The Kingdom of God is Among You


Luke Chapters 17-20

The Bible is a fascinating collection of books that invite the reader to delve into the “Big Questions” (Who am I? What are we? Why are we here?).  As such, the Bible as a whole can be a bit intimidating or overwhelming, which is why we usually approach it in small, almost bite sized pieces in order to digest what the text is offering us.  Indeed, most of the readings we use in our Sunday Lectionary are less than 15 verses long. Even at that, we read four different passages each Sunday, so that is a LOT of Scripture to consider AND apply in our lives.  That is why choosing to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is a life-long commitment, as we need all that time to take in all he had to teach.

It is also true that as we ourselves mature and grow throughout our lives, our understanding of Scripture changes as well.  Again, in our Sunday Lectionary, we rotate through the 4 Gospels every 3 years (not reading all of them, but most).  In 3 years, much can change, so the same text heard 3 years apart can have a profoundly different meaning or understanding. I find this very exciting and interesting because even though the text itself doesn’t change, I do, so every time I read the text it is new and profound.

Reading through the Gospel of Luke through Lent has been an interesting and different experience, as well as exhausting!  The material is so rich and dense that it is hard to take it all in and enjoy it like I can when I am preparing a sermon on the text.  Four chapters in a week is a lot, but it is worth it, especially when I find little gems like the title of this blog.

Taken from Chapter 17 verse 21, Jesus tells the Pharisees that they are seeking the Kingdom in the wrong way.  It is not something that is coming – it already is!  However, God’s Kingdom needs to be lived into in a way that they do not understand as they want it to come from external forces rather than from an internal transformation.  The irony is that the Roman Empire is an external force that subjected the Israelites and used their own power structures against them. 

Throughout these four chapters, Jesus offers various examples and situations to illustrate how the Kingdom of God already exists, especially in unjust circumstances. Chapter 18 begins with the parable of the widow and the unjust judge.  The stark power differential between the two characters could not be more obvious, and yet the widow triumphs because of her tenacity to get justice. And even though the judge is motivated by ending aggravation, he is changed and who knows where that transformation could lead.

Perhaps two of Jesus’ most challenging parables are in Chapters 19 (11-27) and 20 (9-19).  In both stories, the first about slaves being entrusted with money and the second where they are entrusted with property, the slaves make judgments about how their master will respond to their actions.  When the slave entrusted with one talent gives it back to his master after having buried it to keep it safe without even trying to use it, he is punished by having what he was given taken away.  The slaves who are entrusted with the property conspired to kill the heir and are themselves banished from the land.  Those who listen to the stories in both instances are shocked by what they hear because of the definitive action of the master to act against those choose to work against him, even if that is not doing anything.

Following Jesus requires actions, like that of Zacchaeus (19:1-10), a Jewish tax collector that promised to repay all his debts.  There is sacrifice and transformation in his story because he has made a living by working for the Roman Empire.  What his life will be like after this change is unknown, but it will undoubted be more difficult in some ways and more joyous in others.

It is fitting that we read of Jesus’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem in Chapter 19, an event we will commemorate this coming Sunday, Palm Sunday. Since Chapter 9, Jesus’s destination has been the holy city, knowing that it would be the place of his death.  He is as prepared as he can be, knowing what is to come.  We also must be prepared to be witnesses to this drama while remembering all that has taken place to get to this place. Indeed, throughout Chapter 20, Jesus continues to confront the powers of the establishment, who, like the slaves in the parable, conspire to have him killed.  They believe they will be justified.  Their lack of willingness to be transformed will be their downfall.

Are we willing to go where they could not – to be transformed – and seek the Kingdom of God here and now?

In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+

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