What end? It’s only October. Surely, we’re not coming to the end any time soon. Well, we are only a month away from the end of the liturgical year. While it is good to keep track of such things and to plan for the transition into a new year when Advent begins, that isn’t the end we have in mind here.
We are a pilgrim people; we have a destination in mind as we move forward in our journey of faith. It may seem at times that we are just wandering aimlessly, doing our best to stay clean in an increasingly messy world. But the deeper truth is that we are heading somewhere. We are on a quest toward the kingdom of God. Sometimes we call it a kin-dom as a reminder that this is a corporate journey; it is a community vision. But whatever we call it, it is the vision that Jesus shared again and again with images both powerful and subtle.
Is it heaven? Well, yes, we are on our way to heaven, but not as traditionally described. Instead, it is the new heaven and the new earth of which we get a glimpse in Revelation, a new way of living and being in the presence of God always. It is affirmation and transformation. We are reminded that we are loved and called into new life and new hope and into a community of mutual support and encouragement.
This end, this goal, this hope is in sight because we are living it out every day. Every time we act as the church in the work of discipleship and reconciliation and joy, we reflect this hope; we glimpse this destination. We are a people who live with the end in sight.
Week 1: The Things that are God’s
What end? It’s only October. Surely, we’re not coming to the end any time soon. Well, we are only a month away from the end of the liturgical year. While it is good to keep track of such things and to plan for the transition into a new year when Advent begins, that isn’t the end we have in mind here.
We are a pilgrim people; we have a destination in mind as we move forward in our journey of faith. It may seem at times that we are just wandering aimlessly, doing our best to stay clean in an increasingly messy world. But the deeper truth is that we are heading somewhere. We are on a quest toward the kingdom of God. Sometimes we call it a kin-dom as a reminder that this is a corporate journey; it is a community vision. But whatever we call it, it is the vision that Jesus shared again and again with images both powerful and subtle.
Week 2: Face to Face
We continue to envision what it would be like to live in the kin-dom of God as a community of faith. But this week, we focus on the doing. It is important for us to understand that loving God and loving neighbor is not about cultivating attitudes or about generating feelings or emotions. Sure, it is great to have a warm heart toward those with whom we serve, but it is not a prerequisite. When we are given this commandment to love God and love neighbor, it is all about how we act, about what we do, how we show love in day-by-day encounters and in casual points of contact as well as moments of mission and ministry. How do we live in community, face to face with the people Jesus told us to serve?
Rev. Dr. Derek Weber, Director of Preaching Ministries, served churches in Indiana and Arkansas and the British Methodist Church. His PhD is from University of Edinburgh in preaching and media. He has taught preaching in seminary and conference settings for more than 20 years.