Bible Text:

"Your kingdom come.”                 (Matthew 6:10a)

It was almost 60 years ago. It was the spring of 1944 in a bombed-out church in the bombed-out city of Stuttgart, Germany. It was a Sunday morning. The famed preacher, Helmut Thielicke, one of the greatest pastoral theologians of that era, stood in the choir loft of the church to preach the sermon. The choir loft was the only part of the church left standing. 

He looked out over the remnant of the congregation who had gathered that morning. He was dressed in street clothes. His robe was buried somewhere in the rubble. Instead of shoes he wore an old pair of army boots. He looked up at the open sky that had once been his great church building. Then he looked out at this small gathered congregation and he said, “Today we continue our series of sermons on the Lord’s Prayer. The text for today is ‘Thy kingdom come.’ In this city of death and destruction, in this empire in ruins, we pray, ‘thy kingdom come.’”[i] 

I re-read that sermon twice this past week, then I read it again this morning before the first service of worship. In a church literally “blown to kingdom come,” he begins a sermon on that phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. It is a remarkable sermon in a totally devastating setting. 

I trust that none of us will ever find ourselves in a setting anything like that. But if we did, we would still pray this prayer. 

What is the kingdom? Jesus spoke of it more times than any other subject in his preaching ministry. The word appears 125 times in the Gospels alone. Sometimes it is “the kingdom of God,” sometimes “the Kingdom of Heaven,” sometimes the word stands alone. Jesus began his ministry with words about the Kingdom: “The right time has come; the Kingdom of God is near.” (Mark 1:15) He told numerous parables about the Kingdom. He said the Kingdom is like a sower; the Kingdom is like yeast in a loaf of bread; the Kingdom is like a pearl of great price; the Kingdom is like a mustard seed; the Kingdom is like a treasure in the field—so valuable that a man sells everything he has and buys the field in order to get the treasure. 

What is this Kingdom of which Jesus speaks so often? It is not an empire of any kind. There are no military images involved. Neither is it some future Utopia, some future age or event. And the Kingdom is not a theocracy. A theocracy is a form of government where God alone rules and where there is no president, no king, no political leader. The Hebrews tried it for a while in their Old Testament history, but it really didn’t work very well. 

So what is the Kingdom? I cannot define it for you. I can only speak to you of it in images. 

A PEACEABLE KINGDOM 

First of all, the Kingdom is a peaceable kingdom. This is not quite the same as a “peaceful” kingdom, but rather a peace-able one. It is a time which is “able” to generate peace. 

Elaine and I have sometimes led couples’ events in which we invite each spouse to list some “able” words for one another. All kinds of unusual words appear. For example, Elaine says of me that I am “gardenable” or “enthusiasticable” or “energyable,” and I say of her that she is “grandmotherable” or “creativeable” or “givingable.” 

Peaceable is a setting where peace can thrive and grow. 

This was the dream of the charter of the United Nations established decades ago. The dream was to establish soil where peace could grow. Some of you may be familiar with the words of the charter of the United Nations. 

Determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to humankind, determined to practice tolerance and life together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and determined to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security… 

This is not a Christian document, but it does speak of a peaceful kingdom. 

I have in my office a copy of a painting I obtained some years ago. The painting is by an artist by the name of Edward Hicks, done sometime in the 19^th century. It is folk art on canvas depicting Isaiah 11:6, “The wolf shall live with the lamb the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.” In one corner of the painting is a small depiction of a treaty being signed by William Penn and a group of Native Americans. It was a symbol of what could happen. It was a symbol of the shape of things to come. It is the hope of a peaceable kingdom. 

Does it say anything definitive about our own preparations for war in these days? Probably not. But it reminds me that the Kingdom of God is a peaceable kingdom. 

In my devotions this past week I came across this word: 

When all looks like winter, we know that there are infinite forces at work that can and will bring to life all that is best in humanity. We have the romantic hope that is not based on a secular appraisal of life, but rather has its source in the energizing power of God…until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.[ii] 

The Kingdom of God is a peaceable kingdom. It is the shape of things to come. 

A KINGDOM WHERE JUSTICE AND EQUITY RULE 

The Kingdom of God is also a kingdom where justice and equity rule. In the Book of Psalms we read that God’s kingdom is a “kingdom of righteousness and truth.” (Psalm 96:13) 

There is a lot of inequity in our world, especially economic inequity. In fact, the inequity that exists today is the cause of much unrest. 

Capitalism is probably the best economic system ever devised, but sometimes capitalism produces great inequities when left unchecked. Capitalism can do great good for our world, but it can also lapse into greed. The Kingdom of God is a setting where justice and equity form the higher ground—form the high road. 

Someone has said, “God’s ship will never stop or go down before it reaches its destination.” The Kingdom of God will not stop until it reaches its destination. That destination is a society of justice and equity. It is the shape of things to come. 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS A HEART CONDITION 

The Kingdom of God is also a heart condition. The Kingdom is not only a matter of the heart, but it is also a matter of the heart. The Kingdom of God is a wonderful, sustaining, healthy heart condition. 

Jesus once said, “The Kingdom of God is within you.” No one really knows what that meant, or what it means. I think it means a heart condition. I think it means a passionate desire for God to be the rule in my life. This, too, is the shape of things to come. 

One of my clergy colleagues and I share congregation e-mail every week. I send ours to him, he sends theirs to me. I’m on his list. This is part of what he wrote this past week. 

I’ve imagined myself over Saddam Hussein’s palace in Iraq, breathing on it and saying, “Saddam, receive the Holy Spirit and surrender all weapons of mass destruction.” I’ve been imagining myself over Osama bin Laden breathing on him and saying, “Osama, receive the Holy Spirit to remove the hatred in your heart for Americans.” I’ve imagined myself over Jerusalem breathing on it and saying “Israelis and Palestinians, receive the Holy Spirit and stop killing each other.” I believe Jesus is still trying to breathe the Holy Spirit into our world today through our breaths and actions. If millions of people would allow God to breathe the Holy Spirit into the leaders of the world through them, a miracle would happen in this month of March and we would learn how to live together in peace even with those who may be different from ourselves.[iii] 

That’s a kingdom of the heart. 

The Kingdom of God is also a heart condition—allowing God to fill my whole being. 

A group of our youth, including four from this church, were in Nicaragua in December and January. One of the youth from Ingomar United Methodist Church in the North Hills made a statement that has been making the rounds in many presentations the youth have made. She said this, “In the United States, God is a part of our lives. In Nicaragua, God is their life. How amazing is that?” 

When you pray, “Thy kingdom come,” you pray, “God, I want you to permeate my whole being now and always.” 

A PRAYER YOU CAN’T TAKE LIGHTLY 

Obviously, you cannot take this particular part of the Lord’s Prayer lightly. You cannot pray “Thy kingdom come” without seriously inviting God into the center of your life. Perhaps this also means, “Be careful what you pray for.” 

Thy Kingdom come, O Lord. Thy Kingdom come into my life, into my job, into my studies, into my wallet, into my lifestyle. “Thy Kingdom come” may be the most important prayer we will ever pray. 

I learned a small added piece of the 9/11 story this week—a piece I did not know. You will remember Todd Beamer, who was one man on the fourth plane that fateful day, flying somewhere over western Pennsylvania. He and a group of people took control of the situation, and the plane went down before it could crash into any kind of other building. 

Prior to the crash, Todd Beamer was on the phone with a cell phone operator. He asked her to pray the Lord’s Prayer with him. Many of us know this story. What I learned this past week was that the pastor of his church had just completed a series of sermons on the Lord’s Prayer. That’s why it was so important to him. He knew the Kingdom of God. He knew the Kingdom that is a peaceable kingdom, a kingdom of justice and equity, and a kingdom of heart—and he prayed for it. 

Our Father who art in heaven… thy Kingdom come. 

Let me close today with a part of that message from Stuttgart, Germany in the bombed-out church in the spring of 1944. Listen to these words. 

God builds his kingdom in secret. It is like the building of a bridge that goes on beneath a covering of scaffolding, so that we cannot see the bridge itself, and we hear only the drumming of hammers. But one day the scaffolding and the planking is removed, and the bridge is revealed to our wondering eyes. God was not idle while we were looking in vain for the sign of his footsteps in his work.

But one day the hiddenness will be removed, and the wonder of the works of God, the wonder of his dominion will be spread out before the eyes of all… one day it will be made manifest, and every knee shall bow—whether persons fall to their knees in adoration, or whether they are forced to their knees by the power of the Lord whose glory can no longer be overlooked. The moment will come when God will be “all in all”… This is our comfort in all our confused journeying, that it ends in glory.[iv] 

Thy kingdom come. THY Kingdom come. Thy KINGDOM come. 

Amen.