yeast works to make the loaf rise to its full deliciousness. The “domain,” still yet this text suggests, is like hidden treasure – treasure of such value that all else pales beside it. It’s what we all want: a domain of goodness in which communal honesty, generosity, civility and justice are absolute values. The “hidden” nature of that treasure is its residence within the human spirit. It needs to be coaxed out and encouraged. That’s what church and Sunday School can be about at their best. That’s the objective of the church’s liturgical life: going through the motions over and over and over so as to remind us not only of who we are but of what we might become. Once more, the “domain,” our text says, is the pearl of great price. (I prefer the King James Version’s translation here.) That phrase needs no explanation. It means what it says. Finally, the domain of goodness has its judgmental aspect. It is, the text says, like a net which gathers in just about everything. Reminds one of the 24th Psalm: The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof. Yes, well . . . You can pull a dredge net along a river bed and come up with everything from live trout to old shoes to detritus of almost any kind. Common sense tells you what is desirable to keep, and what it is desirable to discard. In the biblical analysis, it is never a person or persons who are discarded. As the old saw goes, we hate the sin but love the sinner. Many public buildings – hospitals, for instance – exclude not the smoker but the smoke. Not the gun owner, but his gun. Not the misbehaver but his anti-social behavior. The domain of goodness is potentially attainable for human beings working together in community, for community and as community. If you want to call this thing the kingdom of heaven or even the kingdom of God, please yourself. Only know that it will not materialize by magic, only by planting the seed, being the yeast-like catalyst, finding and unearthing the treasure, and, yes, by drawing the line between what is good for all and what is bad for all – and finally by working with those who bring what is bad to leave it at the door, come inside and let themselves be embraced by what is good and let it overtake them.

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 © Copyright 2008, Harry T. Cook. All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced without proper credit.