“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”
For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved [siblings]. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? – James 2: 2-5
Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” – Luke 17: 20-21
Jesus’ ministry was one in which he shared concrete and visible signs of how we are to live in right relationship with God and one another as he pointed us toward God’s desire for “a little heaven on earth.” We focus this week on what it means to pray “thy Kingdom/Kin-dom come.” How will our work bringing right relationship for all in the world be a prayer of action everyday? Let us pray, O God we yearn for a taste of your kin’dom here on earth, a place in which all are welcome at the table, a way of living in which your message of peace, compassion and justice is realized for all people. Inspire us to be help build your kingdom in whatever ways we can with whatever gifts we may bring here and now and in our midst. Amen.
Singer Bruce Springsteen has been traveling the country this spring and summer on what he calls the Land of Hope and Dreams tour, named for one of my favorite songs by him. He has used the tour to speak out on behalf of justice, to invite all of us as Americans to love our Democracy so much that we are willing to work so that it will live out its highest ideals of liberty and justice for all. Whenever I hear this song, I cannot help but think of the Kingdom that Jesus spoke so often about. He was raised in the church and spiritual themes echo throughout his music. He uses the metaphor of a train and all are invited to get on board…His lyrics read,
This train Carries saints and sinners This train Carries losers and winners This Train Carries lost souls This Train Dreams will not be thwarted This Train Faith will be rewarded This Train Hear the steel wheels singin’ This Train Bells of freedom ringin’ This Train Carries broken-hearted This Train Thieves and sweet souls departed This Train Carries fools and kings This Train All aboard. Springsteen echoes the message of Jesus that all are invited to participate in God’s Kingdom, not only in the next world, but yes, here and now. It’s a powerful reminder that Jesus’ message was to the people of his day and to us today.
Claudio Carvalhaes, in his book, Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the Ends of the World, writes: “Prayer effects a deep circular movement within us, moving between our inside and outside without separation. When we pray to God, our prayer first changes us, and then, while the movements of our heart go toward God, our prayers have ripple effects into the world, affecting the course of our individual and communal life…When we pray, the fruits of gratitude, solidarity, justice, and compassion are seeds that, once planted in us, make the soil of our hearts and communities rich and grow into new gardens of collective harvest and bounty. When we pray together, no one should go hungry or be abandoned. When we pray, genuinely, for families who have lost their children to gun violence, to jail, to poverty, a whole network of life and solidarity should come to fruition and be turned into laws against guns, social disparity, and systems of death and exclusion. “
The “Kingdom of God” was a very direct way that Jesus talked about the differences in the “kingdom” he and his listeners were living in under Roman rule, and the “Kingdom” that God desires. And so this prayer invites us to look to heaven as the standard, not present kingdoms, in creating a world that is good for all people. In this kingdom he described how the poor and meek and humble are lifted up, not downtrodden. This part of the Lord’s prayer that Jesus taught his disciples calls us to pause and to think about those whose portion is “the least” among us.
In the four Gospels, the exact word “kingdom” is mentioned about 126 times. Jesus used the specific phrases “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” roughly 80 of those times. It was his most frequent subject of teaching, serving as the central message of his public ministry from the very beginning. And if he wasn’t speaking about the kingdom, he was living it out in his ministry…going out to be with the poor and the outcasts, the broken hearted, the ones fearful of the Roman empire and calling upon all leaders, including those of his own religion to do the same.
I have thought about this idea of the kingdom often this week as I tried to respond to the tragedy in Biddeford. We often say that the Kingdom of heaven is both at hand and not yet and that has been true this week. Jesus preached this idea of a community which welcomed the stranger and yet that sacred trust was broken in the innocent taking of the life of Joan Sebastian Guerrero. His death and the agony of his family, the suffering of our community, the grief in all of us is proof that we certainly have not realized the kingdom yet. At the same time, we have seen the incredible love and support extended to many in our community, people showing up to pray and be present and share their sorrows and that is indeed a piece of the Kingdom of which Jesus spoke.
My comments this week?
Father Richard Rohr considers how the Beatitudes build on the wisdom of the Ten Commandments: “The Beatitudes are paradoxical “commandments.” They don’t tell Christians what to do; they tell them what they will be like if they are living in the kingdom: They will be poor in spirit, pure in heart, merciful and gentle peacemakers; they will thirst for what is right and be persecuted because of it, and they will mourn. Not a very happy prospect! And yet the Beatitudes call discipleship a happy life. Why? Because when we live in right relationship with God and one another, we are comforted, our hunger is satisfied, we are shown mercy, and we see God; and so, we are called God’s children, and we live under God’s reign!”