Jesus preached his sermon on the mount in about 28 C.E. on a hillside in Galilee. What was going on in Palestine then was not so very different from what is going on in southeast Florida 1986 years latter. Jesus spoke to his disciples, his chosen followers, at a time when his home country was occupied by a foreign power, Rome. His people, the Jews, were eager to return to autonomy and peace.
Jesus called for the Kingdom of God (or as the gospeller Matthew calls it the Kingdom of Heaven) to be established on earth. What did Jesus mean by that phrase, the kingdom of heaven? What exactly was Jesus hoping for? What are we hoping for when every Sunday we pray, “thy kingdom come?”
The irruption of God in history requires a profound change. It would have then; it does now. Jesus was proclaiming God’s reign in order to awaken hope and call his people to change their way of thinking and acting. The people must enter the reign of God, let themselves be changed, and begin to build their lives according to God’ will. For Jesus, a Jew, God’s kingdom/heaven’s kingdom would mean belonging to God alone, everyone – not just an elite class – everyone would be living in justice and peace. The kingdom of heaven to Jesus was the prophet’s dream of a people of God where children would not die of hunger, old people would live a full life, and peasants would not suffer exploitation. In Jesus’ time this vision was a political as well as a religious vision for it meant throwing off the yoke of Roman oppression. In our time the occupying foreigner is not an enemy nation but an outdated way of being Christian community.
The mainline Christian Church today finds itself shrinking, struggling to make do with limited resources, and battling for time from over-worked members pulled in way-too-many directions and fragmented by a myriad of opportunities and options. Everyone knows church as it used to be is over and we worry and wonder about survival.
I think we actually have a more hopeful future than some predict. Pastor Willie has challenged St. Stephen’s this year to envision a changed church, to take a fresh look at our shared ministries and to breathe revitalized life into our parish. Or, as Jesus put it, to be salt and light in our community. Matthew’s words from scripture apply just as much to us now as they did to those who heard Jesus’ words so long ago on a hillside in Galilee.
There is no doubt, scholars all agree, that the central theme of the three-year public ministry of Jesus was the promise of the kingdom of heaven. When Jesus said, “the Kingdom of God has drawn near” (Mark 1:15) or “the Kingdom of God I in your midst”(Luke 17:21), he was pointing to God’s saving action in his present age, at his present time. Jesus says our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees if we want that kingdom to be a reality. In Jesus’ day the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees is concerned with observance of tradition, public displays of piety, and adherence to the letter of the law. By contrast, the righteousness of Jesus flows from relationship with God and, in turn, is the ground of Jesus’ relationship with his followers. Jesus encouraged his disciples to be vibrant and lively, and to bring light to a darkened and broken world.
The promise of the kingdom of heaven is still available for St. Stephen’s to claim and all we need to do is to listen again to the gospel call to righteousness. We can start by hearing the voices calling the church to change. Over and over again we are told that young adults in their 20’s and 30’s are searching for places to serve. How could St. Stephen’s offer these opportunities? Time and time again we hear that young adults want to feel their participation has made a difference in someone’s life. I think that’s a challenge St. Stephen’s can accept. We are an authentic Christ-centered fellowship, welcoming to all. But, how do we proclaim that to those who are searching and invite them to join us?
Pastor Willie has started this “St. Stephen’s goes to the Movies” thing. On Friday night we went to see “Dallas Buyers Club.” Just in case you don’t know what this movie is about, let me tell you that “Dallas Buyers Club” is based on the true story of Texas electrician and rodeo bull rider Ron Woodroof who discovers he is HIV positive. The year is 1985 and although Woodroof claims he is straight, his heavy smoking, drug and alcohol use, and casual sexual activities certainly do not bespeak a healthy life style. And, predictably, Ron is homophobic to boot. After initially refusing to believe the diagnosis, Ron goes on a research hunt and learns that the disease is most effectively treated by AZT which is only being administered in the US in clinical trials for which he fails to qualify. Ron’s search for the drug leads him to Mexico and an unlicensed doctor who prescribes a cocktail of vitamins and other drugs which prove effective and help Ron battle the full-blown AIDS he has by this time. Somewhat of an entrepreneur, he begins to illegally smuggle the drugs into the US and make them available to members of his buyers club. For not the loftiest of motives Ron winds up helping the very community he supposedly abhors as he battles the FDA and local law enforcement authorities. There’s a wee bit of a Robin Hood flavor to the film but what struck me most vividly was Ron’s dedication and tireless obsession with getting the helpful drugs to a community in need. Of course, it’s way more complicated than a brief synopsis makes it seem, but viewers do get to watch an imperfect hero fighting for those who have no other champion. I can’t help thinking that Jesus would have been rooting for Ron, too, and would have called him salty and admired him for not hiding his light under a bushel.
Now we are called to enter the realm of God, to let ourselves be changed, and to begin to build our lives according to God’s will. It’s going to be a whole new world. Will we accept the challenge? I hope so. I kind of like the idea. We know we can’t put new wine in old wineskins or old ideas of what church should be. Nor can new cloth be sown onto the old garment with any success. “Dallas Buyer Club” helped me remember that it is possible in the midst of the limits and the transitoriness of human existence to take steps toward remaking the Church into the kingdom of heaven. Janet Morely writes”
The kingdom of God
isn’t announced with handshakes
(however momentous),
political flourishes,
or speeches that move the heart.
As in this place,
it will be known
in thorough healing work:
painstaking attention to particular bodies,
committed lives, strategic action;
the binding and silencing of demons
of hatred and injustice
that will not want to leave
or lose their grip –
the mighty works, in daily life,
of flourishing community.