Thought for the week: ‘A kingdom that is a present reality, not a future possibility.’
Chris Lawson has a key to the kingdom
The setting was an ecumenical discussion group. The topic was the kingdom of God. The question was ‘Where can we see signs of the kingdom today despite the horrors of wars and the ideologies of hate?’
The answer was in a counter-culture of actions that are also often evident – signs of care, love, barrier-crossing, and forgiveness. These can come from many people, some in our churches, some outside any church, some professing another religious faith. Jesus was a disappointment to some because he did not lead a movement to oust the Romans from Palestine. He worked at a different level. For a kingdom that surfaces in many ways, not compelling outwardly but being compelling inwardly. A kingdom that is a present reality, not a future possibility.
In the group we looked at chapter ten of Mark’s gospel. In it, Jesus tells us that we need: to learn from children; to be willing to ‘sell all you have’ if wealth has become our priority; and to be servants of one another, not to want to be in high positions. Through a story of a blind man regaining his sight, he tells us that he, Jesus, offers a different way of seeing things if we look for it.
I see Friends as having earthed Jesus’ basic approaches in our testimonies. For me, these show the ways in which the kingdom of God is shown in actions small and large. When we treat others with equality, seek peaceable responses to conflict situations, enjoy simplicity, and practice honesty in whatever we are doing, we are part of a counter-culture that Jesus challenged us to live out, just as he did. I see it going on in so many ways, and this weekly publication tells me of many others. Each of us can find what we can do in our situation. Everyone can be part of living out the kingdom.
Francis Howgill, looking back on the experience that had transformed him and others in the first period of the Quaker movement, commented: ‘We often said unto one another with great joy of heart “What, is the Kingdom of God come to be with men? And will he take up his tabernacle among the sons of men, as he did of old? Shall we, that were reckoned as the outcasts of Israel, have this honour of glory communicated amongst us, which were but men of small parts and of little abilities, in respect of many others, as amongst men?”’ (Quaker faith & practice, 19.08).
It was knowing themselves as ordinary people, yet able to participate in that kingdom, that gave them strength. We look back and see how well they did it. We live with the ongoing challenge of how well we do it.
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