Loving God, you make us citizens of your kingdom and members of your family through your Son, Jesus Christ.  Empower us by your Holy Spirit, that others might see your love in us, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    If somebody were to ask you to please explain to them what the kingdom of God is all about, would you be able to do it?...  If you answered “no”, you are probably not alone.  After all, even Jesus had many things to say about the kingdom of God, but never really gives a nice, concise definition.  Instead, he talks about the good news of the kingdom (Lk. 4:43) and tells a lot of parables, saying, “the kingdom of God is like this...”  And so, given what we know about the kingdom of God, do we really know what we are asking when we pray, “your kingdom come”?

    My suspicion is that many people immediately think about God’s future kingdom - the heavenly kingdom in which all things will be made right.  However, this is only part of the picture.  In the gospels, there are a number of places where we hear Jesus say, “the kingdom of God is at hand,” or “the kingdom of God has come near” (e.g. Mk. 1:15).  There is also that very interesting passage in the gospel of Luke where we hear that “the kingdom of God is among you” or “the kingdom of God is within you” (Lk. 17:21).  We get the sense that the kingdom of God was inaugurated by Jesus, continues on this earth, and will be seen in all its fullness in eternity.  It is both already and not yet.

    Of course, we probably could be quite quick to point out that when we look around us at what is happening in our world, it doesn’t really look as though God is in charge.  However, many of Jesus’ parables of the kingdom talk about things that are quite small and often hidden.  In fact, there are several parables that all compare the kingdom of God to growing seeds.  The mustard seed is specifically mentioned as one of the smallest of all seeds.  However, it grows into a plant that is many times the size of the seed and gives shelter to the birds of the air (Lk. 13:18-19).  In another case, Jesus talks about somebody scattering seed on the ground who doesn’t even know how it grows.  The earth produces of itself, and then it’s time for the harvest (Mk. 4:26-29).

    In other parables, the kingdom of God is like yeast that makes the whole batch of dough rise (Lk. 13:20-21), or like treasure that is hidden in a field (Mt. 13:44).  And so, there are all of these references to small things and hidden things that nevertheless can do great things and bring tremendous growth.

    At the same time, Jesus also tells parables that suggest that even though the kingdom of God is present, it won’t always look like it.  In one of the parables that also involves sowing seeds, there are weeds that appear that are said to have been sown by an enemy.  However, both the wheat and the weeds are left to grow together until the harvest (Mt. 13:24-30).  In another parable, the kingdom of God is compared to a net that is thrown into the sea and catches both good and bad fish.  They are not separated until the end of the age (Mt. 13:47-50).  And finally, there is the parable of the wedding banquet, where both good and bad are brought in after the original guests refuse to come (Mt. 22:1-10).  And so, as long as we are here on this earth, the kingdom of God will not always be obvious to us.  However, this is not to say that God is not at work.

    Last Sunday, we were reflecting on “Father, hallowed be your name,” and concluded that what we actually are asking is that the Holy Spirit would be at work in and among us, because that is how God is honoured and God’s name is kept holy.  This week, as we think about “your kingdom come” we could come to the same conclusion.

    Some of you might remember Luther’s Small Catechism and his explanation of the Lord’s Prayer.  When he writes about “your kingdom come,” he says this: “In fact, God’s kingdom comes on its own without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come to us.”  And then he writes about how this happens.  God gives us the Holy Spirit, “so that through the Holy Spirit’s grace we believe God’s holy word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity.”  In other words, God’s kingdom actually comes in and among us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

    So when we pray, “Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as in heaven,” we are not asking God to solve everything on this earth without our participation.  Instead, we are asking God to empower us as agents and representatives of the kingdom of God.  When we live in such a way that we share God’s love with others, and serve those who are in need, while we take our direction from God, others are able to experience the kingdom of God through us.  God’s kingdom comes in and through people just like you and me, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

    I asked you earlier if you would be able to explain the kingdom of God to somebody.  Truthfully, there are a lot of things that Jesus teaches about the kingdom that we haven’t even touched on today – things like how hard it is to enter, and how it belongs to little children, and how generous and forgiving God is.  However, there are ways to describe it that might help clarify our thinking.

    Stated most simply, the kingdom of God is all about living in God’s way.  And so, we are under God as ruler and sovereign, living in love for God and for one another.  We do this because of Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, who brings us into community with one another and makes us brothers and sisters in the family of God.  And so, today we pray, “Your kingdom come... on earth as in heaven.”  Amen.

Pentecost 14 (NL summer)                        Luke 11:2-4
August 21, 2016
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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