Kingdom of GOD

It was inspiring, moving, and unprecedented in the course of human events. It would mean something, a promise fulfilled, a hope realized, a dream come true. To some, it was just another speech, another spiel, another stump. To others it was life-affirming, and life-changing. It was so compelling that people came. A few at first, then a lot. Millions over time. The first ones who caught the spirit of change and the winds of revolution were not the educated or intelligent, not the wealthy or the politically savvy, not the strategist or the leaders, not the innovators or the worldly. The first were everyday folk, hard workers, struggling to survive, a little angry at the way things were, a little helpless and hopeless in the face of systemic oppression. People ready for change.
The implications of the bold words he spoke would have resonated with the lowest of the low and the highest and mightiest. His words were politically charged, not just rhetoric to gain approval or attention or support. Real words with real weight. Words that could be and would be refuted and rejected by many, even as so many others believed in them, devoted themselves to them, saw them lived out and embodied in the man’s actions.
And it was the actions, as much as the words that truly inspired. He crossed boundaries, broke rules, rejected old divisions, animosities, and grudges. He refused to play by the cultural, social, ethnic rules. He invited local politicians and local law-breakers to one table. No party politics. He was neither conservative, nor liberal. He was not an elitist, but he could rival any educated teacher with an authoritative voice. He reached out to communities that had been written off, rejected, isolated, and devalued. He offered an alternative way, another system, a different take on the notion of progress and the project of civility. He was willing to sacrifice his own life so that others might be embraced by someone lovely and good. He came among his own and they rejected him.
When Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God was at hand, he announced that an eternal reality was being revealed and opened to the world. He announced that the rules and rulers of this world would no longer control and oppress the truth about life. He announced that the deceptions and false assumptions people had made about God, about the earth, about themselves, and others were being fully disclosed and uncovered. He announced that the world’s story was about to be retold from a new perspective. He announced an end to captivity, a deliverance, a renewal, a healing, an emergence of new life, a light in darkness, a way through suffering and death to a forever life and a more perfect home. He announced that the cosmic forces for evil were being crushed, bound, gagged, cut off at the knees, imprisoned, overcome. And they were being overcome by goodness and peace and mercy and compassion and grace and love and beauty and freedom. All powers we will possess as he does, when we are possessed by GOD’s Spirit and will.
The implications of this announcement often go unrecognized and undetected. Largely because we are dust, weak, children. And we are living in deceit, denial, and dehumanizing systems impoverished by the depths of human history. For 2,000 years people have been arguing and killing over the meaning of this phrase, kingdom of GOD. But he came with no military force, no economic stimulus package, no bailout monies, no debt free future solutions, no 50% off sales, no simple solution to lose weight in 30 days. He didn’t immediately put an end to all strife. He didn’t reduce carbon emissions or nuclear warheads. He didn’t slow the aging process or promise your best life now. He didn’t teach us how to make millions or how to win the praises of friend and enemy alike.
He taught us how to live and how to die. He gave us a way to follow and the necessary forgiveness and healing to keep on following in spite of the danger one will face when one tries. He taught us to turn the other cheek and to reject retribution and revenge as an option. He taught us to be content with what we are given and to give away what we have. He showed us that suffering and sorrow that come from entering the life of another human being and offering to serve is beautiful and worthy of praise. He gives us hope that dying, surrendering, freely offering yourself is to live a life that is redeemable and will be resurrected.
If you are impressed with the life you have made for yourself or you are content with the world as it is, if you believe that humanity is a flawed project at best and at worst just a cosmic accident with no better future. If you believe that the only end to come is death or annihilation of the species or the planet as a whole, then the message announced by and lived fully by Jesus is going to be a hard message to swallow.
But if you are ready for change, renewal, hope, a reevaluation of life’s meaning, and a way forward that will change everything on this planet from the way you shop to the way you relate to your neighbors then it is time to begin. Following this way has never been easy. It is demanding and requiring of you. Its symbol is a cross, after all. The hangman's noose. So let me announce this to you as plainly as I can: Repent, turn around, change your mind, reorient your life, for the Kingdom of GOD, God’s life and power and rule and hope and dream and will and way in this world is at hand, in front of your face, within you, around you, over you, and visibly here. If you are wondering wghere or how or when or why...why you, why now, why us, why, then...See Jesus for details. Amen.