Henrietta United
Rev.
David Inglis
Matthew 6:7-10, Luke 17:20-21, Luke 13:18-21
Learning to Pray, Learning to Live, 2. “As
Above, So Below”
“Thy
kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We pray that every week, along with the 2
billion other Christians in the world. But every week we see on the news how
far our world is from reflecting God’s kingdom.
Let’s start with where we are. What are the things that make you feel the
most depressed, disturbed and discouraged about the way things are in the
world? (The congregation voiced the
following:)
Apathy
“All
About ME” attitude
Violence
(
Generational
inherited hate
Abuse
of power
Corruption
in government
Irresponsibility
Concentration
of power
Discrimination
Poverty
It’s awful hard to be bombarded with this stuff
all the time when something deep within us longs for and prays for another
reality. These problems are so big, and
we’re so small, the only way we can function in our everyday lives is to defend
ourselves against all the pain and suffering and out-of-jointness of the
world. We might stop reading or listening
to the news–we just don’t expose ourselves to it. We might find ourselves numbing out and
feeling almost callous about things that used to make us feel empathy. We might keep ourselves distracted with our
own personal pursuits to keep us from thinking about all the things that are
wrong with the world. We might develop
the mental habit of blaming the victims to justify our lack of action or
concern. We might blame the politicians
and refuse to take part in the political process so we can wash our hands of
the mess. Or we might let ourselves be
informed and concerned just enough to stay on a slow burn of indignation,
anguish, fear and frustration, and maybe sign enough e-mail petitions to take
the edge off our guilt for not doing more.
Personally, I have found all of these strategies useful in helping me
cope with the world’s messes without losing my sanity. I hope all my efforts have done some
good!
I hear Jesus offering us a different way to deal
with the world’s problems when we pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven.” Let’s begin
by looking at the problems of the world through Jesus’ eyes. What are the human sins that create these
various problems? (The congregation
voiced these:)
greed
pride
mistrust
arrogance
selfishness
ignorance
lack
of compassion
hate
anger
We can see that what drives warfare, domination,
exploitation, and injustice is good old-fashioned human sins, which we combine
with each other’s to create the kingdoms and systems and problems of this
world.
Jesus began his ministry proclaiming, “Behold,
the kingdom of God is at hand! Repent
and believe the good news!” Jesus saw
the evils, corruption and injustice of this world, but he also saw something we
usually miss: There is another reality
waiting to be born, a whole different order he called the kingdom of God, or
the reigning of God. The kingdom of God
isn’t just the beautiful, perfect place you go when you die. It isn’t just a utopian dream that we press
towards. Jesus said, “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). The Greek word for
“among you” can also be translated“within you.”
It’s that close.
But what is it?
The kingdom of God is what breaks forth when we invite God’s nature,
God’s power and God’s will to work its way in us and in the world. The kingdom of the world morphs into the
kingdom of God when unconditional love replaces selfishness, forgiveness
replaces judgment, cooperation replaces domination, gratitude replaces greed,
freedom replaces control, unity replaces conflict, truth replaces deception,
trust replaces suspicion.
The kingdom of God begins “within us.” The kingdom of God will not come by electing
the right president or by an act of Congress or by a new UN policy, nor will it
be imposed on us from above by God. The
only way for the kingdom of God to enter the world is through the God-centered
human heart. So the best place to begin seeking God’s kingdom is by looking for
the places where our lives are centered around ourselves instead of God. These
are the places where our sin unites with others to create the strife,
oppression, injustices and suffering in the world.
So Jesus invites us to pray “ Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,” beginning on a very personal level. In fact, if we don’t apply this prayer to our
life and our will, we are praying it in vain.
If you’d like to pray this prayer in a way that
can really change things, I invite you to close your eyes and pray this prayer
for yourself right now: God of my life
and of all life, I invite your reign of perfect love, harmony, forgiveness,
gratitude, freedom, unity, truth, and trust come into my heart. Help me to be aware right now of my own
attitudes, thoughts, words, and behaviors that violate your will and keep your
nature from awakening in me and working in the world. . . .I confess right now
the things that keep me tied up in myself, and I release them into your perfect
forgiving grace. . . .Thy will be done in me.
Help me to let go of my fearful grip on my time, my energy, my talents,
and my resources, and find my highest joy in living into your perfect will for
my life. . . .Let me trust you with more and more of myself, so that your will
is done through me. . . . Amen.”
This is how God’s kingdom enters this world, and
how God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. It begins in your heart and in your life and
in mine.
But how
does it impact all the evil we see in the world? Jesus knew full well what his little band of
followers was up against as they pondered this question in the face of the
power-hungry Roman Empire that oppressed them, the unjust legal system that
impoverished them, and the corrupt religious establishment that demoralized
them. So Jesus told them
provocative little parables of
hope.
He said, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard
seed that someone took and sowed in his garden; it grew and became a tree, and
the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” He was saying, take your tiny seed of faith,
love, hope, forgiveness, gratitude, or truth.
Plant it in the world around you, weed around it, and give it some water. Its nature is to take root and grow. Its nature is to attract others into its
branches. Its nature is to create new
seeds and to spread on its own. As any farmer knows, if you don’t watch out,
mustard plants will be cropping up everywhere.
Have faith in your tiny mustard seeds.
This church is a living example of that mustard
seed growing and spreading its branches for all us birds to find shelter
in. Together we feed on its mustard
seeds and then carry them out into the world.
“The kingdom of God is among us.”
But the kingdom of God doesn’t have to look like a church. Last week and this week our daughter Emilyn is working at a camp in Colorado that brings both Israeli and Palestinian teenagers over from neighboring but antagonistic villages in the Middle East. The program is called “Seeking Common Ground.” Through an intensive, structured experiences of addressing their prejudices, listening to each other, speaking their truth, and interacting with each other, community, equality, mutual respect, and trust begin to spring up like mustard seeds. And they carry some of those seeds back with them to the Middle East.
And Jesus said, The kingdom of God “is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures (three baskets) of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus knew that we can’t take on the economic and political power structures of this world directly. But we can quietly knead this yeast of God’s kingdom into the world where we are. We can create air pockets of integrity and fairness in our hard-nosed businesses. We can create air pockets of personal caring in our institutionalized schools and nursing units. We can create air pockets of neighborliness in our impersonal streets and subdivisions. We can create air pockets of care for God’s creation in our homes and places of work. We can create air pockets of accountability in our political process. And pretty soon the systems and institutions that seemed so tough and hardened start to get leavened. They rise. Their shape changes. Almost every week I’ve seen at least one article in the paper about a business that is working on being more environmentally responsible. This is the beginning of a big cultural leavening on the scale of other major cultural changes in our history, like the abolition of slavery, the treatment of children, women’s suffrage, and civil rights for all kinds of oppressed and disempowered groups. Maybe in our lifetime we’ll see access to health care for everyone. As more and more people knead once fringy ideas into the culture, eventually the whole loaf is leavened. No sane person in our society today would argue for slavery or children working in coal mines or women not being allowed to vote or own property. Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” That was precisely Jesus’ strategy. But it begins with each of us.
Helen
Keller said, “I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but
still I can do something. I will not
refuse to do the something I can do.” Helen Keller couldn’t hear and she couldn’t
see, but she did what she could and that little deaf and blind lady still
inspires us today.
God doesn’t want us to get demoralized and
defeated by these big problems we see in the world. What God does call us to do is to keep God’s
kingdom of love, hope, forgiveness, gratitude, unity, and truth growing in our
hearts. He calls us to plant those
mustard seeds of a new order in the places we live and work and shop and
worship and vote. He calls us to develop
and offer our talents and abilities generously, and to knead that leaven into
the hard lump of the world. He calls us
to embody God’s just and peaceful reign and God’s loving will in our thoughts
and words and actions. And those tiny
seeds will grow and spread, because that’s what seeds of faith do. And the lump of dough will rise, because
that’s what the yeast of love does.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as
it is in heaven.” This is not just words
of a prayer, and it is not just a distant dream. It is a living hope coming true, that is as
close as our own hearts saying “Yes,
God, yes. As above, so below. As in your mind, so in my life. May your highest will be done right here and
right now through me.”