Living in the Spirit
November 5, 2016

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:36-44

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. –Matthew 24:36-39

I am perplexed, perhaps more mesmerized, by the conversation between Jesus and Pilate at Jesus’ trial recorded in John 18:36-38.

Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?

We live in a world requiring fact checkers who nuance accuracy by degree: mostly true, somewhat true, somewhat false, mostly false. Was truth first identified as flexible via Pilate’s statement? Probably not, most likely people manipulated truth from the beginning of time. Perfectly reasonable people, as I assume the people of first century Rome and Israel alike were just like us today, could clearly be presented facts and deny that they existed. Truthfulness is a keystone of our election this year, and everybody seems to define their own truth with an underlining understanding that everybody lies.

What does that have to do with the return of Christ? What if all the pundits are wrong waiting for Jesus to come back and save us from the mess we are making of God’s world? What if Jesus is waiting for us to get our act together because he never left, is with us now, and, with his abiding guidance, expects us to become the Kingdom he taught us to be. When that happens, we might realize he has already pitched his tent among us.

Prayer: Lord, be present with us as we return to your way and work toward your vision of this world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.