His Kingdom Come

As I was writing this reflection I started to worry about people who might read it and say, "Whats wrong with me if I don't feel the way he does?" and on the chance that it might be the case I will say a few words before we begin. Every Christian goes through highs and lows in their spiritual life. Being at the bottom is not bad nor is it wrong. In fact I shouldn't wonder if it is the low points of our spiritual life that God shows us and gives us the strength to reach the heights we aspire to. So if you ever read anything at all that makes you feel like less of a Christian for feeling down. Stop. and remember that whoever wrote about the good times experienced hard ones and was no less of a saint for it.

This last week of avoiding distractions has brought into focus what I could best describe as God's lesson for me this summer. It came through the second line in the Lord's Prayer, "Your Kingdom come." As I thought about it and prayed about it a passion began to stir in me and I started writing down some of the thoughts that came to mind;

"It's not about fame, its not about fortune, its not about anything in this great wide planet. Its about truth, its about grace, its about love, its about justice.

It's about setting the captives free; free from anger, free from addiction, free from shame, free from earthly bonds of servitude, and free from sin.

Its about defending the defenseless; the orphans, the widows, the migrant workers, the ex-convicts, the illegal immigrants and those in insane asylums.

And its about providing for those in need.

Its not about me. Its about him. Whatever is done; I do, you do, we do, he does, she does, they do. Whatever is done, His Kingdom Come

And this is our Joy: The Love that Christ first showed us, we might share with others."

For the first time it felt like almost all of my being was focused toward a goal. For the first time I found the sort of work that I had previously found to be barley bearable to nearly become a joy. For the first time I was able to tell God that if it was his will I was willing to accept celibacy. I had never been able to do that before since I so cherished the thought of marriage and family. In truth I still do but the yearning for God's kingdom has reached such a pitch that I am no longer afraid to tell God that I'm ok with it if that's his plan for me. Truth be told I'll still be a little sad if it is the case.

The phrase "His Kingdom Come" now holds power in a way that it didn't before. With its new power all the old lines that divided denominations began to blur in front of my eyes, they don't really matter, and all hope for my own greatness began to fade, what am I after all. If I am to be remembered, let it only be so long as the memory of me promotes the Kingdom, and if I am forgot may he never be. Whatever work is done I take no credit. Who made me? Who trained me? Who brought me to his work? That is who deserves credit and not I.

His Kingdom Come!

As I write the end of this a thought crosses my mind and makes me chuckle. If that simple phrase opens up a whole new world for me, what is God's next lesson for me?

What follows from here is a summary of the events of the previous week. If they hold no interest for you, don't read further.

During the main body of the week there were not many going ons. Mainly the other staff was consumed with getting ready for Drama Music Camp (our version of VBS). The big events of my week were Saturday and Monday.

Saturday I went down to Bridge of Life Church to visit Rachel and see what Bridge of Life was about. We biked around the area of their ministry then went over to Old Sacramento. Old Sacramento is set up like it was during the gold rush days. By that I mean the outsides of the shops where the basic trim and style of the day but the shops themselves where modern. After that we went down to see the capitol building of California. It was almost a shock to see so many mature trees in the middle of the city after so long. There were all sorts of huge trees redwoods not least among them. The most interesting thing however was how separate spheres of society live so close together. Just a mile, or as Rachel explained, even a few blocks apart. After the grand tour we went to help out with an awards dinner for the kids involved in the Sports for Life Camp that Bridge of Life put on. I was struck by a statement from one of the leaders who said that the parents ought to encourage their kids to get good at sports since that was the only way to get them a better life. It struck me as wrong. Not false, but wrong that sports was the only way to college and a better life for so many people. Later as I was thinking about it the thought occurred to me, whether it was a good thing to encourage them to leave. Why not have them focus on fixing the place where they are? It certainly can't be that hopeless can it?

Monday was just plain busy. There was Music Drama Camp in the morning from 9-noon. I'm a coach for the 2nd and 3rd graders. That means I play games with them and help them learn their lines and songs with the help of another person. I was also asked to do a bit of story telling so I found an ENORMOUS black beard, a tunic, a staff, and a hat one of the pastors got from Turkey. I called myself Aesop (since I plan on telling some of Aesop's fables later on) and told them the story of Daedalus and Icarus.

Here's a picture of me in the middle of telling the story.

After Drama Music Camp I went and talked with D. Our conversation centered once again on his questions about why God blesses at some times and in some ways and not others. I plan on reflecting on that question and writing a response to him sometime this week. Our conversation once again took about 2 hours. And honestly I was a bit warn out already or I might have been able to provide him with better conversation.

At the end of the day was the Gathering Inn. The Gathering Inn helps a bunch of people who have no homes for whatever reason get food an shelter. They ask for churches to open up their doors and host these people for a night. They do screen the people. Daily drug tests along with a maximum stay time of 180 days in the program keep the people who just want a hand out further away and helps to make sure that people who are actually trying to move their life along get help. I went into more detail in a previous post so I won't get into all the details a second time.

That night we had tri-tip for them and we found a band to provide entertainment for a bit that night. Pastor Doug asked me to give the "words of hope" that night and I told them the story of the hymn "It is well with my soul" and we sang it. My favorite moment of the night was when there was a couple sitting on a bench reading through one of Paul's list of vices that won't get into heaven in a Today booklet. The husband (or so I took him to be) said to her, "where are you in there?" She pointed to a couple of the vices and said, "Forgive me Jesus." I was near by (they had called me over to ask me what some of the words meant) and I said, "And the good news is, he already has." She put her hand on my shoulder as she continued to look at the page and she smiled a little.

That pretty well wraps up my 7th week here.

Godspeed my friends.

His Kingdom Come!