Thought for Today
Daniel 2:44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people.
Daniel 6:26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end.
Mark 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."
Mark 9:1 . . . Some of you who are standing here are going to see it happen, see the kingdom of God arrive in full force. (The Message)
I went to bed last night fully expecting to wake up to a snow-covered wonderland. I went to bed expecting that today we would receive 3” – 5” of relatively light snow. I woke up this morning to gray skies, dry streets and no sign of rain or snow. The meteorologist on television is telling us that the front moving north in our direction was supposed to connect with another front before reaching us and that our front missed its connection. Now we are expecting 1”-2” of what I think of as ‘gloop.’ Wet snow in amounts not amenable to using my snowblower.
I understand that meteorology may well be one of the most difficult sciences. The mathematics of the computer modeling are difficult and complex. But, this whole non-event has reminded me of a television comedy show from several years ago. I believe the title was This Is the Week That Was. It was a humorous parody of a television newscast. I am thinking that for me, today will be The Storm That Never Was.
Last night our Bible Study met on Zoom. Greta and I had been a bit concerned about getting home in time, since we had a late afternoon appointment in downtown Boston. I was concerned about the storm which was originally forecast to arrive in late afternoon yesterday. Everything worked out fine and we got home in ample time to eat dinner and then initiate the Zoom meeting.
Last night, the passage we discussed included Mark 9:1. Our practice is to read the passage we will be discussing in both the NRSV and The Message. It can initiate some interesting discussions to contrast the two.
We spent a good deal of our time last night discussing the Kingdom of God. We did find that our ideas of that Kingdom were similar. Passages like "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself" were mentioned as describing the Kingdom of God. The line from the Lord’s Prayer was discussed, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
As is probably usually the case, the issue of timing arose, the age-old bane of every parent on every trip, “Are we there yet?” Over the centuries, there have been numerous opinions about the answer to that timing question. There have been amillennialists, millennialists, premillennialists, postmillennialists and probably every variation of each imaginable.
Last night I shared my own understanding of the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. I believe the emergence of the Kingdom of God began with the Incarnation. Whether the onset was with Mark’s “1:3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'" or with the birth narratives in Matthew or Luke, I believe Jesus’ entering into Creation began the arrival of the Kingdom of God. I believe we are in the midst of the realization of God’s Kingdom on earth. Are we there yet? Look around you!
Last night I did share some of what I call “Kingdom moments.” During the pandemic we saw the emergence of numerous groups fighting food and housing insecurity. Our own congregation, as part of its mission efforts, houses a community food pantry. From a small beginning long before the pandemic until today it has served the area and grown to serving hundreds each week. All with donations of money, food and volunteered time and effort. Neighbor loving neighbor as much (or more) than self. That is an outbreak of God’s kingdom on earth.
Look all around. Find your own examples of Kingdom moments. They are there for the finding.
Stay safe, participate in hastening God’s Kingdom, trust God,
Pastor Ray