Scripture
Mathew 3: 2
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Revelation 21: 1 - 4
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Reflection
I had a conversation the other day with an individual about the concept of heaven. This got me wondering about how we understand this idea of heaven and whether it is what we understand God’s kingdom to be and if it is would it be something that is far removed from us, or is something much different. Jesus spoke a lot about the coming kingdom of God, and in speaking of this he spoke in the immediate future, not as something far removed. We often read the passage above from Matthew as a warning for ourselves that we must make ourselves ‘right’ with God. We often hear the word ‘repent’ and we understand it to mean that we must turn away from our sinful conditions and throw ourselves on the mercy of God. Repentance brings up images of judgment, condemnation, and fear. The wonder if this is what this scripture actually means because Jesus was one of love and acceptance, not fear and control. Our understanding of repentance could be seen as our having to admit before God we are an abomination in the eyes of God and that we if we don’t do better, well we will be in trouble.
Yet the actual ancient Greek word that was translated as repent “metanoia” literally means beyond the mind. It means to look at something, to see something, to understand something in a completely different light. It means to look at something in a way that you have never looked at it before. I wonder if this might just be what we need to do when we think about heaven and the kingdom of God? We often understand the kingdom of God to be some far off, removed place. It is another world and as such it is something that we must strive to achieve. If that were the case then, I suppose, our traditional understanding of ‘repent’ might make sense. In order to get into the kingdom of God, into heaven, we must meet a series of criteria, we must make the grade, we must check off all of the boxes of being that good and faithful person, at least in someone’s eyes. But think about that for a moment, is that what God and Jesus are about? We are told in the bible that we have been fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139: 14). Then we have the line in the prayer that Jesus taught us, “Let your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven” I wonder what this can mean for us in regard to this coming kingdom?
What is this kingdom of God is not some far-off, remote, after we pass away, place in the sky? What is kingdom of God is something else completely? We are told by Jesus that we must see things in a new way, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I wonder if that means that we can actually create the kingdom of heaven ourselves? Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, speaks to this idea in the following way, “What if God is instead watching, listening, and waiting — waiting for our choices, our decision, our agency to make the world and our lives what we want? What if God is not manipulating all the things but yearns for our partnership?” What if we are the ones who are called to see our world in a new way, a way of justice, peace, joy, compassion, mercy, and love? If we understand Jesus’ statement in Matthew to mean that we are being called, not to confess our sinful nature, not to see ourselves as an abomination, in the eyes of God, but rather to see the whole world in a new way, then we might just see that we play a part in the coming of God’s kingdom to the hear and now. God might just be waiting on us to bring about the kingdom of God, rather than us, as Christians, sitting back and waiting for some far-off kingdom, on some far-off day, in some distance otherworldly future. I believe that to be God’s people in the world is to work towards the coming of God’s kingdom in our world now. So maybe that is the work we must being to do.
Prayer
God of Grace, help us to recognize your deep abiding love for each one of us and how each of us has been wonderfully made, just as we are. Help us to see that you don’t require perfection, but rather you ask for our partnership in the world. Give us the wisdom and courage to see that we truly can transform this world so that your kingdom comes, to the here and now, for everyone, not just a select few. We ask all this in name of the one who came to show us the way, Jesus. Amen.
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