There's lots of talk about kingdoms at the moment. On TV there's the
second series of Bernard Cornwell's 'The Last Kingdom' about the
struggle between the Saxons and the Danes, and also the second series
of 'Versailles' the drama about the rule of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
In the first the kingdoms are won and held by battles and bloodshed,
and in the second the kingdom revolves around the whim and will of
one person, the king.
This month, however, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has invited us to
think about a different kingdom, the Kingdom of God. Under the title
'Thy Kingdom Come' Archbishop Justin has invited Christians around
the world during the time between Ascension and Pentecost (24th
May-4th June), not to fight for a kingdom but to pray for
God's Kingdom to come. He has deliberately echoed the words of the
Lord's prayer, in which Jesus taught us to pray “thy kingdom come:
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. And this phrase
gives us a clue as to what the coming of God's Kingdom looks like.
God's Kingdom is all about God's will being done on earth, but unlike
the absolute rule of Louis XIV, God's absolute rule is one of justice
and peace to give us all abundant life, not just to please the king.
It also reminds us that the Christian vision of life in God's Kingdom
is not really about what happens to us when we die or at some future
time, it's about what happens in the here-and-now. God's Kingdom on
earth started with Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension so it's
something that he invites us to be part of and also to help bring
about. And we become part of it by following God's will in our
lives.
This is easier said than done, but it starts with having a
relationship with Jesus and a living faith in him, so the focus of
the time of prayer is not just to pray for people's needs;
personally, locally, nationally or internationally but to pray that
people will come to know Jesus and that Christians would be empowered
to speak about their faith.
As usual on the days before Ascension, we'll be having our 'Rogation
Day Blessing Service' where we will be asking God to bless the parish
and the midweek services will have a particular focus on praying for
God's Kingdom to come, so please feel free to join us as we pray or
to send us any requests for prayer.
As
Ian Adams has written on www.thykingdomcome.global “To
pray 'Thy Kingdom Come' is to pray for a shift in the world around
us...But to pray 'Thy Kingdom Come' is first to pray for a shift
within ourselves.” Are you brave enough to pray that prayer?
