Does this ever happen to you…?
You’re talking with a friend, but your thoughts are on what’s for dinner. Then when you’re eating dinner, you’re thinking about what you’re going to do later that evening, and you don’t even notice the taste of the food that you were looking forward to earlier in the day.
Or maybe you’re paying your bills, but you’re tired and just want to go to sleep. Then, when it’s time for bed, anxiety about your bills keeps you awake.
Or maybe you want to go to church, but three minutes into the sermon, you start thinking about other things, worrying about things at home….
Life sure is complex, and full of distractions. We’re so busy worrying about things, that sometimes it’s hard to focus.
I don’t know what complexities and distractions were in Jesus’ life, but I’m sure there were some. After he was baptized, he needed to sort these things out and clear his mind.
So the Spirit led him out into the wilderness, for an extended break, a time away from everything; 40 days to clear his mind, put all of his distractions and temptations behind him, and get clear about his mission.
The 40 day time period is clearly reminiscent of the 40 years it took the Hebrews to put Egypt behind them, to get Egypt out of their minds, and get clear about their future as a nation….It’s not always easy to get rid of the distractions, and clear one’s mind. It can be hard work. It can take a long time.
This past week – on Ash Wednesday – the season of Lent began. For Christians, this is a time to put away distractions and clear one’s mind. It is a time to pause, and seek out whatever it is in your life that is keeping you from God and the mission to which God has called you.
Ours is a world of way too many distractions, far too much information, and tons and tons of temptation. There are so many barriers in our lives between us and God, so many roadblocks between us and the patch we are called to travel. Our lives are busy, complicated, and too often there’s just no time for God and God’s work.
Jesus needed 40 days of solitude to figure it all out. He left all distractions behind, so that he could clear his mind, and discern where God was leading him.
When those 40 days were over, he knew. His mind was clear. He was focused. He knew his purpose.
With his mind clear, Jesus emerged from the wilderness and declared:
“The kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
This is the thesis statement of Mark’s gospel. It is Jesus’ entire message summarized in one statement. And while Jesus’ mind may have been clear and focused when he said it, 2000 years later, things have become a little fuzzy and out of focus.
We hear the message of Jesus and we wonder:
What is the kingdom of God?
What does it mean to repent?
What does it mean to believe?
And what is the good news?
A lot of Christians today believe that the phrase “kingdom of God” means life in heaven; a future life beyond this earth. And so when Jesus says that the kingdom is at hand or has come near, they think that this world’s days are quickly drawing to a close, that the end is near, and that one’s focus needs to be on the world to come.
This is the theologically conservative perspective. It is the perspective that pervades much of our culture today. Not too long ago, some White House officials believed so strongly that what happens after this life is all that really matters, that they saw no need to protect the environment. After all, this world didn’t matter; only the next world.
When one conservative pastor was told that maybe there’s more to living a Christian life than preparing for life after death, he had a hard time with that. He wondered: what else is there?
Progressives, on the other hand, understand the kingdom of God as something that is real and possible in this world and in this life. In studying scripture, progressives recognize that Jesus’ use of kingdom language has a very earthly origin.
In scripture, kingdom language is used in contrast to the kingdom of Rome; the kingdom of Rome is a kingdom of fear and oppression, a kingdom of the spear and the sword.
But the kingdom of God, by contrast, is a kingdom of truth and love that shatters the spear and sword. In God’s kingdom, the darkness shall turn to the dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright; and God’s great kingdom shall come on earth… the kingdom of love and light.
The kingdom of God is what this world would be like if everyone followed the way of Christ, and always loved God and loved one’s neighbor. And, in fact, the kingdom of God is a present reality. Christ makes this clear in the stories he told. The kingdom is a present reality whenever an enemy – say, a Samaritan – shows love. The kingdom is present whenever a father welcomes home his wayward son with love and forgiveness. The kingdom is present whenever an outcast is brought back into the community.
The kingdom is present, Jesus says in Luke’s gospel, in you and among you.
Progressive Christians understand that “Kingdom of God” language is very public, political, and radical. In the kingdom of Rome, peace comes about through might and coercion; in God’s kingdom, it comes about through love. One who declares the kingdom of God or who pledges oneself to the kingdom of God is making the claim that no earthly government or authority is supreme.
Caesar is not the head honcho; he’s not the supreme ruler.
Is it any wonder that Rome eventually killed Jesus? The kingdom Jesus proclaimed was a threat to everything Rome stood for. And Rome probably would not have considered him a threat if he only talked about the afterlife.
So progressives understand that the kingdom is now; it is radical; and it is political. It is a kingdom of peace, liberation, and social justice. It is a kingdom that is especially concerned with the poor.
And the dawning of this kingdom has arrived. Which means: now is the time to repent.
For conservative Christians, “repent” means to stop sinning. And the sins that conservatives are most concerned about are personal sins – particularly sins pertaining to sex.
Since the kingdom as conservative Christians understand it has little to do with this present world, conservatives are far more interested in personal sins that might keep one from a future heaven than they are about social sins that create a “hell on earth” for many people today.
Progressives believe that turning away from personal sins is important, but they point out that Jesus was far more concerned about social sins: the sins of society that concentrate wealth in the hands of a few and leave many in poverty; the social sins that take from the poor and give to the rich; the sins of a society that neglect widows and orphans and immigrants and slaves.
Almost exclusively, these are the sins against which the prophets spoke.
Repentance, therefore, involves removing the distractions of this world, setting aside the priorities of earthly kingdoms, where wealth and power for oneself are the ultimate goals.
To repent means to turn away; and to turn away from earthly kingdoms means to turn away from consumerism and materialism and greed, and to truly love others as much as you love yourself; to work hard, passionately, so that all people can enjoy the same blessings you have. In the world we live in, the 400 richest people have as much wealth as the poorest 40% of the world’s people. The wealth of 400 equals the wealth of 3 billion. That is not life in the kingdom of God. That is what we need to repent of.
These social sins are the issues that Jesus seemed particularly concerned with in his ministry. In fact, other than the kingdom of God, Jesus talked more about money and possessions than anything else. Count the verses; it’s true. And he said that a rich person cannot be part of the kingdom of God; and he said you cannot serve God and wealth.
Those are social issues.
Jesus didn’t really talk much about sex. He did mention the sin of adultery, but he also showed mercy to a woman caught having adultery. And Jesus never once mentioned homosexuality. You’d never know that, though, given that, for some Christians, homosexuality is the issue; and they’ll vote for a candidate just because he or she is against gay marriage, and not pay any attention to how that candidate plans to help the poor, or make the world more peaceful.
As a progressive Christian, I don’t get that.
To repent means to turn, to have a change of heart. Progressive Christians do believe that it is important to turn away from personal, moral sins. However, it is just as important – and perhaps even more so – to turn from a way of living that is more concerned with your own personal welfare and less concerned with the welfare of others. It’s time to repent, and start living for justice and peace and liberation and equality in our world, so that God’s kingdom can come on earth as it is in heaven.
“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent, and believe the good news.”
For conservative Christians, to “believe” means to agree with certain doctrinal statements. Conservative churches are much more likely to produce statements of faith which they expect their members to agree with. This is what’s most important: whether or not you agree with these intellectual claims. How one lives flows from what one believes about God.
Progressive Christians place a higher importance on how one lives. For them, believing means more than agreeing with certain doctrinal statements; it means committing oneself to following the way of Christ.
For conservative Christians, it’s like saying to someone, “I believe that what you are telling me is true.” For progressive Christians, it’s more like saying, “I believe in you.”
Progressives point to scriptures like James 2:19, which say that even the demons believe certain truths about God. But the true Christians are those who follow the way of Jesus; those who love Jesus, and who feed his sheep, doing the work he did. Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?” Three times Peter said, “Yes.” Three times Jesus responded, “then feed my sheep.” Live the way I have taught you. Repent of your old way of living. Let your life be transformed.”
Marcus Borg says that to believe is to be-love, and indeed the word believe comes from an old English phrase that means to hold dear.
For the earliest Christians, believing as a way of life was so important to their identity as Christians that they called themselves “Followers of the way.” It is the way of life Jesus committed himself to at his baptism; the way of life he prepared himself for in the wilderness; the way of life he lived by making God’s kingdom of shalom real and present on earth as in heaven.
Finally, we are left with the phrase, “good news,” which is actually a translation of the word gospel. Believe in the good news. Turn your heart to the gospel.
For conservatives, the good news is Jesus’ death on the cross. For progressives, the good news is Jesus’ life, which brings healing and wholeness to the world.
Conservative Christians say that Jesus’ death was the payment God demanded for the sins of humanity, and that by believing that Jesus died in our place, we are saved.
Progressive Christians say that a God who demands punishment of anyone – that a God who insists that somebody must die – is not good news. Progressives therefore understand the crucifixion a little differently, which will actually be the subject of my sermon two weeks from now. (Todays’ sermon is already long enough.)
For progressive Christians, the good news is God’s love for all people, and particularly for those who suffer: the poor and the oppressed.
Through Week of Compassion, we are bringing good news to those who suffer. We are feeding Christ’s sheep. Whenever you clothe the naked, feed the hungry, care for the sick, or in any way show love to the least of these, you are bringing them good news. You are sharing with them God’s love.
A number of congregations are observing today, February 26, as Freedom Sunday, with a special focus on human trafficking. It’s hard to believe, but even right here in southern California, even right here in Long Beach, there are people being kept as slaves, held by chains of fear, many of them forced to work as prostitutes.
Few people need to hear good news in their lives more than they. Somehow we have become a society that lives in denial that such a thing is possible in our midst, and thus we have allowed it to continue.
For their sake, and for the sake of all those whose lives are broken and who are in need of wholeness… it’s time to proclaim God’s kingdom, to make it a present reality.
For their sake, it’s time to repent.
For their sake, it’s time to believe – really believe – in the good news of Jesus Christ.
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