"may your Kingdom come"
I just spent some time on my front doorstep in the rain with a friend/brother sharing hearts and hurts. And this phrase kept coming to me like waves hitting the beach. He would share some struggles and woosh, the wave comes in a whisper "my Kingdom is coming". I'm listening to my brother, the rain is coming in sideways in my porch overhang, we're getting a bit wet and woosh, "my Kingdom come". I've been struck by this phrase as well on Palmer's blog and responses to his journey with Jennifer. He says that he is experiencing the Kingdom in a way that he wished all could. woosh, another wave just came in. The Kingdom in struggles? The Kingdom in suffering? I'm sorry, I must have read the brochure wrong. I thought it was pearly gates and golden streets. Is this the biggest heresy in Christendom? That the Kingdom is some spatial place in a world yet to come. What if the whisper i heard was the Creator of life? What if Palmer is right? Then the Kingdom is not a place, but a status of being. Being in communion with the One who made you, in communion with the One who governs the laws of the universe and in communion with the One who orchestrates resurrections all the time. Being in communion with the One makes loving neighbors a natural event. The Kingdom is both now and not yet. We have a complete theology and unhealthy fascination with the not-yet, but how come so little of us experience the Kingdom now? woosh, another wave rolls in. Do we have a clue of what that means? Or do we just hope its the church growth strategy we've been waiting our whole lives for? Finally, we found a winning lottery ticket. But the Kingdom isn't found in fortunes. The ones who talk about it with any kind of authenticity are the Palmers who suffer. Mother Theresa of Calcutta who walked amongst the poor. Nouwen with the handicapped kids. Manning who just fell off the AA wagon again. Jesus with no place to lay his head. "may your Kingdom come" Be careful what you ask for. woosh, another wave just rolled in.

peace,
Chris