“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done”

Luke 18: 15-17; Luke 22:39-46

 

This is the place the Lord’s Prayer really gets dangerous.

          In this petition we are not just praising God

                   And lifting up the attributes of God

                             But we are starting to make a connection

                                      With God and with us.

          “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done

                   on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

The first part of this petition is a statement of

          Our dependence upon God.

                   It is a recognition as Karl Barth puts it

                             That we cannot bring about God’s kingdom,

                                      Only God can!

                   Sometimes we get deluded as the church to think

                             That we can make the kingdom happen.

                                      If we just put up more billboards,

                                                If we just fix up more homes,

                                                          Preach better sermons,

                                                                   Visit more hospitals,

                   These may be good things, that may be helpful

                             But through them we don’t bring in the Kingdom

 

The phrase in Greek is “let it come, this kingdom of yours”

          Is a reminder that we are not the builders but rather

                   The receivers of God’s kingdom.

          That’s why Jesus said in the first Luke lesson

“Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

          Sometimes we interpret this to mean that we need to be

                   More humble, more thankful, more receptive.

This passage is not saying that we need to do or be anything.

          It is saying that when it comes to the kingdom of God

                   That we are totally dependant on God.

                         We are God’s children. (military term dependant)

                              We simply receive the kingdom God offers

                                  In Jesus Christ by the power of God’s Spirit.

                             And that’s hard for us 21st Century Americans

                                      Who believe in rugged individualism;

                                                Who believe we can save the world;

                                                          Who believe in ourselves

                                                                   And the mini kingdoms

                                                                             We build on earth.

This petition is stating that we are dependant on God

          For the coming of God’s kingdom.

                   And what does this kingdom look like?

                             How will we recognize it when we see it?

Jesus gives us some images in Matthew 13 Parables of the Kingdom:

          -The kingdom is like a sower- it involves hearing the word;

          -The kingdom is like a mustard seed- it grows dramatically;

          -The kingdom is like yeast- it changes the substance it touches;

          -The kingdom is like a pearl- it is of great value and we seek it;

          -The kingdom is like a treasure- we sacrifice everything for it;

          -The kingdom is like a net of fish- it includes good and bad and

 God is the one who separates good and bad in the kingdom.

There is a certain mystery and majesty to the kingdom

          Jesus describes in these parables and yet Jesus told these parables

                   Not to confuse the disciples but to illumine them and to

                             Open them up to recognize and receive the kingdom

                                      God offers us in Jesus Christ.

          As Jesus said to Pilate in John 18:36

“My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.  But as it is, my kingdom is not of this world.”

          Jesus Kingdom is not about political power or military might, or economic viability, land and name recognition or fame or fortune.

And yet it is not about forsaking and forgetting those things

          And seeking instead a fuzy, spiritual world in which

                   The problems of this world don’t matter.

          David Dark wrote a book called

“The Gospel according to America:

 A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ Haunted Idea.”

In it he challenges us to think about how God’s kingdom

          Confronts and challenges and impinges the world we live in.

He says: The Lord’s Prayer isn’t a call to be transported from the wicked world into unearthly, disembodied bliss, but a call for God’s abundance, God’s shalom.  It is a call to be fully manifested on earth         as it already is in the heavens, a cry for regime change within a rebellious world that does not acknowledge  its maker in the way it treats people or regards itself.”

          That’s what we mean when we say:

                   Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

 

And yet that doesn’t mean that we are without a job.

          Our job in God’s kingdom is to be subject to

                   The will of God- “Thy will be done.”

William Barclay says there are lots of ways that we can say:

          Thy will be done.

                   We can say it with bitterness and disgust-    Have it your way                   We can say it with resignation to a greater being that we

 know that we are powerless to resist- Thy will prevail

                   We can say it with a childlike bliss that someone else is

                             Ultimately in control- I’m glad you’re in charge;

                   Or we can say it knowing and counting the cost but

                             Trusting that God’s plan is better than ours-

                                                You know better than I do God.

I would say that Jonah was an example of the first two ways.

          The child in Jesus’ midst was the third way

                   And Jesus himself was the fourth way:

“If thou can take this cup from me but not my will but Thy will be done”

And that’s our job in this part of the Lord’s Prayer

          To discover how we can be obedient to God’s will

                   How we can bend ourselves,

                             Be changed and molded to follow God’s will.

                                      And it’s even harder than it seems.

 

Often when we pray we offer a laundry list to God of things

          That we would like God to do for us.

                   Our normal prayer includes “my will be done”.    

                             Our normal way of praying is to try to talk God

                                      Into doing what we think needs to be done.

          In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus is trying to get us to be quiet

                   And listen to God’s will, God’s plan,

God’s purpose for our lives and for the world,     

          Not “My will be done” but “Thy will”.

We have to listen to God’s word if we are to discover

          What God’s will really is.   

 

Brian McLaren wrote a book called “A New Kind of Christian”

          And he challenges us to change our thinking about the Christian

                   Journey as a journey less defined by “a conversion to God”

                             And more defined by “conversations with God.”

                                      And I think McLaren is on the same track

                                                That Jesus is on in the Lord’s Prayer.

 

If we dare to pray “thy will be done”

          Then we have to be in constant communication with God.

                   We can’t assume that God gives us our marching orders

                             Once and that we can somehow remember and interpret

And follow that order in all situations that follow.

          Even Jesus, perfectly obedient and in communion with God

                   Kneeled in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed

                             And sweated blood trying to discern God’s will

                                      Before he was able to say:

 “Not my will but Thy will be done.”

In my own life God’s called me into ministry when I was 14.

          But that was only the beginning of the conversation.

                   It took me another 14th years of exploring my will

                             Before I was able to become obedient to God’s will

                                      And actually follow God’s plan in my life.

          And yet what I discovered was that when I did start to follow

                   God’s plan that I was more able to see and experience and

                             Discover God’s kingdom breaking into the world.

          Then I become overconfident and assume I know God’s will,

                   And that I can somehow bring about God’s kingdom

                             If I preach better sermons, plan better mission trips,

                                      Teach better lessons, visit at more hospitals

          And Jesus tells me “unless I become like a little child”

                   And realize my complete and utter dependence on God

                             That I can not see, let alone enter the Kingdom of God.

 

What is your learning edge?

          How is God challenging you in your faith journey this Lent?

                   What is that area of growth that allows you to move

                             From praying “my will” to Thy will be done”?

                                      What is God’s will for you life and faith?

 

That’s the challenge for us this day on the third Sunday in Lent,

          To be in constant conversation with God,

                   So that we can receive the kingdom like a little child,

                             That we discover God’s will and plan for our lives,

                                      And we can live and pray not “my will be done”

                                                But the bold and daring prayer of Jesus

“thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

                                                Amen