When I thought about writing this sermon, I almost entitled it “Thy Kingdom Shall NOT Come!” or “Jesus, Just Keep Your Darn Kingdom to YOURSELF!” I say that because to pray “Thy kingdom come” is to desire ABOVE ANY OTHER JOY OR HOPE the arrival of God’s kingdom “here on earth as it is in heaven,” and if we were to properly understand what that kingdom is all about and what it is really demanding of us, then I’m not sure any of us would ever pray this prayer again. This petition of the Lord’s Prayer is the very heart of Jesus’ prayer for the Kingdom of God lay at the core of his ministry and was the central theme of all his preaching and teaching. His very first words as recorded by the gospel of Mark, the earliest of all the accounts of Jesus’ life, were, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” He told his followers to “Seek first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added unto you.” There was no more important message in all the Bible, occurring over a hundred times in the first three gospels alone. The Kaddish, the main prayer pronounced by the rabbi at the conclusion of each synagogue service, would begin, “May God establish his kingdom in your lifetime and in your days and in all the ages of the whole house of Israel soon and in the near future.” It was a common saying among the ancient rabbis that a prayer in which the Kingdom is never mentioned was then not really a prayer.
What makes THIS petition particularly difficult is that where “Hallowed be thy name” remains very ABSTRACT, “Thy kingdom come” is fairly CONCRETE. A “kingdom” is a political word; it is a realm involving monarchs and their subjects with layers of power relations in between. With these words, Jesus makes it very clear that his kingdom has to do with much more than just spirituality and our relation to God. It takes our focus away from the heavenly and places it squarely onto the earthly and the mundane. It impacts the structures of power and money and bread and the services we rely on and participate in. It influences our stance on politics and economics, on decisions about education, health, employment, the environment, and all the other things which shape a person’s life. Hence, to pray “Thy kingdom come” is to ACTUALLY pray, “Take over, God, and rule over the affairs of your people and nations RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW.” To be a part of this kingdom is to acknowledge who is in charge and whose will ultimately counts in this world.
But there’s always been so much confusion concerning the “kingdom of God”- or the “kingdom of heaven” as the gospel of Matthew refers to it. Jesus refuses to come straight out and define it, preferring instead to make hints about it in his teachings and parables. He says that beginning like a mustard seed, it will continue to grow until it eclipses everything else. At other times, he describes it not as a process but as an event which will come in the future, in a moment where people least expect it. Then there are occasions when he says the kingdom of God is a present reality, that it is among them and even WITHIN them such as when he said, “Behold the Kingdom of God is within you!”
In the Old Testament, the Jews had a very narrow view of God’s kingdom. They thought that it was simply a POLITICAL SYSTEM to be set up in Jerusalem- a monarchy established by God under which the Jewish nation would be liberated from Roman rule and her territory restored as the home for the descendants of Abraham. For hundreds of years, prophets like Amos and Isaiah anticipated the coming of the Messiah who would herald that great day. In the early part of the Twentieth Century, there was an influential movement in the church called the “social gospelers” who believed that like yeast, the message of God’s love would permeate the structures of our society and gradually transform it into a version of heaven on earth. They had a very optimistic view of the future and of human nature, that is, until World War 1 broke out followed by the horrors of World War II twenty years later. Then the social gospelers began to doubt whether such a scenario would or even COULD take place.
On the other hand, there were always those who believed that this kingdom Christ spoke of was never intended to become a social/political reality here on earth but merely a SPIRITUAL entity, that it referred to the sovereignty of God over the human heart and NOT over the structures of society. THAT, they believed, could not take place until the end of history, when Christ returned and put all things under his feet. According to the Apostle Paul, the Kingdom of God was not meat and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It was not to be some visible kingdom seen by human eyes but rather a spiritual dominion in which Christ takes up residency over human hearts and wills. And so for many Christians throughout the centuries, the idea of God’s kingdom alternated between these two views- that of the hope for a new earthly, human society grounded in justice and fairness, and that of a reconditioned heart with Christ at the center based on love and forgiveness. Well, what is it to be?
What this kingdom is and how it relates to the present orders and powers of this world remains one of the most difficult questions in all of Christendom. How does our loyalty to Christ affect our relation to human powers, social systems, and cultures? How do we pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven,” when we are constantly being pulled in so many OTHER directions whether it is our society’s worship of consumerism or militarism or to rampant individualism?
The answer as I see it in NOT “either/or” but rather a “both/and.” The Kingdom of God IS in essence a SPIRITUAL kingdom or at least it BEGINS there. It starts with the reign of God over the human heart. It is the dominion of Christ over our thoughts and affections and wills, and as we continue to submit our hearts to him, his influence over us deepens and expands until HIS character slowly starts to transform our OWN. Beginning inwardly, it gradually works its way OUTWARD and becomes reflected in our habits and daily activities- from the way we treat our neighbors to the way we spend money or how we vote. Hence, the “spiritual” eventually becomes “material” in and through every one of our actions and commitments- Christ’s concerns become OUR concerns and his desires OUR desires. We become a sign of his rule in the world with the result that step-by-step, his kingdom slowly advances. With the Christian’s presence in the world, it becomes more moral and more pure so that by degrees the vile becomes less vile, the cruel less cruel, and the greedy less greedy. Such a world can ONLY come to pass when it is filled with the knowledge of God and ruled by his law. Only as we come to know him better and obey him more perfectly will God’s kingdom finally come.
The prophet Isaiah looked forward to the day when such a dream would in fact become a reality, when all the nations would stream to his holy mountain and they would each know the Lord. No more would there be the sound of weeping or suffering for sickness and death would be no more. In that day, the wolf and the lamb would feed together, giving way to a period of unending security and happiness.
This was the same picture God showed John in the book of Revelation when he gave him a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. John said he saw the holy city, the NEW Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. God will then make his dwelling place with humanity whereby they shall be his people and he shall be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain for the former things will have already passed away.
Of course we know that such an ideal world does NOT yet exist and it WON’T, not that is until CHRIST returns. Only THEN, when he brings history to a close, will there in fact be “peace on earth”; only THEN will that day arrive when the lion lays down with the lamb and our weapons be turned into plowshares. However, it doesn’t mean that because WE’LL never complete a perfect world that we should then STOP struggling to change things in that direction. Regardless how imperfect we may be or as limited as our accomplishments are, we must STILL strive to make that dream a reality, for with every act of love or justice you and I perform, regardless how insignificant it may seem, it points others to the reality of that kingdom and ULTIMATELY to JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.
We forget that the Lord’s Prayer comes straight out of the Sermon on the Mount, and that sermon, more than any other of Jesus’ teachings, offers a detailed summary of what that kingdom looks like. He told them:
Blessed (or happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
You see, God has given the church a specific vision to work towards- the vision of his righteous kingdom, and it is one in which all slaveries are ended, where civil rights are achieved, where freedom is established, and compassion is implemented. It is one in which justice is advanced, human rights are defended, and peace is made among all persons. When we NEGLECT that vision, then greed triumphs and selfishness erodes our common life- our divisions increase, our weapons expand, and our conflicts multiply.
Thus, when we pray “Thy kingdom come,” we are SINCERELY praying that God’s righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit may begin here on earth and that it may begin in and through US. It is to pray that the whole world may grow better and brighter and that people EVERYWHERE may become gentler and kinder and just and happier year after year. This is not the ethic of some namby-pamby liberal or mushy-headed idealist but the real and practical principles of our Lord himself upon which his kingdom was founded and his entire ministry was based. Hence, to pray “Thy kingdom come” is to pray for a vital faith that is every-bit engaged in the world. It's not merely a privatized kind of faith, one that professes, "Only me and Jesus- he's all I need," but a faith that looks beyond itself to the needs and issues in the larger world and asks "What can I do? How can my Christian commitment make a difference in my home, my community, my nation, my world?"
This point has been particularly highlighted over the past few days in the wake of the latest high school massacre in Parkland, Florida which left 17 persons dead--most of whom were students--and 15 others injured. Once again, you saw a parade of state and local politicians come before the cameras with long faces to offer their condolences and to express how their thoughts and prayers were with the families of the victims. But what was missing in all their sympathetic words were demands to tighten the lenient gun laws which allowed the killer to get his trove of guns in the FIRST place. Well Christians as well as non-Christians have been registering their impatience and even disgust with such standard scenes, not that their consolation isn’t needed, only that—as heart-felt as it may be—it’s still no substitute for concrete action. As one outraged parent put it, “I didn’t elect these people to become my pastor- I already HAVE one. I elected them to pass laws to make this country a better and safer place to live in so they better start LEGISLATING!”
For the past two decades, an overwhelming majority of Americans—95% OF THEM according to the latest polls--have grown outraged over the problem of unrestricted firearms in this country with the most VEHEMENT among them being YOUNG PEOPLE! Yesterday, there was a huge demonstration in Parkland with the majority of speakers being TEENAGERS! They’re demanding stricter safety measures and gun controls which the gun lobby has consistently blocked with all their power and money which they use to influence Congress with. The shooting in Florida this past Thursday was the EIGHTH school shooting since the beginning of this year (that eight incidents in just the past six weeks) and it certainly won’t be the LAST. Without a waiting period and only a minimal background check, any person 18-years or older can walk into a gun shop and emerge ten minutes later with an AR-15, a semi-automatic assault rifle which has no other purpose than to kill people fast and efficiently. (In some states, anyone under 18 can buy that same gun with a parent’s permission.) Ironically, the law designates that you have to be 21 to purchase a HAND GUN in those SAME states. The bottom line is that prayers and offers of condolence by our elected leaders in and of themselves will NEVER help one iota in ushering in God’s kingdom “here on earth as it is in heaven” if at the same time we aren’t stirred to action, if we aren’t motivated to make a greater and more positive difference in our world!
Hence, Christianity must be a RELEVANT faith attempting to apply itself to the world's problems, a faith that strives to not only bring health and wholeness to people’s hearts, but seeks to raise the QUALITY of life around them AS WELL. It must be a CONCERNED faith- one that not only says "we need Jesus" but also affirms "we need EACH OTHER and I'm there to help you when you need me." It must be an EXPANSIVE faith looking at the struggles of people--Christian or non-Christian--beyond our own borders to the plight of struggling people in other parts of the world and becoming their advocates. And a real faith must be a SOCIAL faith for we all live in a global community and what affects the rest of the world will inevitably have some affect upon ourselves. Christ demands that if we are to live and walk in his name, then ours must be a faith that is not only “inclusive” but one that is “just and fair,” a faith that argues on behalf of women and children, the poor and the handicapped even as HE did.
That is precisely what I love about our denomination- the Presbyterian Church. In the years after World War II, we were derisively referred to as "the Republican Party of Prayer." TODAY, we have broadened our constituency to become the denomination that "cares," that seeks to be just and inclusive and representative to all, that strives to take a private faith and impact public life with it. Where social convention insists that we should never discuss controversial matters such as religion or politics in public, let me say that any faith that is TOO private to speak about is NO faith at all, and any politic TOO private to discuss is NOT worth listening to. Christ demands from us a faith that IS “political”- one that is socially active as well as spiritually nurturing.
Believe me, this has nothing to do with a particular political agenda or ideology. We must be guided in our deliberations, not by one label or another--not by what is "conservative" or what is "liberal," what is "Democratic" or what is "Republican"--but rather by a serious examination of the issues, through heart-felt prayer, and through a study of God's Word. Through a combination of such intellectual and spiritual disciplines, the mind of Christ is gradually developed within us, enabling us as Christians to make more informed, intelligent, and morally responsible decisions which in turn lead to more positive and constructive action. And IF we do this, we will then practice a faith that is both rich and vibrant, missionary and alive, spiritual and political; we will then pray the Lord’s Prayer the way our Lord intended us to and not only mean it, we’ll finally LIVE it. Amen.