Tag Archives: Kingdom Building

Kingdom Building

Lent

April 9, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Luke 22:14-23:56

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. –Luke 22:14-23

Jesus served the disciples the Passover elements of bread and wine, but apparently, he did not eat it himself in Luke’s writing. Is Jesus saying here that he would not partake until the kingdom of God is fulfilled? At what point does that happen? Is it realized in Jesus’s resurrection or at the end of time? Is it when we get our acts together, all our acts together, and figure out how to love like Jesus resulting in a world where all are welcomed and encouraged to be the person God created each of us to be? A world where everyone has enough of not only the basic needs of life but also enough love, enough faith, and enough hope. I do not know the answer to any of these questions, but I do know we are called to be kingdom builders as Christ envisioned it and I think Jesus Christ would love to eat the bread and drink the cup with us sooner than later.

Both Matthew and Mark imply that Jesus did eat the bread and drink the cup as the word “again” is added before he says he would not partake until the kingdom of God was fulfilled. John chose to tell the story of Jesus washing the Disciples’ feet at that Last Supper together demonstrating their calling and our calling today of serving with humility. I Think Christ would love to pitch his tent among us when we had fulfilled our part in kingdom building and just enjoy a day of Sabbath taken together.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to find our way in implementing your kingdom. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Beholding God’s Likeness

Living in the Spirit

July 28, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 17:1-7, 15
Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
   give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
From you let my vindication come;
   let your eyes see the right.
If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
   if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
   my mouth does not transgress.
As for what others do, by the word of your lips
   I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
   my feet have not slipped.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
   incline your ear to me, hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
   O saviour of those who seek refuge
   from their adversaries at your right hand.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
   when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

If you have read many of my posts, you have realized that I am big on self-examination guided by the Spirit. It is an attempt to see how closely my self-assessment matches God’s assessment of me. Thus, if God examines me, will God find no wickedness, no transgression, no violence, or no wavering from God’s straight and narrow path? I think if God handed me a checklist scoring these items, I might be surprised at the results. God looks at the heart according to 1 Samuel 16:7. We must account for evil thoughts because when we do not clean out those thoughts, they can grow and overtake our hearts.

I just finished reading the book Rush by Stephen Fried. It is a great historical read. More than that, it is the history of a man dealing with the good and evil occurring in the USA during the Revolutionary era and the positive influences he had on society at that time. In the final analysis, we must live our lives so that we can face God in God’s righteousness, not our own.

Prayer: Lord, we are barraged with bad things happening to good people, with the failure of our society to turn things to your righteousness. We are called to be a part of your vision of creating a world ruled by love, yet we get so caught up in the webs of evil we sometimes lose sight of the positive differences we can make. Grant us the courage to follow your way and help us to identify any aspects of our lives that are contributing to the chaos. Create in us clean hearts to do your service. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Coming of Spring

Living in the Spirit

July 1, 2020

Scripture Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13
The voice of my beloved!
   Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.

Reading this is a blessing after another morning of lousy news getting worse. Spring does follow winter. As Robert Browning writes in Pippa Passes, “God’s in His heaven— All’s right with the world!”

God grants us the choice of striving for the better or wallowing in the worst. I like the approach of a pragmatic optimist. We need to face the reality in which we find ourselves to discern ways to move forward toward our goal of being the hands and feet of Jesus on the earth today, creating the Kingdom He foresaw as possible.

I do not think many want to hear, we have a long, steep road ahead of us, but if we work together, we can realize success. I see this playing out in the political ads now routinely interrupting my viewing options. I hear some singing the same song regarding two or three issues that have little or no impact on most people. The ads often contain words that immediately bring to mind hot-bottom affairs. They include no explanation addressing how they intend to impact those issues. Fixing the economy is a good example. Does that mean the candidate is going to work to increase the stock market or assure that every worker earns a living wage? I have not heard anyone suggest he or she is going to try to address both. Such ads are skillfully designed for you to hear what you want to hear, not what the candidates’ intentions are.

We need to realign our own lives with God’s ways as we try to create that Kingdom Jesus foresaw. The foundation of that Kingdom is love. That is is a great place to begin our exploration of what will work to take us from chaos into Kingdomtide.

Prayer: Lord, help us see past the hot-button issues to the real needs of our world. Help us grow together in oneness so that when we come together in your name, we get positive results for our efforts. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

The Light of Faith

Epiphany

January 22, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 27:1, 4-9
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
   whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing I asked of the Lord,
   that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
   all the days of my life,to behold the beauty of the Lord,
   and to inquire in his temple. –Psalm 27:1, 4

In our world today it is odd to consider the lack of light. I turn my reading lamp off in my living room and click off another lamp each evening before I go to bed and still all around me light is present. Streetlights stream through openings in my curtains. Little electronic lights are everywhere even on my thermostat. Clocks in my kitchen on my microwave, stove, and coffee pot shine forth with the time, although they all usually show different times. One evening recently I was working on my laptop with the news playing on the TV when suddenly I heard my breaker box click and I found myself in utter darkness. There was not even any moonlight that night.  My phone was also dark but I new it was close by and runs on batteries. I felt round for it, push the right area, and already there appeared a news bulletin saying a driver had hit a main light pole knocking out our light for several blocks around.

I grew up on a farm and am thus well acquainted with utter darkness. We did eventually get a yard light. I do not recall the lack of light being scary as a child, while it did limit what I could do. We had flashlights handy if we needed to go check on something outside. I cannot image functioning in total blindness. It requires a wholly different way of perceiving the world for those who are blind if they are to succeed and thrive in our world.

We, too as children of God are called to perceive the world differently from God’s eyes through God’s light and react to the world within the lessons of that light. Living in such a new light requires a lot of trust and a lot of faith. Paul says regarding the Kingdom of God in 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. At Jesus’ resurrection we began the journey of actualizing the Kingdom of God as Christ’s partners. To even remotely answer that calling we must trust in God and have faith in God’s guiding light.

Prayer: Lord, let your light be our beacon of faith, hope, and love sharing in the world today. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Perseverance

Kingdom Building

October 19, 2019

Scripture Reading:
Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

A wise state senator once told me it took ten years to get meaningful legislation passed that addresses major problems that many either do not see or ignore. I have found her advice to be accurate. We were working on improving childcare at the time, and we eventually made major progress in improving the system. Twenty years later, it once again needs attention.

Paul speaks to the need for endurance, as does the author of Hebrews:

And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Building a Kingdom of love requires persistent dedication to the piece of the work we are each tasked to do. Mountains can be moved by perseverance.

Prayer: Lord, give us the spiritual stamina to persevere in our work toward building the Kingdom of Love and let that spiritual stamina strengthen us for the labor. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Total Commitment

Kingdom Building

September 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 14:25-33

Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” –Luke 14:25-30

Tough language consistent with other words Jesus said about taking discipleship seriously. There is no such thing as a lukewarm Christ follower. There are times, whether we like it or not, when people have had to choose between following Christ or continuing relationships with others.  There are people who have sacrificed their lives for their faith. I do not think Jesus is emphasizing such situations in this scripture. I think he is saying that serving God comes first in all disciples lives and everything else is ordered within that context. Most of us are probably Christ followers today because a parent or spouse introduced us to the Christ.

The idea I think Jesus is trying to make clear is we need to understand and grow in the understanding of what it means to be a Christ follower. He shared similar thoughts in the telling of the parable of the sower*.  The sower spread seeds on all kinds of ground but the seeds only sprouted plants when sprinkled on land ready to accept it fully and completely.  In our scripture today Jesus compares being his disciple to building a building which requires planning and setting aside resources to pay for the land and building materials. Regarding being his disciple, he is talking about making a commitment for the long haul as we strive to build the Kingdom of God on earth.

As I write this the USA East coast and the Bahamas are suffering the consequences of a hung hurricane, another mass shooting just occurred in Texas, thousands of refugees are fleeing terror in their homelands searching for safety not only at our southern border but at several borders all over the world. Addressing the needs Jesus outlines in Matthew 25 of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, restoring the prisoner, and welcoming the stranger, is not for the faint of heart. It is the way to create a world ruled by love where everyone has enough, and we are the disciples called to make it happen with the help of God, the model of Jesus, and the support of the Spirit.

Prayer Creator God, you made us a little lower than you** and equipped us with skills and talents that we may not even know we have for the facing of this hour. Guide us as we make plans and develop resources to fulfill your call to building a Kingdom ruled by love. Amen.

*See Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15
**Derived from Psalm 8:5

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Loving across Boundaries

Kingdom Building

August 30, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. –Hebrews 13:8, 15-16

Are we living our faith in ways we would want to be imitated? If we are unhappy with the way things are going right now, we may be harvesting what we sowed. Is our primary purpose in being the church to share God’s love throughout the world, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to do justice? Are we building the Kingdom of God for all people not just people who look and act like us and in the way,  God envisioned the Kingdom not by our blueprint?

Yes, buildings require upkeep, children and adults must be taught, music is important for worship. A lot of our faith work is routine, opening the church for services, ordering study materials, filling communion cups, maintaining the church bus, mowing the lawn, weeding the flower beds, providing hospitality to each other and to strangers. Is our motivation for doing these chores adding to our purpose?

We certainly have a responsibility to care for each other, as we minister to those in grief, the sick, the lonely and sometimes that feels like a full-time job. We always need to find some time to reach beyond our walls into our neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth. We do not need to do everything. We do need to do something.

Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of Man.

In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds fraught with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.

From tender childhood’s helplessness,
from human grief and burdened toil,
from famished souls, from sorrow’s stress,
your heart has never known recoil*.

Prayer: Lord help us to find our something to do as we reach beyond our walls into the larger world. Amen.

*First three verses of Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life by Frank Mason North see at https://hymnary.org/text/where_cross_the_crowded_ways_of_life

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Fullness of Faith

Kingdom Building

August 15, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:29-12:2

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven, received the spies in peace. –Hebrews 11:29-31

How’s our faith doing? Have we measured it recently? We might forget to check it like the women awaiting the bridegroom who forgot to get oil for their lamps and were not prepared when he arrived*. Would we have had the faith to leave the oppression of Egypt to cross the red sea?

Most of the people fleeing oppression in El Salvador (86%), Honduras (87%), and Guatemala (87%) are Christian. They flee their sons being kidnaped and brainwashed into become gang members, they flee their daughters being kidnaped and trafficked into the sex trade industry, they flee with the faith that God goes with them. Where are we followers of Christ as they flee?

In Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection, we were invited and chose to join a team challenged to create a world ruled by God’s love with many first experiencing God’s love through us. At want point are we allowed to rest on our progress and say, “Things are going well for me and my family-church-community-state-country, why do I need to worry about anything else? Won’t keeping these fleeing people out of my country, improve my quality of life?” It will not. As we install alert systems and build walls and do safety drills our lives are being revamped as we climb into our bunkers of fear.

Let us step forth in the faith of the Israelites as they fled Egypt and claim peace and tranquility through the power of God’s love not just for us but for all of God’s children.

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Keep me burning till the break of day

Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna to the Servant King
Sing hosanna, sing hosanna
Sing hosanna, let us sing

Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving
Give me peace in my heart, I pray
Give me peace in my heart, keep me loving
Keep me loving till the break of day *

Prayer: Lord, lift us from our complacency and renew our faith as we strive to spread your love throughout the land. Amen.

*First verse, refrain and third verse of Give me Oil in my Lamp see at https://www.google.com/search?q=give+me+oil+in+my+lamp+lyrics&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS852US852&oq=giveme+oil+in+my&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.5637j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Purses that Do Not Wear Out

Kingdom Building

Kingdom Building

August 10, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:32-40

‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. –Luke 12:32-34

I am a one purse person carrying the same purse until it falls apart before I purchase another one and then I do not want to throw the worn out one away. Not throwing something away is peculiar behavior for me. Books are another thing with which a do not want to part as well as items my mother made but in general when something has served its purpose, I toss it.

Purses carry things we value. A few weeks ago, I ran to Walmart, grabbed whatever I needed, rushed back to my car, transferred my purchases, returned the cart to a stall, and headed home. When I reached for my purse as I got out of my car it was nowhere to be found. I panicked. As I drove back to Walmart, I realized I did not have my drivers license or my bankcard or any of my credit cards or any ID at all. I also felt the trip back was a hopeless one, but some wonderful person had discovered my purse in the parked grocery cart and returned it to customer services who were very happy to return it to me with nothing missing.

In our scripture today Jesus is telling us to take care of the important things specifically mentioning giving alms to the poor. My mother respected the idea of the tithe, but she taught her children that all our resources were dedicated to God and we need to use them with that in mine. We do need to handle our money wisely in taking care of ourselves and our families but also in assuring that all have enough including through are alms but also in the justice work we do as we strive to create a world where everyone has enough.

Prayer: Lord, give us wisdom in the use of our resources in your service. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Living by Faith

Kingdom Building

August 8, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. –Hebrews 11:1-3

Think about the last thing you did on faith. Some of us may readily identify a long list; others, I fear, will not think of anything. We live in a world where faith, hope, and love seem in short supply right now. Yet, we follow a God who created the world with a long-termed vision of what it might become, would become, and invited each of us to build it with God through faith in things hoped for powered by love.

We probably do not think about it but much of the ordinary things we do is by faith. I drove 3,000 miles on my genealogy tour this summer on faith that my car would run, that gas stations existed where I was going, that my credit care would be accepted. I would have been upset or stunned if any of that did not happen. If we can have such faith in the transitory ordinary things of life, what holds us back from resting our faith in God that God’s kingdom will come, and God’s will be done? We people of faith can be gloom and doomers running around like Chicken Little crying the sky is falling. Chicken Little assumes the sky is falling when an acorn falls on his head. He runs and gathers friends along the way who get just as hysterical as Chicken Little until they run into Foxey Loxey who guides them to his den and they are never seen again.

The sky is not falling, God is with us in everything we do, and God is greater than all the Foxey Loxeys of the world. We need to work at building our faith in God to also be our ordinary and come together as one to build God’s kingdom of love out.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen our drooping hands and our weak knees** toward our work in your kingdom coming. Amen.

*https://www.worldstory.net/en/stories/chicken_little.html
**Derived from Hebrews 12:12

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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.