This year, with our students at church, we’ve decided to journey with Jesus through the Gospel according to Mark. We’ve only traveled through the first 15 verses, but I’m already excited about some of the conversations that are being sparked thus far. I especially love Jesus’ first sermon in Mark 1:14-15. Here’s my paraphrase (not of the Greek – from memory because I don’t want to look it up right now).
The time is fulfilled! The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!
Simple message – but a gold mine! With the students, we focused on Jesus’ declaration that the Kingdom of God was near, was close. I love reading this in light of how Mark describes the heavens being “torn open and the Spirit descending” at Jesus’ baptism. As I tell my students, God is on the move and things are going to be different.
Together, we chatted about ways we could see that God’s Kingdom was present in the world. We also talked about how we could see that God’s Kingdom was not yet, a future reality to be fully consummated. What struck me was how easily it was for students to articulate that the Kingdom of God was not yet. In a matter of moments, we had things such as war, racial tensions, disease, abuse, and marginalization of others as indicators that the Kingdom was yet to come. And yet, when we tried to brainstorm how the Kingdom of God was present, our indicators were love and friendship. I understood that it was a challenging question but I had hoped for more. I tried to move on but it’s been nagging me. Here’s my question:
How can we be people of the Kingdom if we can’t even see the Kingdom in front of us?
Jesus told his disciples that the Kingdom was like a mustard seed that would grow into a large bush where birds would make their nests. Is it still a mustard seed? Or has it grown to a more noticeable size? Will it always be a mustard seed? Or will it only be visible to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see?
I don’t want to be more aware of the brokenness in the world over God’s redemptive work. I want to be real and acknowledge the pain that infests everything, but I don’t want to be a defeatist. I want God’s people to be able to boldly proclaim what God has done in Christ and what God is continuing to do through Christ!
After our conversation, a student sent me a spoken word by Jeff Bethke (the Jesus>Religion guy). While it’s not the greatest spoken word, I did enjoy his reminder that darkness is losing. Check it out and be reminded that the world is different because Jesus came to this world, not just because more souls have been saved, but because God is redeeming it. As we speak. Or read and write.
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