I do not know a whole lot about Gandhi. I know a little; I’ve seen the movie. I know that he inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. I know that he was one of the most powerful people the world has ever seen, and that his power came not through violence, but through a commitment to peace and an unconditional love for all people.
It would probably be good for me to study Gandhi some, to study how he used the power of love, the power that all religions recognize as the unifying force for good that has the potential to bring healing and wholeness to the world.
We recognize the goodness of that power. We recognize it in Gandhi, in Martin Luther King, in Oscar Romero, and others. People like these, we honor as saints, as holy ones, as national and global heroes, as blessed souls.
At the same time, we find it very hard to live as they lived, to let our love be complete, genuine, and whole. And so it is good to study the lives of those who, though they were not perfect, were able to find their way to a more complete love.
I know that Gandhi, throughout most of his adult life, read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount every day. In the Sermon on the Mount, Gandhi saw a truth that was more powerful than the empire that occupied his native India, a truth more powerful than the enmity that divided Hindus and Muslims. It was the Sermon on the Mount that led Gandhi to confess his admiration for Jesus and his teachings, and to lament the fact that so many of Jesus’ followers do tend to stray from the way he taught.
The Sermon on the Mount is the keynote address of the new age, the new kingdom, that Jesus came to introduce. It describes what God’s kingdom is like. It describes what the world as God intends it to be is like.
The gospel of Matthew likes to refer to this new age, this new kingdom, as the kingdom of heaven. The other gospel writers prefer to call it the kingdom of God. There is no difference.
John Dominic Crossan points out a useful analogy: if one news channel reports on what the president said, and another news channel reports on what the White House said, we know that they’re talking about the same thing. The White House is the dwelling place of the president, and it is proper etiquette to say that the White House says this or that when referring to the president.
For Matthew, for whatever reason – etiquette, perhaps – it seemed proper to speak of the kingdom of heaven, rather than the kingdom of God, since heaven is the dwelling place of God.
But what is the kingdom of heaven (or the kingdom of God)? Well, it is not a separate place; it cannot be defined by latitude and longitude. But neither is it other-worldly. Because Matthew refers to it as the kingdom of heaven, people often think of this kingdom as having little to do with life on earth, but that’s not true.
God’s kingdom is in fact what the world looks like when people live as God intends for them to live. Elsewhere in scripture Jesus says that the kingdom is among you, right now.
I will admit, the language can be problematic. Martin Luther King chose to call God’s kingdom the beloved community. John Dominic Crossan calls it God’s great clean-up. Others have referred to it as the reign or ruling of God. It is life in which God is in control.
The Sermon on the Mount is, as I said, the keynote address of this kingdom. It begins with what we heard today – the beatitudes – and continues across three full chapters in Matthew’s gospel. If you want to know what God’s kingdom is like, read the Sermon on the Mount. If you want to know what the world as God intends it to be is like, read the Sermon on the Mount.
It is significant that the Sermon on the Mount took place on a mountain, since that is where God has often communicated with his people. It is also significant that the mountain is unnamed. Matthew makes it clear that the kingdom of God does not depend on earthly powers or authorities. The manifestation of that kingdom does not occur primarily in palaces or temples. The kingdom exists anywhere people live by God’s vision for the world. It truly is among the people. It exists wherever people follow the way of Jesus. Even on an unnamed mountain out in the desert. Especially on an unnamed mountain in the desert.
The kingdom isn’t necessarily found among the religious elites in the temple. Instead, the kingdom exists among the poor in spirit. In fact, it is to them that the kingdom belongs. It does not belong to those who are so convinced of their own worthiness, their holiness, their righteousness. It belongs to those who know that they are not perfect. It belongs to those who recognize that they have some growing to do. It belongs to those who have questions and doubts. It belongs to those who recognize the messiness of their own lives and the messiness of the world around them. It belongs to those who recognize the gospel as containing salvation for sinners, rather than praise for the self-righteous.
The kingdom exists among those who mourn. What are they mourning? They are mourning the loss of the life they once knew. They are mourning the loss of the temple. They are mourning the fact that no earthly kingdom has ever fully lived up to the standard that God demands. They are mourning, but in the kingdom of God, they find comfort.
The kingdom exists among those who are meek. The powerful have built their own kingdoms, but God’s kingdom is for those who rely on no power but God’s power.
The kingdom is for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who work to establish right relationships with God and with one another. So many people of faith think that the most important thing is to be right. Nu-uh. It is more important to be in right relationship. It is more important to love God and love one’s neighbor. It is more important to work for justice, to ensure that all people share equally in the blessings of God, the blessings of earth and society. There is no righteousness if your neighbor is hungry. If you work to ensure that your neighbor is filled, then you yourself will be filled.
The kingdom exists among those who are merciful, among those who choose to love. Love, and you will receive love.
The kingdom exists among those who are pure in heart. Among the kingdoms of this world are many who have mixed motives. In the kingdom of God, the one motive is love.
The kingdom of God exists among the peacemakers. The way of violence is the way of the kingdoms of this world. The temptation to utilize force or violence is one of the greatest temptations we face. John Dominic Crossan says that, in the Lord’s Prayer, the phrase “lead me not into temptation” refers specifically to the temptation to use violence, to use the methods of earthly kingdoms. In the Garden of Gethsemene, Jesus tells Peter to pray that he may not give in to temptation, but instead of praying, Peter falls asleep. Soon after, Jesus is arrested, and Peter does in fact give in to temptation; he draws his sword to defend Jesus, but Jesus rebukes him, ordering him to put back his sword. The way of the sword is not the way of God’s kingdom. The way of peace is. The kingdom exists among the peacemakers; they are called children of God.
The kingdom exists among those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. When you suffer for your faith, when you make sacrifices, when people revile you because of your faith, the kingdom is present. Maybe you don’t feel that these are difficult times for Christians. Maybe you give thanks to God that you don’t live in times of persecution. Or, maybe, you are too willing to compromise your faith in order to avoid persecution and reviling. After all, it’s not that popular, among some folks, to be fully committed to peacemaking. It’s not that popular to work for an equitable distribution of wealth, to ensure that the disparity between rich and poor is not too great. It’s not that popular, these days, to be concerned about the welfare of the resident aliens among us. Following the way of Jesus is often difficult, and we may face opposition, but when we do, we are blessed, because we are in the kingdom of heaven. Seeking justice is for all people is not always easy. Showing love to one’s neighbor is often a challenge. Walking humbly with God, well, that’s pretty much the same thing as being meek or poor in spirit. The world generally does not reward those who show humility. The world generally does not acknowledge power that isn’t based on wealth or physical force. But the kingdom of God is built upon things such as these.
Gandhi read the Sermon on the Mount every day. It was one of the things that led him to a higher, better way of living, a way of living that we might refer to as the kingdom of God. It was one of the things that allowed him to become a “mahatma,” a blessed soul. A great soul.
There is great power in the Sermon on the Mount. It is not the power of might, but the power of right, the power of good, the power of love. It is the power of the soul, the satyagraha that became Gandhi’s primary tool. It is the power of God’s kingdom at work. It is the power through which God’s people can bring wholeness to a fragmented world.
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