“Thy Kingdom Come”

The following is the fourth of twelve monthly reflections about the phrases of the “Lord’s Prayer” and what they tell us about family life.

While my wife and I do not have teenagers yet, I lived through my own teenage years and witnessed those of three siblings.  It is a time marked with angst, potential, self-consciousness, change, and sometimes rebellion.  Perhaps readers will recall hearing some version of the phrase “You’re not the boss of me!” shouted by their teenage selves or by their children at some moment of familial discord.  There is a distinct discovery by teenagers (and sometimes their parents) that free will is not just a theological principle but also a life reality.  Once the rebellion against all authority has calmed a bit, children eventually develop to the point of choosing the manner in which they will live their lives.  And while making up our own personal rules for life has grown in popularity within our culture, the wisdom of our faith teaches us that submitting to the proper authority will bring us peace in our suffering, hope for our future, and life beyond our death.  As we pray the Lord’s prayer, the phrase “thy kingdom come” does beg the question, “Who is our King?”

            I sometimes wonder if, by the way we live our lives, that we do not really mean “my kingdom come.”  It is easy to become preoccupied with the square footage of our houses or property, our advancing careers and titles, the amount in our retirement funds, our social status among friends of what parties we attend or trips we have taken, our children’s status on the sports team, and whatever other temporal thing clamors for our attention.  I am not suggesting that any of these things is inherently evil, of course, but when we become preoccupied with them to the point of neglecting our faith and relationship with God, a reprioritization is in order.  If we find ourselves in this state of caring too much about earthly things in bringing about the kingdom, we are not alone.  The scriptures brim with instructive examples of people, the disciples included, thinking God’s kingdom is about one thing when it is almost completely otherwise.

The Lenten readings help us with some good examples.  Satan woefully miscalculates when he takes Jesus to see all the kingdoms of the world, promising allegiance of all if Jesus will simply worship him.  Christ refuses, knowing that worldly allegiances are temporary, especially when coerced.  He instead desires to respect our free will and calls us to himself through works of peace, justice, and charity.  Next, we have the telling dialogue between Pontius Pilate and Jesus in John 18.  Pilate, a representative and follower of worldly authority, questions Jesus about kingship, asking Christ, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus eventually tells him, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.  If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over…”  Jesus again corrects a false notion of authority and asserts that God’s Kingdom is different from all others.

There are additional examples, but the most telling is the crucifixion scene that hangs in our churches around the world.  Our King is not lifted up on a throne of precious metal but of rough wood.  His hands and head are not adorned with jewels and a crown of gold but with nails and a ring of thorns.  He receives not cries of praise and adulation but of mockery and curses.  He is not given a place of honor but one of shame among criminals.  Yet, despite all these examples of humiliation, our King accomplishes by his actions that which no other authority could: the salvation of the entire world.

As we meditate on God’s Kingdom this Lent, we put aside our worldly notions of power, grandeur, and authority.  Instead, we reflect on what it means to be Christian and follow Christ all the way to Calvary, knowing where that journey eventually leads.  From the world’s perspective, our Lenten practices of self-denial seem foolish.  What could we hope to accomplish through fervent prayer, willful fasting, and sacrificial almsgiving?  We ourselves sometimes do not even see the fruits of our efforts right away, but then again, we are simply following the lead of the Master.