Kingdom come

Bedtime Theology with the 11 and 8 yos...   

(Randomly, before dinner)

11 yo: What does “kingdom come” mean?

Me: Oooooh! I’ve been waiting my whole life for my kids to ask me this! Yay!

8 yo (To his brother) Oh geesh, why’d you have to ask?

This question wasn't really out of the blue -- the kids have a new (old?) favorite song from the band Imagine Dragons that features the lyric, "This is my kingdom come," and we'd been listening to it after school. But it's also similar to a part of the Lord's Prayer (your kingdom come), which I am always eager to discuss with my kids. 

In Martin Luther's Small Catechism explanation of this petition of the Lord's Prayer (hang on, I promise this post will get more interesting), the 16-century German reformer says that God's kingdom comes on its own with or without us. Luther says the kingdom comes about when the Holy Spirit gives us grace to believe God's word and live godly lives here and in eternity. This is when a lot of the middle school kids in Confirmation classes zone out. 

Part of the problem is the word "kingdom." We're not in medieval Europe or the ancient Near East; most modern-day monarchs are ceremonial. We don't have much reference for what a kingdom is or why we would ask God to hasten one here. 

Jesus teaches his disciples the prayer we call the Lord's Prayer in Matthew's gospel. The Greek word for "kingdom" here is "basileia," a feminine (!) noun, and it means something like a spiritual realm here on earth and a future not-of-this-world manifestation of God's power. Jesus will not use the Roman government to make a kingdom that's cozy for his followers, because the kingdom of God can't be created or contained by earthly powers. God's kingdom is distinct, characterized by righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). You're probably not going to find too many politicians running on this platform. 

The kingdom of God in Scripture is often said to rule in the hearts of believers. It's an inside job. You participate in the kingdom of God to the extent that you allow the Holy Spirit to align your heart, mind and actions with the things that matter to God, as noted by the witness of Jesus. Read the first four books of the New Testament to review Jesus' priorities, ICYMI.

I did not get into all of the above with my kids. I simply told them that God's kingdom is not of this world and it's not the government's job to bring it. It's our call as followers of Jesus to look for the little signs of God's kingdom on earth and to participate in them as best we can. I see God's kingdom in glimpses when I witness compassion for the poor, welcome to outsiders, justice for the oppressed and care for those who are marginalized. I see signs of God's kingdom in our family and the community when we share, listen, refrain from judgement, help someone or donate money to a cause cares for those in need.

I recently picked up a copy of Luther's Small Catechism with African Descent Reflections. This is cool because I read Luther from my own limited perspective and I can learn something from someone else's. When speaking about "your kingdom come," this resource says: "when others claim to be rulers of their self-proclaimed empires, trying control in ways that are not godly, we need God to come and reign in power and might...we are asking God to come and rule among us (emphasis mine) through faith, love and justice."

Seen anything lately that feels like ungodly rule? Worried that the powers of this world are not ruling with justice and love? I'm more than a little concerned. But it's not the work of the government or any earthly ruler to be the broker or delivery person for God's love (it has sometimes happened but it's not their job). The kingdom comes each day through little acts of peace and love and justice; I'm looking extra-hard for them right now and pointing them out to my children. I'm focusing my energy these days on those signs of God's kingdom all around us. 

I took my 3-year-old to Costco this week and we stopped for a hot dog (him) and pizza slice (me) when we were done shopping. The tables were all full but an older woman who was (I'm guessing) of Alaska Native or American Indian descent kindly spoke up and offered to share her table. I watched as her teenage companion (possibly a granddaughter) served her elder before herself. We all made small talk - the older woman asked my son his age, we talked about the good deal that is the Costco hot dog meal. When she and her teenage companion left, she looked my son right in the eye and said, "It was sure nice visiting with you, young man." It was the smallest, most insignificant of pleasant exchanges with a stranger - or was it? Life is made up of little moments of hospitality, sharing and kindness, otherwise known as the kingdom of God.