Storytelling | Gettysburg Address
Friends,
I love travel. And I'm ready to be home. In my meeting with EDS staff we imagined how to change the world. At Wild Goose we lived in a changed world for few days.
Now the real world is close and I'm trying to tell the story that God's Kingdom, God's Kin-dom where we all are family to each other, is really nearby.
-Liz
The Kingdom of God is at Hand
Imagine that the Kingdom is at hand. Almost here.
Okay, it is pretty hard right now to imagine God's rule is near. But before I start in on all my reasons for that, I remember that Jesus made this ridiculous statement when things were pretty bad for most people. First Century Palestine was not a time specializing in rights for ... well for just about anyone. It is interesting to study Roman democracy, but gerrymandering was unnecessary in a time when only the most elite could vote.
Far from home, Roman soldiers were ever present to "keep order." Local leaders got ahead by currying favor with Rome, and got wealthy by collecting taxes, plus some, to fund the soldiers. Jesus insists we should agree to carry the soldiers pack for two miles because the law was that any solider, any time, could force you to carry it a maximum one mile.
At Wild Goose Festival this year I got to hear Gareth Higgins. He was one of the founders of the Goose and worked on peace building and violence reduction in his Native Northern Ireland during the troubles. His workshop was about the stories we tell. Stories of resilience and hope help us to be be resilient and full of hope.
Jesus, the great storyteller, managed to focus on the poor and oppressed, on God's guarantee to bring Their Kingdom here on earth, all while facing objections from Roman authorities and religious leaders intent on maintaining the status quo. In that context he came up with many example of the Kingdom as here already, and still to come.
This is not advice to ignore the harm perpetrated around us, but rather having faith that it is worth it to stand up to violence, hatred, and unkindness. In the midst of the chaos of the time, he trusted that God's will wins out. Higgins point is that by telling the story of Kingdom we maintain the power to resist evil around us. Hope requires a good story.
It was easier to write this while I was at Wild Goose. In that crowd of like minded people, I could feel the already here. As soon as I return to reading the news I focus on the not yet. Sometimes church is a place that we feel the already. It is certainly a place that is well suited to imagine what God's Kingdom might be. A place to settle in the confidence that that human life was created out of chaos, and that a new world can be created from the overwhelming disruption around us.
What is your congregation's story of the coming rule of God?
It is a complicated to develop this story, which must be realistic, and yet is so far only a dream. What would life be like if we do everything right?
Each congregation focuses on a few issues: working with immigrants, with people who are poor, with queer folk, with people with disabilities, addressing racism, imagining the end of patriarchy, etc. Your vision will start with that focus. If we were doing things well as a nation, what would life be like for those who are presently suffering?
It is okay if this is absurdly specific. I wish there was more research on heart disease so Marge's surgery will go well. This leads to the wish that health insurance didn't second guess her doctors. And that people without excess financial resources got care as good as what I receive.
Marge is in rural Massachusetts, an hour from the top heart centers; this reminds me that most people in the middle of our nation are several days drive from any care for their hearts. There are not enough health clinics to solve any medical problem in middle-America.
In your congregation's discussion, help people proceed from the story of the specific to identifying the general things that are not okay right now. What should be different?
Whatever your topic, it will become obvious right away that we don't want the world to return to the way it was. We want something new. What is the story you will tell about what happens when God's will is done on earth, as it is in heaven?
What is your vision of the Kingdom of God? Reply to this email to let me know what's happening.
Chris Boemer is a singer-songwriter I know from Music Camp. This vocal setting of the Gettysburg address is a tribute to Lincoln's ability to imagine that something better would come out of the violence of the Civil War.
More about Gareth Higgins.
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