Father, Forgive them

I read Jon Meacham's book, The Hope of Glory.  It is a study of the last seven words/phrases of Christ.

The first chapter is a look at "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." His thesis is that while we often use these words as evidence of not only Jesus's forgiveness of those who are executing him, but of all of us - evidence of the forgiving nature of Jesus and therefore God, he (Meacham) doesn't see it that way.

Meacham proposes that "Jesus's death was essential to Christian hope."  He says, "So why does Luke have Jesus seem to be forgiving his tormentors for playing the critical and necessary role in bringing about the salvation few the world and the coming of a kingdom of justice?" I other words (as I see what Meacham is saying), the idea that the death of Christ is essential for God's plan of salvation means that those who perpetrated it are not in need of forgiveness. Does it seem to you that he is proposing that because the death of essential, those who executed Jesus were working in God's plan?

I'm going to leave aside the idea that Jesus's death is essential to Christian hope for just a moment (I think we could have a discussion around that idea, too. I'm troubled by the idea that the executioners do not need forgiveness (because of a lack of sin in this instance) because the death of Jesus was part of God's plan. They didn't kill him because they were motivating by bringing about God's kingdom. They killed him because they were threatened and were seeking to continue their power.  They executed an innocent man - not for any kingdom-bringing purposes. It certainly seems to me that forgiveness was necessary.

In fact, the very idea of their actions demonstrates not a motivation to bring about the kingdom, but evidence of our need (and their need) for grace and forgiveness. If God needed the execution of his son to bring about the salvation of the world (which I have my doubts about), then could it be because we are a people who would commit these acts? I don't think we can ignore the sin when the sin is the reason God needs to intervene.

 

Whose Kingdom

During Advent, I read Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent by Richard Rohr.  One of the meditation contains the sentence, "When people say piously, 'Thy kingdom come' out of one side of their mouth, they need also to say, 'My kingdom go!' out of the other side.  The kingdom of God supersedes and far surpasses all kingdoms of self and society or personal reward."

This sentence struck me because the day before I was asked to pray at the beginning of a Zoom meeting.  It was an extemporaneous prayer - and I'm not sure if this will make sense or not - but because I had not prepared for it, it was a prayer that I journeyed through while I was praying it.  Sometimes those go well, and sometimes they feel clunky and cliched.  This prayer journeyed to an ending of "may we do all of this for your glory and that your kingdom may come."  That's not a phrase I often use, so it was surprising to me that it was how I ended the prayer.

I think the idea that saying "my kingdom go" is why saying - if you really mean it - "thy kingdom come" is frightening.  It means losing control.  It means letting go of control, intentionally.  Do we have trust issues with God?

I taught a CLM class earlier this week.  One of our topics was discernment, and I share this quote with the class:

"St. Ignatius of Loyola notes that sin is unwillingness to trust that what God wants is our deepest happiness.  Until I am absolutely convinced of this, I will do everything I can to keep my hands on the controls of my life, because I think I know better than God what I need for my fulfillment” David Benner 

Do we trust God? Do we trust God more than we trust ourselves so that we can, without fear, let go of control, and say, "My kingdom go."

A Different Look at the Laborers in the Vineyard

 I'm reading the book Short Stories by Jesus, written by Amy-Jill Levine.  I just finished the chapter called Laborers in the Vineyard, based on Matthew 20:1-16.  To briefly summarize the parable, a householder hires workers beginning at dawn, for a reasonable wage, and then continually, every three hours, throughout the day, until the last group is hired and works for only an hour.  They are all paid the reasonable wage of one denarius.  Those who worked all day complain about the fairness of the pay - they worked longer; they should be paid more.

Levine make a (good) case for the parable not to be a statement of God rewarding everyone the same - those who have been believers for a long time (or those who were Jewish followers) and those who came to believe just lately.  Instead, she asks that we look at the parable differently.  What if the parable is really about how the rich - those who have the means - should treat those who have need.  The householder goes and looks for those who need to work, employees them, and pays them a reasonable wage.  Everyone has the funds to support themselves.  Those hired first receive what can be expected for their work - they complain because the householder is generous. 

What if this is what the kingdom is like?  What if the kingdom of God is a place where those who are able, who have the means, provide for those who don't have the means?  What if the work of some of us supports all of us?  Levine says, "[Jesus's] focus is often less directly on "good news to the poor' than on "responsibility of the rich."  Can the workers be content with what is right rather than what they perceive to be fair?

What if the message of this parable is for us to learn "what it  means to act as God acts, with generosity to all."?  What would that generosity look like?  It would be counter to our entire society.  The goal of the householder (or the business owner) would not be to keep as much as possible and pay as little as he can get away with.  The reaction of the workers would not be to analyze what would be fair and complain about the good fortune of others, but to join the householder in generosity, grateful that everyone has enough money to live.  

Finding Life

In Sunday school last week, we talked about the parable of Lazarus - not the story of the brother who Jesus brought back to life, but the other Lazarus story.  This is the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.

Have you ever noticed that when the rich man has died, he asks Abraham to send Lazarus to him to bring him water, or to return and warn his brothers, that he still sees Lazarus as a servant - he's still asking Lazarus to serve him.  Nothing has really changed in the rich man's attitude, even after death.

The rich man lived his life in a way that didn't lead to life - it didn't lead to life, even when he was alive.  

How do we learn from that? How do we live a life that is alive, and not dead? How do we open ourselves up to eternal life NOW - if the kingdom is here and now, then so is life.  

Perhaps it begins by seeing the mistake that the rich man made.  He did see - in life or in death - Lazarus as a person.  Perhaps it begins by seeing the person in front of us as a person - not as a non-person.  And then bringing life to that person in front of us through service.  Life to that person, and life to ourselves.

Kingship

I remember, years ago, when Steve and I flew to Portugal - the first leg of our flight arrived in Paris, and I watched steadily out the window of the plane, hoping to see the Eiffel Tower, just to say I had.  Of course, I didn't see it, but I remember the anticipation.

Years ago, before 9/11, you could go past security in an airport without a boarding pass, and you could greet your loved one who was arriving on a plane right at the gate.  Remember that? I remember standing at the window of the airport, watching for the plane to arrive.  Waiting in anticipation for a glimpse of its arrival.

Last month, our younger son marched with the Marshall University Marching Band in Rome on New Year's Day. That's half a world away, but through the magic of the internet, and Facebook Live, we were able to see the parade, and I watched in great anticipation, hoping to catch a view of Josh playing his trumpet in Rome.  I did - for just a moment, and it was thrilling.

Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like finding a pearl of great price, or a treasure in a field.  It's like catching a glimpse of the kingship of God (to paraphrase Beuchner).  In the broken world we live in, the kingdom is now, and the kingdom is not yet, but we catch wonderful, powerful glimpses of God's kingship, and we are in awe.

The World is Changing

Our new pastor, Rev. Deane, taught Sunday school a few weeks ago. She said something that struck me - that I hadn't considered before.

The incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus changed the world. It brought the Kingdom of God to the earth. The world was changed.

And yet the world was not completely changed. Because of Christ, the world is changing. We are moving from what was to what will become, and all of creation groans with the change.

We are not there yet, and yet we are moving closer. It is so easy to say that the world is getting worse and worse, but as Christians, we can claim that the world is changing, and it is moving closer and closer to the Kingdom of God. Isn't there hope in that for all of us?

The Kingdom is near

Covered Bridge in Philippi, West Virginia

Our Sunday evening Bible Study is reading a book by John Ortberg with Kevin and Sherry Marney called Praying with Power. It's a chapter by chapter look at the prayer Jesus taught his disciples - the prayer we use as well and call The Lord's Prayer. I like the book because I think so often we rush through the prayer, not listening or thinking about the words we are saying.

"Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done."

One of my very favorite books about faith is Leslie Weatherhead's book, The Will of God.  You can read about it in this post.  In it, he says about that God's ultimate will is, God's final realization of his purposes" -- God will not be defeated, and his ultimate will for us -- redemption and reunification with God -- will happen. No circumstance can defeat his ultimate will."

I think that's what God's will is - and when we pray for God's will to be done, that's what we mean.

Ortberg says, "We can barely understand what this earth would look like if God's kingdom were to really break into human history.  It boggles the mind...Imagine everything God desires to happen actually happening - the time, place and reality when all he desires is what we experience.  That's God's kingdom"

I think we often feel pretty distant from that experience. We look around the world - we look at our lives - and we don't see God's kingdom.  But Jesus said, "The kingdom of God is near." Jesus' action 2000 years ago didn't just save me; his actions redeemed the entire world.  The kingdom of God is near.  Right here. Right now.

What can we do to see it? What can we do to help others to see it?

Living into Spring

Two weekends ago, my two sons had overlapping spring break time, so we traveled together to Columbus for a spring break trip. As I was packing I had this overwhelming urge to leave winter clothes behind.  I packed bright colors, spring shoes and nothing heavy or wintery.  At the last minute, as a nod to reality, I grabbed a coat.

As it turns out, winter is not done with us yet. It didn't snow in Columbus, but it was COLD. And windy.  Even so, I still wore my spring colors - while winter may not be done with us, I am done with winter.

Driving today, I wondered if there is an analogy in that story to our relationship to God's kingdom. We have an incredible urge to live in God's kingdom - to live in a world transformed by the love of God.  We don't live there, but perhaps we state our desire for the coming kingdom by wearing the clothes of God - by sharing God's light and love - by stating categorically that we are finished with life without God, and leaning into - living into - the kingdom.

Even in the snow, we wear our spring shoes and bright colors.

Bringing about the Kingdom of God

John Ortberg, in his book Who is this Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus talks about three historical responses to the question, "How will the kingdom of God be brought to earth?"

1. He gives the example of the zealots, who revolted against the Romans, attempting to bring about the kingdom through violence.
2. He talks about the Essenes, who decided to withdraw from society, attempting to bring about the Kingdom of God by separating themselves from the world.
3. He describes the Sadducees, who decided to assimilate, pragmatically joining Rome in collecting taxes and gaining power.

Do we take any of these paths to try to bring about the Kingdom of God, here, today?  Do we try to force people to believe, employing what we might not think of as violence, but covering them with the painful violence of judgment?   Do we withdraw from society, isolating ourselves in church so that the kingdom is confined to those of us who belong?  Do we lose who we are by assimilating into the culture, so that we don't stand out?

How do we bring about the Kingdom of God?  What should be our reaction?  Our plan?

This is what Ortberg says Jesus would tell us:

When they hate us -- and a lot of them will -- when they call us names and throw us in prison, even kill some of us, we won't fight back, we won't run away, and we won't give in.  We will just keep loving them.  We will just keep inviting them to join our side.  That's my strategy.  What do you think?

Hidden

Yesterday, I wrote a post based on the descriptions Jesus gave of the Kingdom of Heaven as recorded in Matthew 13.  Today I read a sermon about the same passage, published in the book The Seeds of Heaven by Barbara Brown Taylor.

Taylor says that one of the characteristics all of the metaphors in this passage share is that they speak of the Kingdom of God as hidden -- perhaps hidden in the ordinary.

Why would God hide the Kingdom of Heaven? 

As that question floated through my mind, another question surfaced.

Could it be that it's not that God has hidden it, but that we fail to look for it?  Do we need to open our eyes to find what is right in front of us? 

Where today could you have witnessed the Kingdom?  Where will you see it this afternoon, if you will look?

Kingdom of the Now and Not Yet, Part V

Finally, the fifth thing that living in the kingdom now and not yet is that "we do not have to carry around the baggage of our past.  We can give up our sins to Jesus and find in him the courage to sort out and deal with our hang-ups."

What stands between you and God?  What stands between you and someone else?  Are you willing to allow God to remove it?  Will you let go of the grudge?  Will you forgive yourself? 

It's hard - in fact, I think it might be impossible at times.  God makes things possible that are actually impossible.  What we cannot forgive, God can lift away.  The requirement is that we allow it.

God will do it today, right now, in the kingdom that is now.  God will do it to prepare us for the kingdom that is not yet.  God will even work with us from the moment into the future because sometimes it takes that long.

God is willing.

Kingdom of the Now and Not Yet, Part IV

The fourth point about living in the kingdom of the now and the not yet is that it gives our lives meaning.

Why do we do what we do? Why bother to get up on Sunday and go to church? Why work on a Sunday school lesson, preparing to teach? Why love our neighbor when it would be much easier to ignore him or to even hate him? Why resist the urge to get even? Why work so hard to forgive?

If God lives with us now, if we are living in the kingdom today, then we have faith that we are loved by God and that God's grace surrounds us. That requires our commitment to what we are called to do -- it is the only response to kingdom living. Living the kingdom gives purpose to what we do.

Living for the kingdom that is not yet brings us hope, and also gives us purpose.

Purpose comes from God -- in the now and in the future.

The Kingdom Now and Not Yet, Part III

Living in the Kingdom of the now and the not yet -- the third point in the lesson from Sunday school last week was this one:

We know that no terrible circumstance has the last word.  We believe that the last words will be from God, and they will be words of joy, comfort, righteousness, security and peace.  

For me that is a statement of faith in the kingdom that is not yet.  If God hasn't had the last word, then the last word has not yet been uttered.

In the book The Will of God,  Weatherhead talks about God's will in three ways.  He says the intentional will of God is sometimes blocked.  In those cases, the circumstantial will of God finds a way through tough situations.  God's ultimate will, however, will not be thwarted.  It is "God's final realization of his purposes" -- God will not be defeated, and his ultimate will for us -- redemption and reunification with God -- will happen. No circumstance can defeat his ultimate will.

In the kingdom of now -- God present -- we can find comfort in that realization -- in that trust.  We are not promised that only good will be found in our lives and circumstances.  We are promised that God will see us through.

The Kingdom Now and Not Yet, Part II

Living in a kingdom of now and not yet means that we live in a kingdom in the presence of God, and in anticipation of his coming.  I think this dovetails neatly into the idea that we should do God's will.  We should be obedient to his calling, for the benefit of the now and the not yet.

If we are in the kingdom now, and God is in the room, isn't that a motivation to do God's will?  It might not be the best motivator, but if my boss is in the room, I might be more motivated to do his will.  There is an increased awareness that he will know if am following his lead or not if he is present.

If we are living in the kingdom that is not yet, and we are living in the kingdom that is now, then we are also motivated to do God's will because we have a roll to play.  We contribute to the transformation of the kingdom now into what it will become by following the will of God.  In the same way, we contribute to our transformation from who we are to who will will become by following God's will.  Potential is reached.  Perfection (wholeness) is achieved.

And in the kingdom of the now and the not yet, we come to realize that there is an undeniable link between our own happiness and our obedience.  When we follow the will of God, loving God and loving our neighbors, we find blessing - happiness - fulfilment. 

No where in this post did I say we earn our way into heaven by obeying God.  I didn't say it because I don't believe it.  Obedience grows from faith, and faith is given to us by God.  Our faith is grace, and by grace we are saved.  And that's the best reason to be obedient.

The Kingdom Now and Net Yet, Part I

Have you thought about what it means to live in the Kingdom of God?  We live in it, today, right now.  It is the now.  It is also the not yet, because we will live in it someday. 

It's a challenging and fascinating dichotomy.  The now and the not yet.  What does it mean to live in the Kingdom of God now and not yet?

I taught Sunday school yesterday, and hidden in the lesson plan, right at the end, was a list of five thoughts about just that question.  One little paragraph -- a whole lot of meat, and it was stuck at the end.  Reading through it and teaching it, I thought it might make a nice five-part blog series.

The first thought is that we live in the expectation of the coming of Christ.  We believe he is coming again, a second time.  We wonder if we are prepared, if we are preparing correctly.  We wonder when it will be.  Now?  Later?  Much later?  And we live in the idea that we are not to know that answer to that question.  All of that means we have to trust God.

And we live in the expectation that Christ is here now.  Sitting in the room with you as you read this post, as I write this post.  Christ is in the hospital room of the dying grandfather, in the car with the speeding teenager, in the classroom with the struggling student.  Christ is in the office with you, and he is in the kitchen with you.  Christ is in worship, and he is outside the church, hoping to be invited in.   Christ is here, now. 

That should make a difference in our lives.  It should transform the way we live our lives.  We are never alone, and we wait for God.  And God waits for us.  A fascinating dichotomy.