The Kingdom of Heaven
So, I have a confession to make: I never really got Advent. I mean, I knew it was about preparing for Christmas, and that it didn’t mean decorating, cooking and shopping. It’s about preparing for Jesus to come into our lives. I just didn’t quite understand what I was actually supposed to do. I had no family traditions to fall back on, and I read various essays and meditations, but I was never able to apply what I read to my own life.
When I first looked at today’s readings and service, I saw what I thought were three interesting things, but I couldn’t quite put them together. There was the rose candle, which stands for joy. Then there was Mary’s beautiful song, praising God and accepting the complicated and difficult path she was on as a gift. And then, Jesus’ words about John the Baptist.
I really didn’t understand what Jesus was saying, especially that last bit about John being the greatest among those born of women but less than the least in the kingdom of heaven.
So, I looked for some expert opinions. And the sermons and commentaries I read all said pretty much the same thing: John is the greatest prophet of the old covenant, because he points to the coming of the Messiah. But he doesn’t experience the kingdom of heaven, because Jesus hasn’t yet fulfilled his ministry.
Well, even if that isn’t entirely crystal clear, for me, it made things click into place. What we’re preparing for, here in Advent, is the kingdom of heaven. Of course.
What is the kingdom of heaven? The reign of God? Jesus talks about it a lot, and what I think I see, is simply a place where the only law is love.
Mary sees it and gladly accepts her call to bring it about. The lowly will be lifted up, because where love rules, no one is forgotten or neglected. The rich will be sent away empty, because if what you really want is money and power over people, there’s nothing for you in this kingdom.
It’s a place of joy.
If we are to be followers of Jesus, this is what we are called to work for. How do we do that?
One of the sermons I read reminded me that we do what we can, however small, to bring that kingdom into the world. Every time we feed someone who’s hungry, give someone a new pair of socks, encourage someone, we’re showing love. Every time we manage to show someone a little kindness, it can create a ripple. That person will feel better and maybe show a little kindness to the next person they meet, and so on.
No, it won’t change the world. Sometimes it seems as if the world is incapable of changing for the better. So what? We can choose to act, as much as we are able, as if the kingdom of heaven is possible and it’s up to each of us to support it. We can shine some light into the darkness.
Whenever I hear or read things like this, I think it seems so obvious. But I need to hear it, because a lot of the time, I feel discouraged by all the bad stuff that’s happening, and the little things I’m doing seem so inconsequential.
I felt a little better after reading that. I am doing something. We, as a community, are doing a lot of somethings. All the people who do whatever little thing they can to make things better add up to a lot of light.
I got to thinking that maybe for Advent, I should also try to work on some of the places in myself where the light seems pretty dim. Father Jim told us a wonderfully relatable story last week; about the impatience he experienced trying to buy toothpaste at Safeway.
I can usually – not always – talk myself down from impatience. What I have a harder time doing is overcoming the resentment I feel over sometimes very small infractions. The person with the full cart who races to get ahead of me, with my two items, in the checkout line. The driver in the next lane who speeds up when my turn signal goes on. Someone who’s rude for no apparent reason.
Every once in a while, I get a flash of insight that reminds me that everyone is dealing with their own problems and none of it has anything to do with me. And that when I’m really stressed and bothered, I’m not the nicest person in the world, either. I wonder if I could manage to hold those thoughts.
Maybe even through a trip to Costco?
