The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith
The Ways of the Kingdom
What is it about bein=
g a
Christian that is different? We go about our daily lives in much the same w=
ay
as those who do not believe in God. We go to school; we go to work; we spend
time with family; we talk about the news of the day; we deal with problems =
and
challenges; we take joy in life and all that life offers us. If you have gr=
own
up with faith as a norm, life with God has been something that you have alw=
ays
known and so it has always influenced the way you view the world. If you did
not grow up with faith or even like me with no information about Jesus or G=
od,
coming to believe changes everything.
For me it was like li=
ving in
a world of black and white and then having everything change to color ̵=
1;
everything is the same yet totally different. If you have always watched TV in co=
lor,
you might not even know what black and white was like – and I suppose=
to
today, we might compare the difference between a dial-up internet connection
and high speed broadband.
When you have had a h=
igh
speed connection, you want all your friends to have it too, knowing what a
difference it makes. Knowing God, living the life of faith even during times
when you are not sure, gives us a high speed connection to the spiritual li=
fe
– to a life that has an intentional spiritual focus. This comparison =
can
go only so far, however, because not everyone has a computer or lives in a
location that has access to a high-speed connection, and even for those who
live in an area where it is available, not everyone can afford it. No matter
who you are, what your history has been, or where you are now, we all have
access to God – direct high-speed access.
Those who first told =
the
stories about Jesus and wrote down what would be called the New Testament,
wanted everyone to have access to God in the way that had changed their liv=
es
forever. Through their experience of the holy known through Jesus, they cam=
e to
understand something about what we call the Kingdom of God. They saw Jesus healing and helping;=
they
saw him welcoming and forgiving; they saw him feeding all who had a need be=
it
physical or spiritual. The Kingdom of God is like a seed, small, hard to se=
e,
hard to hold on to, but that mustard seed becomes a greatest of all shrubs.=
The begins of the Chr=
istian
faith did not look like much – a crucified leader and a sacred band of
followers, who had no power over the political and religious structures of
their day. But like a seed that becomes a plant, from that inauspicious beg=
inning
comes the Kingdom of God. This is the kingdom that we see in part now, but =
will
know in its completion in God’s time. For all who seek God, for all w=
ho
desire God and love God, God reigns in our hearts now, transforming our liv=
es.
It is an on-going transformation, we grow in our knowledge of God through a=
ll
the experiences we have in our life time. Our perspective about the Kingdom
grows.
What are the ways of =
God? What
are the ways of the Kingdom? What does our faith teach us about living the
Kingdom life now even as we live our faith in a time and place that is not =
yet
fully transformed. We pray fo=
r that
transformation just about every time we gather in Christian community:
“thy kingdom come” we pray.
We pray for it, and w=
e work
for it through all that we do in our families in our communities, by sharing
love and hope and confidence in the future.
It can be hard to und=
erstand
the kingdom when we are satisfied with life and have all that we need, when=
we
are comforted by our personal possessions and abilities. The parables of the
Kingdom are about hope—the hope of the first ones who followed Jesus =
as
Lord and Savior, and the hope of those who do so now. How do we connect with the hope of =
God?
When the world was to=
o busy
and too loud to hear God’s voice clearly, and the church was becoming=
too
connected with governments, men and women of the 4thcentury deci=
ded
they needed t o go live in the desert for a time or the rest of their lives=
so
that they could focus on God. Times of retreat give us a chance to consider=
the
seeds of the kingdom that have been planted in our lives and how God is at =
work
in our lives. The smallest seed becomes the greatest of all shrubs.
How does our kingdom
perspective differ from the perspective that our culture often gives us? Th=
is
past Monday I attended the awards ceremony at Millbrook High school to pres=
ent
our leadership award to Amber Hummer for her service as an acolyte
throughout High School. I was
delighted to be there, and I do not begrudge those few seniors, now graduat=
es,
who received what seemed like every award, but I wonder. I wonder about tho=
se
who did not get an award and the sort of message a ceremony like that gives=
to
people. Because the fact is that every person who was there has great poten=
tial
– potential that cannot always be measured or predicted and may be ju=
st
starting to sprout at the end of high school. The seeds of the kingdom are =
in
everyone.
Be it the life of one=
who
like the 4th century mothers and fathers goes away from the world
for the rest of their lives, or one who makes a short retreat the purpose is
the same – to know ourselves better, to know God better and then act =
on
that knowledge. Our time in church each week, though relatively short, is
retreat-like. Our church experience is intended to widen our sense of what =
is
holy in the world. Worship is intended to be an experience of expansive
transformation, not one that narrows our focus. We don’t come here to
escape the world, but to be better able to live in the world strengthened by
God’s vision and by our knowledge of God’s kingdom.
When I think of the k=
ingdom
of God, I think of the saints of God. Did you know that we observe
Saints’ Days in the Episcopal Church? In your prayer book, you can fi=
nd a
calendar of the Saints, the days on which we celebrate the life of people w=
ho communicate
to us something of God’s Kingdom here on earth. These were people who
based their lives on the coming of the Kingdom –they sought justice, =
they
shared the faith they knew, they had great hope for future even when their
immediate circumstances were difficult .
You and I are saints =
of God. Sometimes
people don’t think that they can be a saint. There was a famous excha=
nge
between Thomas Merton and a friend at a time with Merton was deciding if and
how to devote his life to God. Merton
didn’t think that he could become a saint, and his friend said that he
could become one simply by wanting to be one. It is through God’s grace tha=
t we
become saints who live with the kingdom in mind and communicate that knowle=
dge
to others by the way we live – in word and deeds. How can we open ourse=
lves to
that grace in whatever way God is choosing to communicate with us? Times of
prayer on a retreat or in a moment of retreat in the middle of our busy days
open us to hear God. What is =
the
word of grace that God wants you to have so that you are more alive than you
have ever been? There are so many was to connect with God – faith is =
more
about our experiences of God than our ideas about God. One of the reasons people find the
Episcopal Church to be the place for them is that we have rituals which spe=
ak
to our hearts – as much as we value our minds—this is a church =
that
encourages questions and intellectual discussion of faith – yet we ge=
t so
much from our spiritual practices that goes beyond understanding. You might try praying=
with
the Bible as a way to listen for God’s message for you. You are so important =
to God. No
one else can relate to God the way you can. Lectio
Divina, Holy Reading, is one way to listen. Rather than trying to analy=
ze a
passage of the Bible, we approach it with openness to it as the living word=
for
us. You can take today’s gospel and read it slowly, noticing which wo=
rd
or words get your attention. =
Who is
God calling you to be for the Kingdom? We are all of us becoming who we are
until the day we die. What are the seeds God has planted in you? Consider h=
ow
God nurtures those seeds by giving them water and light. Who is God calling you to be as a s=
aint
of the Kingdom? Everyone is called; everyone is chosen; everyone is chosen =
for
the life of faith and hope. Amen.
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