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Society and the Kingdom of God Our churches are communities and places of sanctuary. We are to provide safety for worship and the new life that faith brings. --For some, even to make such a statement, raises flags of panic and concern: ‘What will the government do to us?’ they ask with genuine concern.Many years ago already Pierre Burton reported that the Church in Canada had become a supporter of government instead of God’s change-agents, God’s kingdom people -- In Mark’s Gospel, chapter 13 Jesus’ words to his disciples as they admired the great stones being assembled for the new temple, betray his ‘counter-culture’ leaning. After all -- wasn’t He the living temple in their midst? Or, shouldn’t the disciples have been looking inward, to see how their heart was prepared to receive the ‘indwelling God’ -- who really didn’t want to live in temples built of stone and wood? Looking over a new study about Abraham, I was reminded again of God’s plan to call a people ‘out of the world’ to be God’s covenant people. We might remember that Abraham wasn’t ‘a believer’ in our sense of those words because neither the people of Israel nor Christians had been ‘born’ yet! God chose Abraham to start a new people -- away from his old family and cultural ties and away from his old religion ... God would reshape Abraham from his sinful nature into a new ‘righteous’ nature, and so Abraham, over time, became the ‘Father’ of God’s people. * We too are the heirs and descendants of that faith-journey with God! Knowing this -- will we also follow in Abraham’s steps; stepping outside accepted norms and traditions of our time and place to obey God? Will our hearts reflect the compassion and forgiveness of Jesus -- ‘the author and finisher of our faith’ who existed even before Abraham? Will we accept our role, to provide ‘sanctuary in our churches and in our homes within a society that is becoming increasingly dangerous -- not just because of the rising threat of universal terrorism, but also because of inner corruption: family break-up, social violence, child poverty that is increasing, family abandonment ... We really are a special people by God’s grace; pilgrims like Abraham, ‘called out’ to provide sanctuary on the edges of the ‘wilderness’ we inhabit -- We’re like a caravan travelling across the waste, offering sanctuary and a direction to the lost and vulnerable of this world ... It can be very scary to follow God. But, it may be even more dangerous not to have God’s protection! (Psalm 121) The world needs you! Jesus prepared his disciples for persecutions to come. (Mark 13) We do well to heed those warnings too, and to prepare ourselves in prayer and in daily living. On the other hand, because we’re experiencing God and learning a new way of living and seeing the larger ‘picture’ of life and death and new eternal life ... we receive a gift more precious than most people ever dream of! So, whether you are a provider of sanctuary or a recipient of sanctuary, you are blessed! Either way you are richly blessed for being a part of God’s family. As God’s family we have the gift of two societies -- and even if one disowns us, God never will, for God is forever faithful! ( II Timothy 2) Amen! That’s the way it is.
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