A ‘Kingdom’ for all
Howard Grace gives his thoughts on a challenge
The introduction to God, words and us says: ‘We have often wondered whether there is anything Quakers today can say as one.’ Is there a universal vision that we can all buy into?
What resonates with me most about Jesus is the inclusiveness of his passion to foster ‘The Kingdom of God’ on earth. Parables such as ‘The Good Samaritan’ and ‘The Prodigal Son’ have a universal message, and all our motives become focused by stories such as ‘The Woman Caught in Adultery’, where the accusers receive a healthy challenge as well as the accused. Also, passages such as ‘The Sermon on The Mount’ have inspired non-Christians like Mohandas Gandhi, whose nonviolent mission has made a wide impact on society, not just in India. Sadly, however, because of various doctrinal beliefs that some insisted were fundamental to being a follower of Jesus, Mohandas Gandhi rejected the overall Christian package that was presented to him.
As I understand it, Jesus inspired his disciples to look beyond the rigid, conventional religious attitudes of his day and see the way we treat one another as more important than the way we adhere to a set of rules. I suspect that, in our present times, he would equally have taken issue with those who put the adherence to doctrine, and certain beliefs about his nature, to be what makes one his follower.
I was inspired by a recent article by Trevor Dorey in the Friends Quarterly. The thrust of it can be gleaned from the title, ‘A Journey from Believing to Beloving’. Indeed, for ordinary people like me, I sense that Jesus’ imperative is more of a heart thing than a head thing. So, how should we apply ‘The Kingdom’ challenge in the present day world? From my understanding, Jesus’ vision of ‘The Kingdom of God’ was primarily about a change of heart and adopting a way of life. I was recently part of a group of Christians who, one by one, shared their experiences of encounters with people of other religions, including Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims.
We were struck, not by the details of the religions, but by the commonality of people in ‘search mode’ to answer the big questions – questions that are mostly beyond the capacity of our human brains. Deeper down, the commonality was ‘the search’, not so much any conclusions reached.
Is what is needed, then, to open our hearts to ‘the other’, to understand and accept that their narrative comes from a different (not necessarily ‘wrong’) perspective, and move forward together? Surely, our search should be for a story that all can buy into. Muslims will still want to be Muslims, atheists will want to be atheists, and so on. A primary hallmark would, by and large, see people keeping to their faith and group identities (albeit with a more inclusive understanding of these), but also buying into an inclusive, overall story.
My friend Letlapa Mphahlele, a former South African liberation army commander during apartheid, is an atheist. He recently wrote a major article in a UK Christian magazine about his spiritual journey, entitled ‘A journey towards freedom’. It finishes: ‘Beyond prejudices we inherited from our forebears, across the fences and walls we erect around ourselves, across doctrines and dogmas we uphold, perhaps it helps to acknowledge that there’s a thread that runs through all the ideologies and all the schools of thought: common humanity. And if we recognise humanity in others, no matter how different from us they look and dress and talk and worship, we’ll be nourishing and watering the roots of our own humanity. Is this a vision that can unite atheists like myself with a variety of religious believers where we come together for a greater “Yes!” – the reality of a shared humanity.’
Can we respond to this challenge, not just with our heads, but primarily with our hearts? This might then lay the visionary foundation for what Quakers today can say as one and, more widely, upon which an inclusive ‘Kingdom’ on earth can be built.
