9.21.08 "Living in the Kingdom of God"
WESTMINSTER PULPIT
The Rev. Dr. Garry Cox
September 21, 2008 “Living in the Kingdom of God”
We live in two places at once. The world which battles to see who is the most powerful, the richest, has the most toys, and we live in the Kingdom of God where we seek the best for one another and where love is the rule of life together. Today I would like to talk with you about these worlds and how we can most effectively live in both.
The Kingdom of God is defined as the conditions under which the will of God is done on earth as it is in Heaven. Jesus spent most of his ministry with us describing the Kingdom and helping us realize that we could be participants in the Kingdom while we are alive and not just after we passed on into glory. When he proclaimed the nearness of God he was letting us know that God was creating a new and wonderful era in the life of human beings by being more intimately present to us than what had seemed to be the case before Christ arrived. It’s not that the Kingdom of God was appearing in the world for the first time but that with God’s saving power in Christ there was a new and powerful way to access the presence and power of God that had been present in the creation from the beginning of time
The Garden of Eden had all of the attributes of the Kingdom because as we read in Genesis God walked among the people in the Garden. Everything was moving according to God’s will and it was paradise. The change occurred when the human being decided to go against the will of God and to believe that they could create their own lives just like they were God. From that moment on the world of human relationships began to dim and the clarity and beauty of the Kingdom could not be seen or lived out by the human community. With the coming of greed, pride, fear and animosity the human community disrupted the created balance and beauty of God’s world.
God sought to restore God’s order and will in the human community as God liberated a captive people from slavery and brought them into the Promised Land, but there was the continuation of pride, greed and violence in the community. Then came the Messiah, God with them, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He brought with him news of God’s favor and generous love for all humanity. God felt that if humanity could learn to love one another, God and self, then the kingdom would return to the planet and all would be well. The hope is still alive in the hearts of Christians around the world and for the past 2,000 years we have been trying to bring back to light and awareness the Kingdom of God to a grieving and fear filled world.
It seems as though the world of humans without God is currently the dominant pattern of life. People living with fear of others, greedy about what they need to be happy, pride and arrogance that makes them feel that they are superior to others. These beliefs and a host of other neurosis and non-loving behaviors disrupt the Kingdom that God intends to be present on the planet. But all is not lost. In the midst of this destructive reality of human behavior is the God of love who continues to work for a renewal of God’s original blessed creation. God has not lost sight of the original vision and is working through the human community to restore the creation. It is this intention and power of God that work with of people of faith, so that the Kingdom may again be fully present. That harmony, abundance, shalom, sustainability and wonder can be the ongoing reality for the human race and for the natural planet on which they live.
Both the old and New Testaments witness to this ongoing work and intention of God. In the OT lesson this morning we hear that God was able to provide for the hungry people of God as they escaped oppression in Egypt. God provided bread and meat for the people in their travels so they could bond with God and reach the land that God promised would be theirs. In the NT we hear Jesus describe the reign of God as the place where people would be treated generously and be invited to be first in the Kingdom of God while the first waited till the poor entered in. Justice, mercy and generosity are the hallmarks of the Kingdom where everyone will have their needs met.
The scriptures describe a time when both God and Jesus were present to humanity and gave the promise of God with us in the Holy Spirit after the New Testament period. What does that relationship look like and how do we deepen our relationship with God in order to fulfill the intention and will of God for the Kingdom?
I believe that we begin by recognizing that God is still in the world and intentionally comes to us to deepen the relationship we have with God. God came to us in human form so that we could have an awareness of God with us and a guiding sense of what it would be like to have Gods Spirit within us. Christ healed and empowered people to recognize the Kingdom and to be able to participate in the Kingdom whenever they acted in loving ways toward others. His great commandment to us embodied the three fold way of love; for God; for others and for self. He believed that living a love filled life would bring us as close to the Kingdom as anyone could. So the first movement of God toward a reconciled humanity was to move into our hearts, when we were willing, and begin to work through us to rebuild the Kingdom. This power of God represents the very nature of God and for those who are open to God the life giving Spirit of God gives new life and empowers us to seek God’s reign in all of life. God becomes so integrated into our lives that we become truly our best selves.
This is a process that takes us from our self centered, anxious, greedy selves to humble, generous, self giving selves and is how God works the miracle of the Kingdom into the world. There is always a give and take in this process where at times we will be as full of God’s grace as we can be and at other times we become proud and arrogant like our worst enemy. But God is patient and kind, God rejoices in the good and celebrates the actions of love that we live.
In the thought for the week printed on the back of your bulletin today Dr. C. S. Song describes the presence of the Kingdom of God appearing in the midst of the struggle of the poor and the oppressed. I had an opportunity to witness this vision of the Kingdom the other day when I attended the graduation of the 32nd Women’s Empowerment class. There were 27 women in this class and from the moment I sat down in the room until I left an hour and a half later I had tears of joy in my eyes for the things I saw and heard. It was the most inspiring witness of God’s love, grace and empowerment I have seen in quite awhile. Women who had been homeless were giving thanks to the group of women who had bonded over the past 8 weeks and had shared the glimmers of hope and affirmation that they saw in one another and in what they received from others. They learned skills for job interviews, basic computer skills and so on but most importantly they regained a sense of their own self respect and esteem. They gained enough to feel empowered to take back their lives. They were getting their children back, they were able to say goodbye to abusive relationships, they began to look at themselves and learn bout self destructive behavior and thought patterns that were causing them trouble. All in all it was the most amazing outpouring out of God’s empowering love and strength I have ever seen. I realized too that these women were not competing for a limited amount of personal strength or empowerment that was divvied up between the needy women but an abundance of self respect, mutual self regard, affirmations of support, a generous outpouring of care and concern from all of the women in the class back and forth between them along with support and encouragement by an amazing staff there. There was enough love and personal power for all. I will talk more about the source of that power in the community next week but this example of God entering into a person’s heart and mind with affirmation was amazing.
This is exactly the strength that God offers to all people. We are offered all of the love and confidence we need in order to participate in God’s redeeming work in the world. This congregation can become one of the most loving and justice seeking groups of people in this community and bear witness to the love of God in the world every day of our lives together. God provides not only our daily bread but enough strength and commitment to be a loving force in the world. Westminster has been a strength in the past and will continue to grow in the future as we individually open ourselves to God’s amazing love.
I would also like to offer a comparison to the kingdom of this world of which we are apart and the kingdom of God which is moving back into the world. We have seen the financial security of our nation and world receive some very unsettling news lately in Wall Street. Retirement savings are eroding; large banks are collapsing and the stock market, whose assets undergird the health of our economy, are declining. We are facing some uncertain economic times. God’s economy will never fail.. Every time people act with love toward one another the result will be positive. Every time we support and encourage one another God’s kingdom will be strengthened. Each time we reach out to another in love and support God will strengthen the human community. God’s faithfulness to us will never fail. The seas will rise; the mountains may crumble but God’s love endures forever. We will be called on to be generous with one another, to make personal sacrifices for one another but God will strengthen us to be faithful witnesses and servants of the most high.
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