Some years ago the Left Behind books and
movie series captured the attention and imagination of many people. The whole series was built around the few
verses that we had in our gospel reading, and the parallel ones in Matthew’s
gospel. The problem is that Left Behind,
and everything similar to it, completely ignores the point Jesus is
making. Indeed the image of two people
sleeping and one suddenly disappearing is intriguing. As is the idea of two people milling grain
and one of them disappearing. It is all
so sudden and unexpected. I used to see
bumper stickers that said, “Caution: In
case of Rapture this car will be driverless.”
The point Jesus is really trying to make
comes in the first verse we read, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things
that came be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’
For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Jesus says that in response to questions
the Pharisees had been asking about when the kingdom of God is coming. I imagine Jesus sighing in exasperation
because they just didn’t get it. The
Pharisee sect, and many Jews of the time, expected a great and terrible “Day of
the Lord” when God would suddenly come with a great spectacular show of force
and once and for all overthrow their oppressors; and maybe even be the end of
time.
That same imagination is still a big part
of the faith of many Christians. But, we
can see as Jesus tries to redirect their thinking, it is misguided.
We’re going to focus on what Jesus really
meant in that first verse. While the
rest of the verses are vivid most biblical scholars admit they just can’t fully
decipher what Jesus means. What is clear
is that people shouldn’t be complacent about the things of faith. Do not put things off, because the world is
not a predictable place.
Jesus’ main teaching is abundantly clear
when he says, “The kingdom of God is among you.”
This verse is so central to who we are as
Christians and how we live out our faith that I want to point out a variation
you may find depending on the Bible translation you use. The New Revised Standard Version makes it
pretty clear. “The kingdom of God is among
you.” But some translations leave it
vague, and therefore the potential exists for a major misinterpretation. For example, the New International Version, a
very popular translation of the Bible, says, “The kingdom of heaven is within
you.” There’s nothing technically wrong
with that translation, except that it opens the possibility that the kingdom of
heaven is something that exists in your hearts as an inward personal
power. That idea is not what Jesus
intended, and it is a big mistake!
In the Anchor Bible Commentary Joseph
Fitzmyer points out that while it is technically accurate to translate the
Greek word entos as
“within,” that misses the point. He
says, ‘…elsewhere in Luke’s gospel the kingdom is never presented as an inward
reality or an inner condition of human existence.” (Anchor Bible, Volume 28a, Pg. 1161)
The kingdom of God as Jesus teaches it, is
present among the community of believers who live by faith. It is important to realize that that is how
God’s kingdom works. It is how God gets
things done. If you’re looking for
supernatural signs and powers you’re missing the point!
Perhaps prayer can serve as a good
example. What do you expect to happen
from your prayers? You’ve heard me say
this before. Prayer is not a connection
to a divine vending machine that give out supernatural solutions to earthly
problems. All you have to do is enter
the right code into the machine by saying the right words and it will be done
of you!
Yet all too many people think prayer works
that way. Big mistake. Don’t expect God to solve your problems through
supernatural means just because you pray about it. That’s not how God prefers to work. And God has good reason for it. But let’s return to that in a minute.
What then is the point of prayer? you
ask. If God won’t help then why
bother? If God isn’t strong enough, or
willing enough, to help me through life’s problems then what good is it?
Those are fair questions. And I don’t want to minimize the fear,
confusion, and pain that exists in many people’s lives. I don’t want to minimize the feeling of powerlessness
in the face of problems that many people face.
Indeed, and certainly, do raise all those things to God in prayer. God can do anything. God can do miracles. But don’t count on it, or expect it because
you offer the right words in the right frame of mind.
God wants you to bring your joys and fears,
your triumphs and your failures to Him in prayer. That’s part of being in relationship with
God. But don’t expect your faith to give
you a supernatural escape from the problems of life.
God did not spare Jesus from crucifixion.
Here is how prayer works in a dependable
fashion. It is the community of faith
raising an issue before God and considering it in light of God’s promises and
God’s love. It is contemplating it,
struggling with it, working through it along with God. And then, collectively working to make the answer
into reality.
Does that make sense?
A life of faith is not about divine rescue
or God helping us an individuals get through life. That’s not how God made you. That’s not how God equipped you or blessed
you.
God gave us real strength, real capability,
real power. God then invites us to use
all of those things in the world collectively and in light of God’s purposes.
I know it seems like it would be nicer if
the kingdom of God on earth was about God solving problems for us so we could
have an easier life. It seems
tempting. But ultimately it is not good.
At the risk of diving into politics that’ll
get me into trouble, I get frustrated when I hear politicians make proposals
that subsidize people’s incomes or housing.
Oh, it may win them votes, but does the recipient of a subsidy really
feel good about themselves. While aid in
a crisis is certainly needed, an ongoing subsidy makes a person feel less than
capable. If you want to help a person
feel worthwhile – feel like they’re truly meaningful and a person of dignity –
you don’t subsidize their lives. You
equip them to provide for themselves.
That is how God works. That is how God give us dignity and
self-worth. It is by making us capable
and then inviting us to use those capabilities along with God and each other
that God gets things done. That is how
the kingdom of God comes.
Again at the risk of diving into politics
that’ll get me into trouble. There’s the
other end of the spectrum – those who gain tremendously by not really doing
work. They’ve figured out how to exploit
systems and other people for their own gain.
The confirmation class recently studied the commandment, “Thou shall not
steal.” We learned that gaining things
through exploitation is also stealing, even if it is legal.
I admit I’m guilty of this. Part of the remuneration I receive from St.
John’s is having money invested in a mutual fund for my retirement. I put money into it too. It is certainly nice to check its value from
time to time and see significant growth.
The national church has investment options that take the church’s morals
into account. So, for example, while
some things like pornography might be highly profitable businesses, they aren’t
going to invest in them. I’m glad to
know my money grows in basically ethical ways.
And yet, it’s still not something I’ve exactly earned.
I had a friend in college whose father had
what I thought was an excellent investment strategy. He looked specifically at the appliances in
his home. If he liked what he saw – the
design and the engineering – he would look into the company further. And if he liked their business model he would
buy their stock. In other words, he was
consciously investing his money in companies he had investigated and believed
in. Perhaps he wasn’t “earning” the
returns on his investment, but he had a conscious hand in how his money was
being used. I admit to being too lazy to
do that. But I hope you get the point.
The kingdom of God is among you. It is how God gets things done. It is how God affirms our worth and our
dignity. It is how we live.
Do not look for signs of the end of the
world. Do not expect divine intervention
in your life because you think you’re a good person. Instead, realize that you and your brothers
and sisters in Christ, working together, make God’s kingdom real. It is real and blessing for us, and real and
a blessing for others.
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