10/01/15 Reflection - Kingdoms

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/100115.cfm

Nehemiah 4:1-8, 5-6, 7-12
Luke 10:1-12

In the first reading this morning we find the Law of Moses being read, as if it were being read for the first time, to the people of Israel. These were the people who had recently returned from exile in Babylon. These were the people who, after forty years in a foreign land, returned home to a country that had vastly changed. People from other nations had been resettled there as part of the subjugation tactics of Nebuchadnezzar, the now dead Babylonian King. Many of the old cities had been destroyed. Jerusalem had been reduced to rubble. Solomon's Temple was gone. But now, in this morning's text, the people were listening to the books of Moses, prostrate on the ground. They wept as they heard the words of God's law. "Hush, for today is holy." Said the prophet, Ezra, and the priests. "You must not be saddened."
In the gospel reading we find Jesus sending out in pairs seventy-two of his disciples. He sends them with instructions on both behavior and message. "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you."
On the news today was the announcement that Pope Francis was on his way home, from Philadelphia to Vatican City.

In a strange way I found these three to be connected; and the connection was was brought into focus because of comments made about the Pope, particularly about his words. Let me explain by starting with the children of the Exodus.

When the Hebrews first entered the Promised Land, under the leadership of Joshua, they were not a nation. They never had been. In one way or another all the people traced their roots back to Abraham, and, more immediately, to Jacob and his twelve sons who supplied the identifying names for the twelve tribes. But, they had never been a nation. Even as they moved to take possession of the land which God had promised they had no ruler. They had no government. They had no bureaucracy. Together they comprised the Chosen People of God; but from a human point of view they were just a collection of tribes. What they had in common was their heritage, their miraculous escape from slavery, the Covenant with God, and the Law given through Moses. It would remain that way for almost two hundred years. 

The plan was not that there should be a theocracy, where this new state was governed by officials that were regarded as divinely guided. That may have been the practice in neighboring states where the reigning monarch was considered divine. It was not to be true for the people of the covenant. God, not the earthly king, was their protector. God, not the state, would provide for their needs. Divine justice, not politics, nor military power, nor an increase of wealth was to supply the guiding principles. The Law was itself a cause for rejoicing; for it came from God and made clear how the nation was to be divinely guided. These people were unique in all the world. They were to live in the reign of God.

This was the kingdom which Isaiah anticipated. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns."" (Isaiah 52:7) It was a kingdom which looked to the good tidings of divine mercy and justice. It was a kingdom where the lion would lie down with the lamb and men would beat their swords into plow shares. It was a kingdom where the blessings of God would pour forth as at a banquet. It was a kingdom in which God would dwell in the midst of His people.

When Jesus sent forth his disciples to preach that "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you." He was speaking of that kingdom that Isaiah foretold. It was Jesus' disciples then and Jesus' disciples in all ages that Isaiah envisioned taking the message to others: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings. . . " How beautiful indeed! But Jesus also knew the truth about the intransigence of some, and, consequently, he also spoke of the necessity which sometimes arises. "Whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you . . . " (Luke 10:10-11) That brings us to the present day.

The hot social issues that have been fermenting for the last several decades as well as certain papal remarks that drew critical comments made me acutely aware of a truth that had been on the periphery of my understanding. The Pope should not talk about climate change because he's not a scientist, said some. The Pope should not talk about economic systems (unless he favors our own); that's a political matter, maintained others. The Pope needs to be more careful in discussing the poor, both the poor as individuals and poor nations; that's an economic issue. The Pope is not a scientist! Neither is he a politician! Nor is he an economist! So why, argued some critics, should he be talking about these matters?

When Jesus said to Pilate "My kingship is not of this world" (John 18:36) he was not intending to either deny a kingdom on earth nor to claim only a kingship in heaven. He makes that clear in his very next statement. "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice." (John 18:37) At least one thing is evident from his words: he did not come here so he could be a king somewhere else. 

Jesus' claim to a kingdom was radically different from what Pilate or the Jews expected. His kingdom was not one made possible through political power, or economic leverage, or military might or any of the other myriad ways in which kingdoms are established by men. His kingdom was and is being formed by adherence to truth. Only God is God. Only His will must be done on earth, just as only His will is done in heaven. Only His name is holy. Only He gives us our daily bread.
Jesus did not come to improve man's lot or to direct us in the method of establishing an improved human society. He came to bring us into his kingdom, one that is radically different from what is humanly possible. So, it's no wonder that, when the Pope speaks and men critique him from the limited framework of some earthly construct like politics or economics or science . . . It's no wonder that they find his words puzzling, even offensive and assume that he is speaking beyond his expertise. This is why St Paul would tell the Galatians "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) The division's which men create are irrelevant to what God is doing. Note well that these divisions are meaningless in the Kingdom of God. And we can easily add to Paul's list neither liberal nor conservative, neither socialist nor capitalist, neither scientist nor layman for these too are meaningless in the kingdom of God.

Within the framework of Jesus' kingdom there is only one expertise that counts and only one relationship that is important. The expertise is in the understanding of God's justice and mercy and love. The relationship is the one with our Father. Is it any surprise that the kingdom's of this world don't get it. Jesus knew that would happen; and that is why He instructed His disciples that, when confronted with that resistance, to shake the dust from their feet.
It's difficult to live in the world and not be if the world. There is an inherent tension between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom which man --- or the evil one, for that matter --- would create. But once you have a glimpse of what God has in mind, the struggle to live in His kingdom makes the effort worthwhile.