- Matthew 6:10 - read this passage online here »
- John 18:28-38 - read this passage online here »
In recent weeks, Bob Dylan’s classic song “The Times, They Are a-Changing” can be illustrated from what is currently being heard and seen in the news.
Jesus knew what it meant to shake up kingdoms. Did you hear the Call to Worship?
Almost every week, along with millions of other Jesus followers in this world and in various ways, you and I pray together The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed [or honoured] be your name; your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is heaven.” Let me tell you, this prayer Jesus taught is a kingdom-shaking prayer of massive proportions. Have you ever felt its tremors?
When Jesus tells his followers to pray “God’s kingdom come,” he is saying various things to them. One, our lives will be shaken to the core. The way Jesus calls us to live in love in our community with others, the way we are called to relate with deep care to the Earth and the way Jesus calls us to relate intimately with God – our lives will never be the same. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ call to forgive others who have seriously wronged us (even to love our enemies), his call to be peacemakers, his call to consider ourselves blessed when people lie about us because we are his followers and his call to us to live with God as our most significant relationship – this kind of living can only happen for us when this prayer becomes deeply embedded in our souls: “God’s kingdom come.” I believe Matthew placed The Lord’s Prayer in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount to show how Jesus’ prayer provides the support necessary to live out what Jesus taught. In a previous message, I said: “If there is no prayer to a loving and compassionate Father at the centre of our lives, Jesus’ teachings are like a dry code of lifeless ethics.”
When we sincerely pray that we want “God’s kingdom to come,” we are identifying with a kingdom that “does not belong to this world.” That’s what Jesus told Pilate, the governor of Judea. Jesus said: “My kingdom does not consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over.... But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king” [John 18:36, The Message Bible]. What does Jesus mean that his kingdom is not of this world? Two of Jesus’ stories illustrate one aspect of his kingdom, Jesus said:
Jesus’ kingdom can work within and change other kingdoms on the Earth, like a small acorn seed planted in the ground breaks up the hard soil around it into workable earth, so good things such as kindness, compassion, peace, hope and love can sprout and grow. Where Jesus’ kingdom is worked into the kingdoms of this world through his people like salt, as Jesus said in another story, they can preserve what is good in society and provide zesty flavour to life. Jesus’ true kingdom is anything but bland! Jesus’ kingdom is also like rays of light coming together to penetrate the darkness and cause both the good and the bad to be seen for what they truly are.
When Jesus tells us to pray for God’s kingdom to come, what else does he mean? Certainly he means that God – not someone else or something else -- is clearly the centre and the Creator of this new reality. And as the Creator, God also is the One who cares for his kingdom. When Jesus began his public ministry, his first words were: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” [Mark 1:15]. Those listening to Jesus then would have thought of three things when they heard the word “kingdom.” First, they were looking for a king whom they knew would also be the Messiah – that’s significant. Second, they would also be thinking of the kingdom as land (a sacred place or sacred space). And, third, they would be thinking of themselves as participants together with the king in this kingdom. Then along came Jesus who declared that the kingdom they were looking for throughout their long history had finally arrived and was now here – in him! What is significant for us to understand is that the arrival of Jesus into our human community brought the kingdom of God into fresh focus. Jesus upgraded the meaning of the kingdom of God not only for his original hearers but also for us. Here is Eugene Peterson’s expression of what Jesus meant:
There is one more major theme about God’s kingdom that I should mention because Jesus often spoke about it -- about the end of this age or the end of history as we know it and the coming of the new earth and the new heavens. Theologian and Gospel of Matthew scholar Dale Bruner said it this way [The Christbook Commentary on Matthew, Eerdmans, 2004, p. 300]:
In Fuller Seminary’s Theology, News, and Notes [Dale Bruner, “Is Jesus Inclusive or Exclusive?” October 1999, p. 3], Rev. David Peterson told about a time when he was preparing his sermon.
Through all we experience with Jesus because of his First Coming, we have so much more to look forward to in his great cosmic Second Coming.
May this be so for you and for me.
Rev. Chris Miller
February 6, 2011
Come senators, congressmen,First in Tunisia and now most prominently in Egypt. And it appears these changes may only be the beginning. These are truly “kingdom shaking” times. Will the shake-ups be minor or major? What new rule or kingdom will emerge in their places?
[add presidents and rulers and kings]
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside and it is raging
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times, they are a-changing
The line, it is drawn, the curse, it is cast
The slow one will later be fast
As the present now will later be past
The order is rapidly fading
And the first one now will later be last
For the times, they are a-changing
Jesus knew what it meant to shake up kingdoms. Did you hear the Call to Worship?
Jesus said: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here.”The Call to Worship is adapted from Mark 1 and Psalm 2 – a psalm of leaders and people plotting rebellion against God. But in the end the rebellion is doomed. The psalmist warns the kings and rulers that they are in grave danger. So he urges them to embrace God in adoration and to celebrate God in trembling awe.
Earth-leaders say: “We have our own kingdoms.”
Jesus said: “Change your life and believe the Good News.”
Many say: “Let’s get free of God.”
Jesus said: “Listen to me carefully.”
Almost every week, along with millions of other Jesus followers in this world and in various ways, you and I pray together The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed [or honoured] be your name; your kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is heaven.” Let me tell you, this prayer Jesus taught is a kingdom-shaking prayer of massive proportions. Have you ever felt its tremors?
When Jesus tells his followers to pray “God’s kingdom come,” he is saying various things to them. One, our lives will be shaken to the core. The way Jesus calls us to live in love in our community with others, the way we are called to relate with deep care to the Earth and the way Jesus calls us to relate intimately with God – our lives will never be the same. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ call to forgive others who have seriously wronged us (even to love our enemies), his call to be peacemakers, his call to consider ourselves blessed when people lie about us because we are his followers and his call to us to live with God as our most significant relationship – this kind of living can only happen for us when this prayer becomes deeply embedded in our souls: “God’s kingdom come.” I believe Matthew placed The Lord’s Prayer in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount to show how Jesus’ prayer provides the support necessary to live out what Jesus taught. In a previous message, I said: “If there is no prayer to a loving and compassionate Father at the centre of our lives, Jesus’ teachings are like a dry code of lifeless ethics.”
When we sincerely pray that we want “God’s kingdom to come,” we are identifying with a kingdom that “does not belong to this world.” That’s what Jesus told Pilate, the governor of Judea. Jesus said: “My kingdom does not consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over.... But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king” [John 18:36, The Message Bible]. What does Jesus mean that his kingdom is not of this world? Two of Jesus’ stories illustrate one aspect of his kingdom, Jesus said:
“God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a large tree, and birds build nests in it.”Here’s a contemporary story with a similar meaning. I think Jesus would have liked the program Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. This was a popular 1990s television series about an early frontier doctor and her devotion to medicine, her patients, her family and her friends. In one episode [Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman (CBS Television, 1994), episode written by Toni Graphia], Dr. Quinn's best friend, Dorothy, has breast cancer. She doesn't know how bad it is and is worried she may not have long to live. As Dorothy walks sombrely among the townspeople who are enjoying a picnic in a large clearing, Dr. Quinn’s 10-year-old son, Brian, runs up to her.
Jesus also said: “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread -- and waits while the dough rises.” [Matthew 13:31-33]
“Hey, Miss Dorothy, look what I found! Acorns! Sully says if I plant one, it'll grow to be as big as that oak.”Brian could look forward to a lot of birds that would nest in his tree!
“None of us will live to see it get that big, Brian,” says Miss Dorothy. “That oak is a hundred years old.”
“Oh,” Brian replies. Dejected, he puts the acorns in his pocket and walks back to his family. He tells his mother, Dr. Quinn: “Miss Dorothy says there's no use in planting it. She says none of us will get to see it grow that big.”
Dr. Quinn takes an acorn from him and says: “Brian, you must plant it because, by next year, it will have grown up to your knees. The year after that, it will be taller than you. When it's time to go courting, you can take your young lady for a picnic under it. Then, when you have children, they can build a tree house in it. And some day you can tell your grandchildren about how you planted it. When that tree gets to be a hundred, it doesn't matter that you're not here to see it.” Dr. Quinn places the acorn back in Brian’s hand and says: “All that matters is today. Today, you hold a hundred years in your hand.”
Brian looks at the acorn thoughtfully, then asks Sully to help him find a place to plant it.
Jesus’ kingdom can work within and change other kingdoms on the Earth, like a small acorn seed planted in the ground breaks up the hard soil around it into workable earth, so good things such as kindness, compassion, peace, hope and love can sprout and grow. Where Jesus’ kingdom is worked into the kingdoms of this world through his people like salt, as Jesus said in another story, they can preserve what is good in society and provide zesty flavour to life. Jesus’ true kingdom is anything but bland! Jesus’ kingdom is also like rays of light coming together to penetrate the darkness and cause both the good and the bad to be seen for what they truly are.
When Jesus tells us to pray for God’s kingdom to come, what else does he mean? Certainly he means that God – not someone else or something else -- is clearly the centre and the Creator of this new reality. And as the Creator, God also is the One who cares for his kingdom. When Jesus began his public ministry, his first words were: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” [Mark 1:15]. Those listening to Jesus then would have thought of three things when they heard the word “kingdom.” First, they were looking for a king whom they knew would also be the Messiah – that’s significant. Second, they would also be thinking of the kingdom as land (a sacred place or sacred space). And, third, they would be thinking of themselves as participants together with the king in this kingdom. Then along came Jesus who declared that the kingdom they were looking for throughout their long history had finally arrived and was now here – in him! What is significant for us to understand is that the arrival of Jesus into our human community brought the kingdom of God into fresh focus. Jesus upgraded the meaning of the kingdom of God not only for his original hearers but also for us. Here is Eugene Peterson’s expression of what Jesus meant:
“This kingdom you have been hearing about now for these many centuries is here. Listen to me carefully. Watch me attentively. Join me believingly. I am here to do kingdom work, and I want you to join me in the work. I want you to work alongside me.” [Eugene H. Peterson, Tell It Slant: a conversation on the language of Jesus in his stories and prayers, Eerdmans, 2008, p. 174]If we were to look up all the references to the “kingdom” in the New Testament -- about 150 or so depending on the version -- we would discover the following three major themes. First, God’s kingdom refers to a redemptive community or society of people. It does not signify merely any kind of social community. God’s kingdom is wherever God’s people offer themselves as participants in the world where God rules in love and brings salvation. And God’s people, Jesus says, are those who “seek first – above all else – God’s kingdom and God’s right way to live” [Matthew 6:33]. Second, those who desire to participate in God’s redemptive kingdom community must enter by repentance, faith and obedience to Jesus. This is the essence of Jesus’ words in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel -- the good news.” The entrance to God’s kingdom is primarily by way of personal commitment to Jesus Christ whose death on the cross brought salvation to us. Third, the connection between God’s kingdom and Jesus is so close that the clear implication is “there is no such thing as kingdom apart from relationship with Jesus” [Scot McKnight, www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/ 2010/11/15/secularizing-kingdom/#more-10545]. This is another way of seeing that Jesus’ work among us is God’s kingdom work. And that he wants us to join him in what he is doing in this world.
There is one more major theme about God’s kingdom that I should mention because Jesus often spoke about it -- about the end of this age or the end of history as we know it and the coming of the new earth and the new heavens. Theologian and Gospel of Matthew scholar Dale Bruner said it this way [The Christbook Commentary on Matthew, Eerdmans, 2004, p. 300]:
“The most sophisticated biblical scholarship on the one hand and the most simple … faith on the other combine in believing that when Jesus teaches his church to pray ‘Your kingdom come,’ he is teaching her to pray for the coming of the new heavens and the new earth, for the end of this history and for the beginning of the new, and thus (as far as we know now) for Jesus’ own Second Coming. Here we are praying not merely for changes in history but for a complete end to this history and for the beginning of the new history of the world of God.”When Jesus was on the cross, two thieves were also crucified, one on either side of him. One of them recognized that Jesus was innocent and should not have been there. The thief knew he deserved his punishment, but he also seemed to know enough about Jesus to ask: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” [Luke 23:42].
In Fuller Seminary’s Theology, News, and Notes [Dale Bruner, “Is Jesus Inclusive or Exclusive?” October 1999, p. 3], Rev. David Peterson told about a time when he was preparing his sermon.
His little daughter came into the room and asked, “Daddy, can we play?”My friends, part of the fullness of our faith and the love of God is the great hope of Jesus’ Second Coming when he will truly reign. When there will be no more sickness, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more mourning and no more death. That’s part of the promise of the new resurrected life with God. You can read this for yourself in the second-last chapter of the last book of the Bible – Revelation 21:4.
He answered: “I'm awfully sorry, Sweetheart, but I'm right in the middle of preparing this sermon. In about an hour I can play.”
She said, “OK. When you're finished, Daddy, I am going to give you a great big hug.”
“Thank you very much,” he said.
David Peterson said his daughter went to the door. “Then she did a U-turn and came back and gave me a chiropractic, bone-breaking hug.” He said to her, “Darling, you said you were going to give me a hug after I finished.”
She answered, “Daddy, I just wanted you to know what you have to look forward to!”
Through all we experience with Jesus because of his First Coming, we have so much more to look forward to in his great cosmic Second Coming.
May this be so for you and for me.
Rev. Chris Miller
February 6, 2011
OYM Oriole-York Mills United Church, Toronto
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