Feb 24, 2019

The Kingdom of God (9)

“Truly I tell you,” He said,

“Unless you change and become

Like little children, you will

Never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

                  Matthew 18:3

“The kingdom of heaven

Lies within.”

                Luke 17:21

How does one live in the ’Kingdom of God’ if it is here, right now? Jesus obviously did, but almost everyone says, ‘Of course! He was God, after all, so no problem!’ But Jesus was also fully human, and had to grow and learn to use his intellect just like any human – otherwise he would not have been fully human, but only something wearing human skin, pretending to be something he was not, and God does not lie. No, he did not sit on Mary’s lap as a newborn blessing all that came by. He was a tiny baby, needing to nurse and sleep (and poop), and he went through all the growing pains, including teething, falls, bumps, scrapes, and other human indignities just like any child. Such is the human life.

Jesus also had to go off and pray, just like you and me. It did not just happen, but time had to be taken to form and continue to engage that ongoing relationship with that Being Jesus came to call ‘Father’. But at the same time, he became aware that this Being he eventually called Father was with him at all times. That is the promise of entering the ‘Kingdom of God’ here and now. Jesus was aware of the presence of God in everything, at all times, but being aware was different than communicating with that awareness. Communication required finding a quiet place, as Jesus showed by going off to a quiet spot away from all others, often to nature where he could be alone with his Father, and talk with God for guidance. It is possible to have that subtle awareness sitting in the back of the mind that gives a current of peace and joy that can underlay everything.

That awareness requires work to maintain, otherwise the things of the world, and especially the ego and all its demands, fills the mind and crowd out that subtle tone that is the hint of God abiding presence. Now just because you cannot feel that current does not mean it is not there. It is always there, as Jesus said, for “the Kingdom of God is within.” Not only when we pray, but always and ever, for everyone that lives, no matter what we see externally. That is, even people like Hitler and Stalin had that Kingdom of God living in them, but they buried that portion of their being so far down that they could never find it as time went on and they lived out their lives. The kingdom of God is here, now, not at some future time when we have left this world.

God lives, now and forever. Now! Right here, in this messy world we call home. Right here, in the midst of pain, suffering, joys, and beauty. God lives in all things, both mundane and lofty, as St. Francis saw, in the least to the greatest. We live filled with God, filled with that Love that is the being that created and constantly recreates all things. There is nothing that is not filled with God, as St. John’s Gospel said “Without the Word nothing that was made that has been made.”That meansnothing: all things, even those things we do not see or understand (things like dark matter and dark energy) were, are, made by what was termed the Word, or God, or we Christians might say, the Christ.

God lives here, and that reality is ours to see if we but open our eyes to the true reality.

Meditation

Oh my Center, my Own, my All, I put myself into Your presence and truly become aware of the reality of our cosmos. All that is and all that exists an any form is part of Your Being, or the Christ. You have given so many other names and ways to humanity to help us see Your truth, and we have treated Your prophets and visionaries so poorly; yet all proclaim Your beauty and bounty. I ask but to be able to rest in You when I am tired and beaten; strengthen me in all that exists until I come home to Your presence in final truth.