THY KINGDOM COME…

Psalm 116: Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:8

Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender

What kingdom do you live in? Are you at peace? Do you recognize the Presence of the Trinity in your daily life, Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Do you love the Lord? Do you offer up a cup of salvation in thanksgiving? Do you go about proclaiming ‘the kingdom of heaven has drawn near?’ Do you offer cure, touch, cleansing to the lost?

These unsettling questions come straight out of Scripture, their purpose to make us uncomfortable; for how else will we ever change our ways of thinking and our ways of acting? Right?

They make it possible for us to listen more carefully to the theological argument Paul designs in Romans 5. Take note: Paul writes to us from the inside of his experience with the Lord, AND includes us in his use of the pronoun ‘we’. He is not lecturing from on high, rather, he is penning a letter of faith to us and for us, and with us, to help us better understand our relationship with the living Lord. This is why we study Scripture, read the stories about Jesus, try to take in the lessons. These questions also make us hear more clearly Jesus’ voice to get out there and make things happen, for the kingdom of grace has come near. In the final hour, we will enter the kingdom of heaven, but for now, we live in the kingdom of grace - still a messy, sin-filled, demonic, chaotic, and lovely space.

You have been justified by faith, given peace and access to the kingdom of grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. Why does this even matter to you? For it is the repair of your relationship with the living and loving God - you are part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. From the very beginning of the covenant with Sarah and Abraham, God has gathered Her people into a royalty, infused with holiness. It has been ‘reckoned to you as righteousness’ is how Paul says it in chapter 4, just like Abraham. Jesus Christ was handed over to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification. By faith, we claim, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Now some of us believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus and long for our own resurrected physical bodies on that final day. Some of us believe in the mystical resurrection of Jesus and look forward to the in-gathering when the mystery is revealed. Some of us just shake our heads.

I declare to you, in the fashion of Paul, All of You now live in peace with God!

Take a deep breath, and another and another, in honor of the Trinity. Your dwelling place, your home. Thy Kingdom Come…

This sacred ground we walk on allows us forgiven sinners to come before the throne of God without shame, guilt, or even embarrassment. We are to stand up straight and walk right in, a humble smile on our faces, the welcome sign flashes bright neon. We even boast, hey, we’re here, saved, pretty cool, don’t you think.

At the same time, we recognize our existence is still in the kingdom of grace, where fallenness rules the day, either our own willful disobedience, or some awful evil power or person who causes unbelievable suffering. Read the newspaper or listen to the news. Its horrible out there at times. This tensive nature of life is where we cry out, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus”. Do something! Its why we pray every Sunday and Wednesday as a community, for God’s deep and beautiful intervention to bring healing and hope and justice! Its why we cry buckets of tears sometimes for our hearts break open for the pain of others.

But note this, it is really critical to understand: This is not the suffering Paul writes about, the kind that comes from the outside in, done TO us, by another. I say this because this particular passage has been used as counsel by pastors to women to stay with their abusers,. I know some. This is not what Paul is writing about. Rather know this:

Christian suffering, at its root, is a display of hatred for all things Christ.

Let me say that again.

We experienced it two years ago when our neighbors got angry with us for having a food pantry outside in the middle of the pandemic. They went so far as to cut the box off of its stand, pretending there had been another incident. Certainly, the food pantry had drawn unsavory characters at times. But mostly it was people in need. I see some of those same people at the food bank today.

This kind of suffering Paul suggests, does certain things. He follows with a list of virtues - endurance and character and hope - a well-known Jewish plan that is necessary in the spiritual formation of Christians. Whenever Christian suffering happens in our lives, when the Christ in us is rejected, the Holy Spirit goes to work to shape and form us to be more deeply rooted in the ground of the Trinity. I can tell you that every single time I walk by the neighbors’ homes who complained, I chuckle to myself: ‘I know what you did. You didn’t fool me.’ And then I pray, Lord in Your mercy, forgive these sinners, like you’ve forgiven me. Thy Kingdom Come…

In a stunning set of just a few sentences, Paul declares the whole shebang! The good news of Jesus Christ: while we were yet sinners, the ungodly, Christ died. God proves Her love for us, PROVES IT! It is nothing we did or we deserve by the way. It is simply God’s amazing grace, that justifies our redemption. It is transcendent in that we had nothing to do with our salvation, God did it all on her own. It comes from the outside in, our simple yes, generated by our recognition of being sinners in need of grace. God acts and we respond: our baptism lays claim to our participation in Jesus’ death and His resurrection. Our sacrament of communion feeds our souls and calls us back in. We are not co-redeemers, standing with Christ; He went to the cross alone. Yet He lives and makes it possible for us to face tomorrow, whatever happens. This kingdom of grace has drawn near to you.

Let me tell you a known secret: God planned for reconciliation with you from the very beginning. She was not about to lose you to the evil in your midst. She’s been gathering folk in for a very long time, some times in ways you recognize, and other times, in ways only She recognizes. Trust me, there will be surprises when the kingdom of heaven is revealed fully. Until that day, you are tasked with proclamation of the kingdom of grace; it’s near, its very near. So go out: cure, raise, cleanse, cast out the demons, in whatever fashion you can imagine. And remember this: Jesus says directly to you: “I am right here, right now. With you always and forever, until the last of your days.”

Thy Kingdom Come…