The Kingdom Of God

Jesus said to the crowds, "Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one." --Matthew 6:9-13 (Emphasis added)

Thy kingdom come.
What does this mean?
The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.
How is this done?
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity. (Martin Luther's Small Catechism)

I was poking around before my devotion time and found a blog called AlreadyNotYet. What follows is not an endorsement, just a reference to something that made me reconsider my faith and practice. In an entry on June 21st, one of the bloggers talks about a mission conference in South Africa. Here's what he says:

Rev. David Zak Niringiye, Archbishop of the Anglican Church inUganda, has been speaking each morning. Yesterday he suggested that the mission community’s obsession with the “Great Commission” is more a reflection of a Western, imperialist narrative than it is of atrue, theological understanding of mission. “Listen to our language”he said. “Winning souls and conquering people. We somehow think we’rebringing Jesus places. My brothers and sisters. You aren’t bringing Jesus anywhere. He’s already there!”

I think to myself, "Hmmm...gotta ponder that a bit more." and turn to my devotions for today. (BTW, I use a site called Sacred Space. It's been a great launching pad for me, even if it is Catholic. :) ) Their appointed reading for today is the text above. With the idea of imperialist narrative already stewing in my mind, I stumble upon the key phrase in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come." This sends me looking for my Small Catechism, which one can find with the whole Book fo Concord. All to wrestle with Archbishop Niringiye's comments.

I think Archbishop Niringiye is on to something. The Kingdom of God is not an earthly, flesh and bone kingdom. In fact, Dr. Jeff Gibbs puts forward an idea of re-interpreting "kingdom" as more a "king-ing" or "reigning" of Christ, in order to lessen the earthliness of the concept. Likewise, Luther doesn't talk about God's reign on earth but on God's will being affected on earth, namely that the Holy Spirit would have free reign to do what the Holy Spirit does: bring people to faith in Christ.

"My brothers and sisters, we aren't bringing Christ anywhere; he's already there." This is a true statement and makes me really re-think my role as a chaplain. "Bringing Soldiers to God and God to Soldiers" is a common tag-line for the work of the chaplain. How can I bring God somewhere He already is? My job is not to bring God into any situation; it's to help people realize that God's already in their situation and to help them feel his presence. We don't "win souls for Christ;" Christ has already won them through His death and resurrection. We simply tell people what they've been given in Christ.

A New Prayer List

Jesus said to the crowds, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?"--Matt. 5:43-47

"Chaplain pray for us..." is a phrase I hear a lot. Many times it's spoken when someone is worried or messed up or just joking around. You hear it too. The spam e-mails where someone who is severely handicaped or in a bad accident needs your prayers. We have prayer calendars where we remember certain ministries, people, groups, etc. on a certain day, flooding God with petitions on that day. We take all these things and turn them into prayer lists where we flood God with our needs and the needs of our friends and neighbors. We then spend our prayer time remembering those who are "worse off than we are" and count our blessings by remembering those who don't seem to have as many as we do. It's the "Christian" thing to do.

But is it really? My wife and I took a yoga class once a week for a couple of months (yeah, yeah, yeah...make fun of it all you want, but I could touch my toes by the end of it. Some of you probably can't even SEE your toes.) Before one of the classes, there was a horrible accident on a nearby freeway with deaths and many serious injuries. As we gathered for class, hearts were heavy as we talked about the incident. As we began class, the teacher encouraged us to spend a few minutes "sending our positive energy" to the people and families involved. I just assumed a yoga posture and prayed. But how is the action of this yoga class different from the actions of many Christians? "Do not even the Gentiles do the same," Jesus asks.

So, today, I am proposing something new for my prayer life. In the course of my daily prayers and meditations, I am going to pray for my enemies and those who persecute me. There are some people that I have some issues with in my life and I am going to pray specifically for them. I'm going to pray that their lives are blessed beyond measure. I'm going to pray for their relationships. If I'm brave enough, I'm going to find out what their needs are and pray for those as well. And, through this process, I am going to hope that two things happen.

First, I'm going to hope that God answers my prayers and gives them abundance. I'm going to pray that the sun and rain fall on them in right proportions to give them more blessings than they know what to do with in the hopes that they will realize it comes from God.

Second, I'm going to hope that God changes my heart. So many times the people I see as enemies are merely people who have a different point of view. I'm going to hope that, through this prayer, God will give me their point of view so that I might understand why they are the way they are. If I can understand that, I can speak Christ to their situations and maybe change their lives.

I'm going to give this a shot, Jesus, because it's what you did on the Cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." Thanks for forgiving me when I don't know what I'm doing, too.,

Jesus said to the crowds, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you." --Matt. 5:38-42

In a world that is so revenge-driven, these words of Jesus sound like fingernails on a chalk board. "What do you mean I can't get even? Do you know what that person did to me? Do you have any idea? Oh no, I'm getting even. I have my rights." Even today, as it was back then, these words of Christ are earth-shattering.

And yet they sound so wishy-washy and mamby-pamby. It makes it sound like Jesus is saying "Just sit there and take it. In fact, put yourself in a position to take some more of it. Even better, volunteer to take more and more of it." Yeah, great Jesus; just what I wanted to hear: when your life is crappy, seek out more crap. This saying of Jesus is really hard to understand...unless one looks at it from the vantage point of the Cross.

Easter and Lent were not so long ago in our Church Year. In fact, Easter was celebrated just about two months ago, which means Good Friday wasn't far away either. The yearly reminder of the Passion of Christ. A remembrance of how Jesus bore it all: the lies, the verbal barbs, the flogging, the shame, the pain, the suffering, the dying. All of this we sum up in the word "Passion." In the Passion, Jesus lives out these words from Matthew.

He doesn't follow his own advice to become a non-violent protester ala Ghandi or Martin Luther King Jr., et al. In the Passion, as he takes all the abuse, Jesus is picking his fight. His real fight isn't with the people who are abusing, beating, and crucifying him. His real fight is with the unseen forces and dark powers that are holding these same people captive by God's perfect law. His real fight is with the sin that these people fail to recognize. And so, Jesus doesn't treat the symptoms, he goes straight for the heart of the problem.

So it is with revenge. It's not our role as Christians to make sure that we are "even." We will never be even; we will always be in debt to the one who endured the suffering of the Cross. It is our role to pick our fights and rather than fighting with the symptoms of sin in our life (i.e. those who would persecute us, harm us, etc.), we are called to love them, walk with them a bit in their sin, and preach the Cross in the hopes that they would be forgiven. We endure it not because we are weak and can't change our lot in life. We endure it because we have been made strong by a God who has endured more than we can imagine. And, in enduring it, we hope to win the ultimate war by losing a battle or two.

Get over it, stupid!

"Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." --Proverb 12:1 (NKJV)

This was my "Good Word for the Day" at Tuesday's Command and Staff. Something really cool is that I get to lead off every C&S with a devotional thought, prayer, and then just sit back and watch. I'm learning that I have a great command.

Does anyone like correction? I like to be the one correcting other people, I know that much. I do it everywhere. In my mind, I correct the 1SG on his PT choices, his leadership style. In my mind, I correct Soldiers on their uniforms, customs, and courtesies. In my mind, I critique every worship service, every sermon, every leadership decision that I hear about. Yep, I like to correct people.

It's hard when the shoe is on the other foot, though. It's hard when 1SG wants to correct me about my need for a PT test. It's hard when a Soldier corrects me on MY uniform and how something is crooked or not centered. It's hard when my wife tells me that MY sermon was all over the place and I should have spent more time on it. It's hard, uncomfortable, unnerving, embarrassing, but I appreciate it.

I can't say that I love it when people tell me that I'm wrong, but I can't say that I hate it. If I hated it, then I would be stupid. It's difficult at first but then I just try to remind myself that it's another place for God's forgiveness and mercy to shine through. It's an opportunity to be gracious and exemplify good leadership by accepting the correction, making the necessary changes, and being appreciative that someone wants me to be better.

While I understand that my fondness for correction can be seen as "know-it-all-ism," I do it because I strive for excellence. I serve an excellent God who doesn't just do the bare minimum; He goes the full distance, the extra mile and then some, so as to achieve perfection. I'm trying to be like Him in everything I do. And, when I'm not, there'll be someone to correct me.

Good for anything?

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot." --Matthew 5:13-16

Am I good for anything any more? I'm still stuck in the doldrums of yesterday. This morning, I still had a bitter attitude toward some things and people and I let it show. I let it show so much that someone asked me if it was her fault that I was sour and bitter. Have I lost my taste? How can my saltiness be restored?

I'm not the same person I was two years ago. Sure, we all change, grow, mature but I wonder if there's something missing from my life now. Why has my saltiness gone? Why is my attitude so poor?

The standard Sunday School answer to "how can my saltiness be restored," is, of course, Jesus. I pray that he'll show me how to do this soon. Or, better yet, He'll just restore it for me.

Blessed are the full, for they shall be emptied...

B"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." --Matt. 5:1-6

A common misinterpretation of this verse is to think of it as an "if/then" statement. If I come to God with a poor spirit, then I will receive the kingdom of heaven. If I mourn, then I will be comforted. If I am meek, then I will inherit the earth. The problem that I have with this interpration is that we come to Christ with an alterior motive. We come filled with expectations of the coin-operated God where I put in my good works, prayers, attitudes, et al. and receive the blessings I need when I press His buttons.

Look over the list and you'll see an attitude that Christ deals with. I would sum this up as "Blessed are the empty, for Christ will fill them with grace."

I've been full of a lot of things lately. I been full of a lot of grief. No matter how it may have gone, well or badly, I'm coming away from two years of strong relationships that are now all severed. I'm still mourning the loss of my friends and the 1st of the 329th and the 2nd of the 19th. I'm mis-channeling this grief into some resentment and hard feelings toward my new battaltion. It's causing me to be full of sinful anger, sinful pride, and a whining, excuse-filled attitude that I don't like in myself.

I want so much to be optimistic! I want to be a postive presence in an organization that is so negative. I want to be the guy who brightens a sucky day; not the guy who comes up with quick-witted comments on the leadership of senior NCO's and officers. If you've ever seen Band of Brothers, the HBO special, I want to be 1SG Lipton. I want to be the guy who can go from foxhole to foxhole to support his men in spite of a company commander who is always MIA. I want to be a positive role model for the cross that I wear on my chest.

Today's verse is telling me that I have become empty first. First, I must come to the Cross of Christ, "just as I am without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me," to quote the great old hymn. My pride, arrogance, and anger have no place in my new life in Christ. I cannot empty myself; Christ must take away these sins. Then and only then, can "the peace of God which passes all understanding" enter into my heart and mind. Then, having been emptied of my sin, I can say, "Blessed are the empty, for they shall be filled with Christ." Holy Spirit, fill me with that positive outlook that comes only from You.

Today's entry is more for me than for you, but maybe you are walking this path wherever you are reading this. Come before the Lord, broken and honest, and He will fill you with good things!

The Heart and the Compass

"I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in night seasons." --Psalm 16:7

I love to read cereal boxes at breakfast. I don't know why; I just do. When I was a kid, one box told about how to make your own compass. Take a sewing needle; rub it with a refrigerator magnet; place it on top of something that will float, like a cork or a plastic bottle cap and watch what happens. When it becomes magnetized, the needle comes in line with the earth's magnetic field and will seek out magnetic north.

It's the basic concept behind most compasses, really. Find something magnetic, put in something that will allow it to move freely and watch it point to magnetic north. But, if the needle isn't attuned to the magnetic field of the earth, it can lead a person astray.

David tells us the same thing in this Psalm.

As we take counsel in the Lord, it's like we rub our hearts against his. As we hear his Word and receive the Sacrament and are mindful of our Baptism, we receive the Lord's counsel and our hearts are attuned to his. So that, our sin leads us astray, in that darkness, our hearts can lead us back to where he is. This is how God has made us, this is why he has redeemed us, and this is the goal of sanctification.

When I was in college or Seminary, some professor used these words of St. Augustine as a daily prayer: "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." The heart seeks rest, a rest that can only be found in Christ. Attune your heart to him and follow your heart.

"Well said, Jesus!"

The title of this post is linkified so that you can see the text for yourself.

One of the common stories, especially in Matthew's Gospel, is about the Scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the law coming to test Jesus about different doctrines in the church. Can he answer this? Will he answer that? This story in Mark is a bit different in that a scribe comes to Jesus because he LIKES the answers that Jesus is giving. The scribe asks the Lord about which is the first commandment. Jesus gives the summary of all the Law: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all you mind, and with all your strength. This is quickly followed by: Love your neighbor as yourself.

The huge difference to me is the next part. The scribe says, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken truth..." Now, one of our first reactions to this is "DUH!" Of course He speaks truth, he's the flippin' Lord of the Universe! But consider it a bit more. The scribe is coming to a moment where a great truth is being revealed about who Jesus is, who God is, and how Jesus and God are related. As I look at this more, it seems as if Jesus has just confirmed something that this scribe had felt for a long time and that confirmation is a powerful thing. Unlike his fellow scribes, this one came to Jesus seeking wisdom, not seeking to prove him wrong. He was rewarded in his quest.

How do we come to Jesus? Do we come to prove Him wrong by ignoring His law in our life? "See Jesus, I don't need to do that whole 'Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.' I worked seven days a week for two whole months before my family started to miss me." Or, do we come seeking wisdom? Do we come to Jesus to confirm those things we know are good in our heart? Do we come to Jesus because of the warmth we feel from helping a stranger, holding a door, or just sharing a smile and a kind word.

The scribe came to Jesus to confirm what God was all about. In so doing, Jesus says, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." As we come to Jesus to confirm the forgiveness and life that He is all about, may He say the same things to us.