A reflection on Matthew 9:14-17 delivered at the noon Eucharist of the Lutheran-Anglican Joint Assembly in Ottawa, Ontario on Saturday July 6, 2013.
The Kingdom of God is near
With us.
Amongst us.
Before & behind us.
The Kingdom of God is here.
But it is here,
Not of our own choosing,
Not of our own creation
Not of our own machinations
Deliberations
Or wisely worded motions.
It is here, dear friends.
The Kingdom of God is here.
Should we have eyes to see
Should we have ears to hear
That God’s own kingdom
a grace-filled kingdom
a mercy-filled kingdom
a healing, redeeming, self-sacrificing kingdom
of love is truly here.
I tried patching it once, God’s kingdom.I try it again and again.
Elbows with corduroy,
knees with brightly coloured cloth.
Each time I’ve patched it,
the patches have pulled right off.
I’ve mourned the loss of many things,
Of friends and buildings in decline
And tried to fill it up again
Carelessly with new wine
This mouth is poison
This mouth is wine
I wonder if my dreams are God’s
More or less
than half the time.
I’ve forgotten once.
I’ve forgotten twice.
Perhaps you’ve forgotten too.
Lest we forget what God’s Kingdom is about,
the gospeller refocuses our view:
A girl restored
A woman healed
Men who are blind
and one who is mute
Now they speak and see.
Eyes out of focus, the image is clear.
It’s been before us all along
The bridegroom is here, is with us
Will we ignore the wedding song?
He currently serves as the Director of Missional Renewal for the Anglican Diocese of Kootenay on the unceded territories of the Sinixt, Syilx, and Ktunaxa nations. He previously served as the Director of Ministry Innovation at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, BC.
Andrew is cofounder and contributing editor at www.empireremixed.com, and co-editor of "A Sort of Homecoming: Essays Honoring the Academic and Community Work of Brian Walsh" with Marcia Boniferro and Amanda Jagt.