Cyber Gleanings, August, 2005:

Dear People of St. John’s,

     Have you ever noticed that Jesus the Christ never attempted to give an empirical, scientific description of what the Kingdom of God is like?  I get a little suspicious of contemporary prognosticators who claim not only to know what the Kingdom is like, but also claim to know who will be there and who will not be there.  The only thing about the Kingdom that is a certainty is that it is God’s and God will be there.

     It’s not that Jesus didn’t know or couldn’t describe the Kingdom; after all, that was where he had existed “from before time and forever.”  I suspect the reason for not attempting to say what to Kingdom is like is that those who heard the description, both then and now, would never be able to understand, comprehend, or believe what was said.

     Instead of saying, “this is what the Kingdom of God is like…;” Jesus chose to say, “the Kingdom of heaven is like…”  Then, using everyday kinds of images, Jesus drew pictures in the minds of his hearers.  The Kingdom is like…a grain of mustard seed, leaven hidden in flour, treasure hidden in a field, a pearl of great value, and a net thrown into the sea.  These pictures would have been immediately understood by first-century hearers.

     What about us?  Do these images conjure a picture in our minds?  Do they convey a particular meaning?  Have we gotten so far away from the earth and seeds, from homemade bread, from gem hunting, and from commercial fishing that those images cannot touch our imaginations?  Do we need more contemporary images in order to better see what the Kingdom of heaven is like?

     The Kingdom of heaven is like…an alcoholic or drug addict who is helped to get into treatment and learns to live a sober life, one day at a time, by the grace of God, and who begins to provide for the family and make amends for broken promises and wrong choices.  The Kingdom of heaven is like…seeing the look on the face of a young mother of three, abandoned by the children’s father, who receives help in being able to go to college, get a good job and put food on the table, and set an example for her children and others.  The Kingdom of heaven is like…the moment of reconciliation between a father and son, after a five-year period of hate and resentment, that was made possible when each said to the other the three most magical words in the English language, “I am sorry,” and tears of joy covered the shirt fronts of both.  The Kingdom of heaven is like…surviving a hurricane in which most material possessions are lost and learning that things can be replaced but human beings cannot.  The Kingdom of heaven is like… feeling so unlovely and unlovable and coming to accept the fact that Jesus the Christ took all our unloveliness and unlovability to the hard wood of the cross and, thereby, made us the loveliest of all creatures.

     It has been my God-given privilege to have seen and experienced those things that the Kingdom of heaven might be like.  It is enough to have me on my knees each night in gratitude and awe of such love and power.

     What is the Kingdom like for you?  Where and in what ways has God demonstrated a power beyond human doing or comprehension in your life?  Don’t attempt to explain it.  Don’t cheapen it by saying only those who have had similar experiences will be in the Kingdom.  Just accept it as God’s gift to you.  After all, that’s what the Kingdom of heaven is like.

     Oh, by the way, we get occasional glimpses of what the Kingdom might be like here at St. John’s.  I am profoundly grateful for that.

                                                                      Peace,

                                                                            Tom