Day #32
Larry Trotter
Words
of Love
20 Once, on being asked by the
Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the
kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will
people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your
midst.” Luke 17:20-21 NIV
Overcoming the Barrier
A couple of nights
ago Lynn and I had planned to go to our favorite sushi place for half-price
salmon night. However, it was a gorgeous, unseasonably warm day, which promised
one of those cherished early season deck nights. We had some leftover roast
chicken in the refrigerator that Lynn, with a little homemade pesto from the
freezer, transformed into beautiful chicken sandwiches. We lingered on the deck
until the sun set behind the ridge catching every gentle breeze that stirred
the warm, evening air. With the sun tucked in below the horizon producing a
softening magenta glow I settled deeply into my chair and looked up through the
trees in our backyard. What I saw broke the spell with a dose of reality. The starkly
bare limbs and branches spread out across the grayish twilight sky like creepy
characters from a Tim Burton movie. Their message was clear: it isn’t spring,
yet. We were only two days removed from the 26th anniversary of the
Blizzard of the Century when anywhere from 18 inches to three feet of snow
blanketed East Tennessee followed by sub-zero temperatures. I almost let the
reality of more cold to come spoil the beautiful pre-echo of spring that
faintly resonated across our backyard.
Luke begins chapter
17 with Jesus telling his disciples that evil, “things that cause people to
stumble,” would continue to plague humankind for the foreseeable future. In
fact, Jesus indicates that things will get worse before they get better. More
to his point, he tells them that they have a duty to help people avoid the evil
that will continue to seek co-conspirators. In today’s passage the Pharisees
ask point-blank when the kingdom will come. Jesus’ cryptic answer suggests that
they have missed the point that his presence among them is a sign of the kingdom. Most likely the Pharisees were looking
for something more in line with their kingdom expectations: signs in the sky,
political upheaval—particularly Roman rule being overturned, the arrival of a militarily
powerful Messiah. Moreover, Jesus seems to say that the kingdom comes in the
midst of everyday life and his disciples need to be ready to be harbingers of
the kingdom. Love overcomes evil, and when disciples model the love of Jesus
that lives within, the kingdom is suddenly in their midst and includes everyone
in close proximity. A warm summer evening in mid-March cannot be relied upon to
mark the beginning of spring. It can, however, be a sign of what spring will be
like when it gets here. When we faithfully follow Jesus into the midst of
everyday life we can become kingdom signs to people who are lost in the
barrenness of a long winter season of life.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, let me be a living sign of your
kingdom today so that whomever I’m in the midst of will find hope and
encouragement. In your name, amen.
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