Moving From Church to Kingdom of God
Sunday's Lenten reflection from The Rev. Dr Michael Battle of CREDO:
"I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."--Matthew 8:11,12
When teaching, Jesus often uses hyperbole. Upon hearing Jesus talk about outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, there is no problem with giving Jesus our attention. We're eager now to know what Jesus means . . . we're eager to know about this place called God's kingdom.
Again, before we define anything, let's use Aristotle's method. The Kingdom may look differently than what you may expect. Aristotle teaches us first to define something by what it is not.
God's reign is not simply a matter of rules and regulations. God's kingdom is not run by human politics consisting of pragmatic rules and regulations. In God's kingdom, God doesn't set up a nation state so that only a segment of the population can enjoy the nurturing bread of political social arrangements. For those against God's kingdom, if God can be made an idol to reinforce
dysfunctional ideologies that legitimize certain actions, so much the better! For example, apartheid in South Africa was a theo-political arrangement for why white people should benefit the most in human societies. Apartheid is a theological term that means "holiness," to be set apart. This, however, is not God's kingdom.
This brings Jesus' hyperbole: "I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be
thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
-Matthew-8: 11,12
Let us pray,
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
"I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer
darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."--Matthew 8:11,12
When teaching, Jesus often uses hyperbole. Upon hearing Jesus talk about outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, there is no problem with giving Jesus our attention. We're eager now to know what Jesus means . . . we're eager to know about this place called God's kingdom.
Again, before we define anything, let's use Aristotle's method. The Kingdom may look differently than what you may expect. Aristotle teaches us first to define something by what it is not.
God's reign is not simply a matter of rules and regulations. God's kingdom is not run by human politics consisting of pragmatic rules and regulations. In God's kingdom, God doesn't set up a nation state so that only a segment of the population can enjoy the nurturing bread of political social arrangements. For those against God's kingdom, if God can be made an idol to reinforce
dysfunctional ideologies that legitimize certain actions, so much the better! For example, apartheid in South Africa was a theo-political arrangement for why white people should benefit the most in human societies. Apartheid is a theological term that means "holiness," to be set apart. This, however, is not God's kingdom.
This brings Jesus' hyperbole: "I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be
thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
-Matthew-8: 11,12
Let us pray,
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
posted by Don+ @ 10:23 PM
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