Presiding Bishop Rowe is articulating his vision for the Episcopal Church in the next nine years and re-committing us to articulating that vision in terms of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus speaks a lot about the Kingdom of God in the gospels—it is like a mustard seed, a pearl of great price, yeast, and so many other images. It is not a kingdom of this world—it is a kingdom where the poor are blessed, the oppressed are free, and the blind receive their sight. It is a kingdom that stands as a polar opposite to Herod, to Pilate, and to the Roman Empire—and to the powers and principalities of our own time. It is a kingdom based upon love, where there are no outcasts.
Last Sunday, the church I attended sang the hymn “Lo, he comes with clouds descending” with the text by Charles Wesley. Verse 3 went like this:
Yea, amen! let all adore the,
high on thine eternal throne;
Savior take the power and glory;
claim the kingdom for thine own:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou shalt reign, and thou alone.
We wait in advent for the birth of this new king, and the beginning of this new kingdom.
Sometimes language about the “Kingdom of God” can be a stumbling block to 21st Century Episcopalians. And the phrase “Kingdom of God” has certainly been misused and co-opted over the last 2000 years to justify all sorts of earthly power, earthly violence, and earthly oppression.
But Bishop Rowe is urging us not to relinquish this central image of Jesus.
The Kingdom of God does not sound like the world as it is. I do not look outside my window and see the poor who are particularly blessed. I do not see many earthly leaders participating in acts of self-sacrifice and humility.
And yet—the Kingdom of God comes near so often. It breaks in upon us at the altar, at the hospital bed, in joy and grief, in mercy and compassion.
Blessed be the King who is coming.
