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th
THE KINGDON ‘OF, 600 BETHANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Psalm 47, LAFAYETTE, INDIANA
Mark 1:9415 JOHN M. BUCHANAN

March ig.) 1973

His childhood and adglescence are, at best, obscure.\ With the single exception of a
See eS
, only used we —
story about a family trip to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old we know Redtbdbageatenald . .

eee TN, SS Soyer

The town in which he was brought up was Nazareth, in the district of Galilee, a semi-pagan

and much despised region.\ His parents were part of the Jewish population;\ his father was

a carpenter by trade and we may assume that his eldest son followed him in the trade.\ He

[a

had four younger brother; James, Joses, Judas and Simon:\and more than one sister\\ He

spoke the Aramaic of Galilee, with an accent so distinct that it identified him and his

followers as Galileans.\ He also knew the Hebrew language, although it was no longer spoken
SSS Eee

except in the Temple and Synagog.

===

At about the age of thirty he embarked on a remarkable career. | He showed up one day
Sra Se SS a |

in a crowd of people on the banks of the Jordon River to hear a prophet by the rame of John

eee

announce that the day of judgement was at hand.\ He was, himself, baptized by John, but

instead of following John in the Jordon valley, began a campaign of sorts back in Galilee.

His method was not John's:\ instead of baptizing he depended on the spoken word and a help~

—— =a

ing hand. | It is not certain how Jong it lasted. \ on the basis of the number of times he

iw the We Gospel
celebrated the Passover accesdtaguicwebale-ecseumt, it may have been Three years.\ But

it is also quite possible that the time elapsed from Baptism to Crucifixion may have been

about one year.

We know that he took up a kind of permanent residence in a house in capernun:\ that he

traveled around Gali lee,\ that he taught, healed;\ that he recruited disciples, that crowds
ea SE

of people flocked to him wherever he went.

We know that he ran into conflict quite early:\at first with the religious authorities,

and finally with the civil or political authorities \ We know that the decisive point

in his life was the decision to come Into the city of Jerusalem itself \ Most of the

material in the Gospels deals with that experience which resulted - in five short days -
= ===. —= SSS,

in his execution. \We know that his death was followed by his friends claiming that he

Pee
rose from the dead; |and that many of them documented that claim with their own personal
LI « eee —_—S=s

experience.

-2-

From the point of view of secular history there are a few minor references to him.

Tacitus, the Roman chronicler, in his account of the burning of Rome under Nero, in 64 AD

bea | epee

mentions the followers of "Christus" as "enemies of mankind" and blames them for the fire.

ne,

There are two or three other references: \none of which tells us much about him except that

ie. ———— i;

he existed.

—

And that 's it:\the bare outline of a rite. And what emerges from if is an intriguing
| al
story ~ with many gaps, to be sure; land the necessity ~ if we are fo take him at all
seriously - of knowing what he said, and what he meant by what he sald.\ As we move through
the Lenten Season, this is the project to which we will be settinourselves.\ tn worship
es ee mamaal —_—a
we will be celebrating his Lordship. \ In sermons we wifl be focusing on the Biblical .
witness and the important Bib! ica! tremes. \ ve wit be jumping off each week - that is to
say - not with where we are; but with the Bible.) May | suggest, in addition, that this
aie mad Midisimibaatiiny, ee
approach to sermonizing is possibly more demanding on the tistener than any other: your
nce cee atic
involvement fs necessary:{ the conclusions to sermonic content will often be left unstated -
(eineerseiiemreccier, be eal eenerrerrerienas, ‘tah,

reserved for you to draw for yourset t.\ Nay | suggest that you can make this a mutual
tin mniaiinan nani minemniaial nd

project by reading the Bible yourself ~ particularly the cospe!s | A good place to begin

el

is with Mark.\ You wit! find copies of the four Gospels - in Today's English Version ~ on

—e

the !iterature rack, and at 5¢ a piece it's a bargain you can hardly fgnore.
—, Le,

| Meck introduces him in these vords:\"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came Into

Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, (the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom
of God Is at hand; repent, and believe In the cospe! .") (Mark 1: 14-13)

That is the earliest and most common description of Jesus' messa o\ That is what

ate

he sald: "The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe. The phrase "Kingdom of Gad"

—

is obviously Ingortant:\ve need te know what he meant when he used it: what his hearers
_——E

+ ™

, nipov
Aroq SF when they heard it: fang what i+ might mean to us twenty centures after the fact. |

This phrase itself becomes the"Kingdom of Heaven" in Matthew's Gospel because it was

5 ee tin |

written for a distinctly Jewish readership, and the Jews were schooled rot to use the name

of sod. | tn the fourth Gospe!, written decades later, the idea of God's Kingdom is expressed

br aed ——

in the phrase "eternal Hite." | Pout, In turn, incorporates the same idea content In his
ve ad — en] inane

concept of "saivation: and "life in the spirit. \ tn any case the tdea of the "Kingdom
a _

oo Mh a

of God" is the fundamental theme of Jesus! message.
etn

— ‘pear ERiChiEN Se

Although it may be a rather fuzzy idea fo us it was not at alt vague fo the Jews of

the day.) For it was a central theme in their own ftife and history. | i was hel ped to under~

‘
stand the idea by fearning that the Hebrew fanguage deals with tewmbion in verb rather than

Ce

noun form.\ God's Kingdom Is not a territory with geographical perimeters it is not a

7 —__ ee aannel

place here or elsewhere: | it is not a political relationship or a political system. | tis
mer 2

not, that Is to say, a Kingdom in the way we use that word. Rather it is the situation in
el rer rT

which God's ruling fs expressed in his will being done by his peopte.\ 1+ is a "state"
Lae nite |
and not a "place",
—
In the Old Testament, God's Kingship, God's ruling, was celebrated yearly in ritual
Lei nee, ied es

and worship. | Annually God was regntthroned \ Psz ins were written to be used on that
Ce a ee ied

occassion:\ they are calfed enthronement Psalms or Psalms of ascent.\ Psalm 47 is a good
=_——E —
i lustration: ("God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet, Sing

biel

praises to Gad, sing praisest .|\.God reigns over the nations;\God sits on his haly throne.” ]

Long before they had their own manarch Israel's King was God:\ and when finally the monarchy

was established by Saul, then David and Sotomon, the King was known as God's sgn, who ruled

eee, me i ET eee

on his behalf.

God's Kingdom - God's rule, for the Jews, was a present reality but always a future

beneiage ae eal _—ae weet Lai: |

hope.) Because !t was a state, and therefore dependent on men obeying God's law and will,
a_i

it was never perfect; never complete. \That would come in the future - on the day of the

a ie | i Led

Lord.

The signigicance of that idea for the life of [srae! cannot be overstated. \ God's
eo i, CELT CER

rule was what gave them a national Identity:\God's ultimate and perfect retgn was the source

Eee

of the strong hope In the future that has not died over the centuries.\ One writer put it
So nan abl Leta ee,

in these words \"Upon this hope is built the certainty that God is the Lord of this

er

puzzling world, and witl not always remain afar off.. \it is a fundamental part of these

mand

hopes that the spirit of resignation which banishes God to a misty place beyond our ideals
and which accepts the idea that no change Is possible in this world, is totally strange
a ey

to ie | { Loe

That's the theology of the Kingdom of God in pure form.\ But the ancient Jews were

~4-

no more pure than anyone efse and gradually attached their own nationalistic, patriotic
ieee ee eiinny

hopes to the igea. \ after the grand and powerful Kingdom put together by David fell aparT,
el ee i

patriotism and nostalgia distorted theotegy \ Ane by Jesus! time, the "Kingdom of God"

beaten eal

meant many people political independence from Rome, the restoration of the Monarch and

the rebirth of the nation as a mighty world power.

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And so it's no wonder that this simple, direct littic message lithe Kingdom of Cod
ee, he be) .

is at hand was the source of a fot anxiety.) Quite obviously, it would have bothered

Soe CS

the Romans, who had taken the pulse of thsir reluctant Hebrew subjects, and who heard in

ae

this phrase the whisper of revolt and revelution.\ To the strongly patriotic Jew - the
on. — a, i ers

Zealot - if was in fact a thinly disguised call to arms ~ which, by the way, seems to have
br cael hte,

been Judas Iscariot's agenda.\ To other Jews - who were enjoying the status quo it was
i al

irresponsible and dangerous rhotoric\ Some ~ but not many - knew what he meant \ And the
IE ee

onfy thing we can be sure of is that when he used the phrase - he got attention — people

—_

listened.

"The Kingdom of God is at hand" God_is now reigning.

"Repent" - turn away from all your other commitments.
"Believe The Gospel" ~ acknowledge God's kingship, enter his kingdom by living as
his people.

What did he mean? \Obviously not an earthly kingdom;\pot a place. \ He made peace of

bean a meeeeiiiniinnel

sorts, with fhe political structure of his day \ In his mind the Kingdom of God existed

simultaeneously with the Roman Empire.
— aia tei iia il

Not a Camelot: fnot an unearthly pie in the sky realm to which all good foiks will go
eee

byé and bye-\ But a very earthy, real state of being that exists right in the middle of

life,
In fact sometimes it is so hidden tn the everyday matters of life that men aren't
even aware of it - Itke leaven in bread.\ Sometimes it's so smali and inconsequential that
— chicos teenie’ Te,
men can't see it - like the mustard seed \But it exists ali the same ~- in the hearts of
ir re, [a

“on when the will of Gad js done.
ee —

All men are invited to enter - by believing in God's Kingship - his absolute soverc’

ity over ali men and all retions;| on by living as citizens of this Kingdom, the rules and
eT, Siena

\ wes
taws of which are the wifl of God himself.
eee gre

Now - that ultimate question that must be put to any such exercise as this ("So
el

What?" ) We know a littte bit more than we did before about Jesus use of the phrase "The

Kingdom of God" ~ but if it's going to become God's word to me where ! am if has to come

a

alive, be relevant, address me here and now = not just in my mind, but in my heart and

spirit and viscera.

Sal

Well, to hear Jesus Christ proclaim that God's Kingdom is at hand, and to believe it,
L aahaienaii eT

tard

is first of all to look at the future with a new and resonant noperuiness.\ "Hope", |
Ce eel ieeeennel anal a

would suggest, has become a major casualty in our day ~- for some rather understandable
a,

—_

reasons. | Time Magazine suggests that the return of the P.O.W.'s has become an avent of
eee CS

major significance nationally because it's the only really hopeful thing that has happened
CL i re aed

for a decade,.\ We've learned to !lve with the assassination of our leaders, with a kind of

ataiaepeccommemies: «= —Ci«é

permanet racial tenston that ebbs and flows but never goas evay |with escalating violence

in our streets ,\ in the sky\ and still in S. &. asia We've grown gccustemed to peace that
really isn't peaces\ with staggering national problems which our government apparently '
el
believes will simply go away if ignored long enough.
al
| was interested to hear Dr. Wilfiiam Fischer, a psychiatrist from the |.U. Med.
Dil

Center, in an address to jocal Physicians, Clergymen and Nurses this week, list all the

nial

psychological reasons people commit suicide. \ And then hetd up before us an underlying
ier, Lae nie ee ee

cause that seems fo be characteristic of our age: [he called itTU'Existential dread")

ie

Essentialiy it Is the feeling of smallness, powerlessness, being of no consequence and the
beni sainwiel cere, 0 IP ANERICE

total absence of hope.

The only antidote there is for that Is some sense that there is more to reality Than
be ee

we are able to perceive;| mat no matter how badly things look there fs something else

going on out there that doesn't meet the eye. |\ No matter how much things look as if they're
dani CEN —aere

out of control ,| God is stifi God, the future is still his, Jno set back, no defeat upsets
Led a a amihhaeannadl ie

mmm TL

his ruie| "The Kingdam ofGod is at hana.

bene eel

Out of that hope, that basically positive attitude about the future and it's possibili-

ci

ties comes a new reason to work for a better world. \Apathetic people are hopeless people.
a —_—ee

Involved, ative, active people are full of hope. \ The++-means-going-4o- Project Commitment

=a i

N
“e
=
i
4
_
4
x
2
me
os

tg ope

and sharing in the coacerns and hurts of your black brother instead: al being anesthetized
“TT ed sis,

one more timg by T.¥. \: it means going to the State Capitol on behalt ef public education
moe

instead of throwing ‘your hands up in despair.”

it means realizing that in God's Kingdom—the state of God's rule - some issues jhat
- -. a a, Li aie ae el
are difficult and controversial - sudden!y become pelority sons {HIB possiale, for
s a citizen of God's Kingdom,quided by God's will,
instance, for a person who sees himseif fro be unconcerned about peace, about justice, about

hungry children, about oppressed people?

[+ means, | believe, taking the Church of Jesus Christ a whole lot more seriously
eee eae

than most of us do Jour g Job as a church Is, fundamentally, to be an audio-visual ald for

a_i

the purpose of showing the world what the Kingdem of God is\ That's quite an agenda - but

mien immniell

| believe it is what we are about here ~ nothing less\\ The jeb of the Church is, fundamen-

ae EEE,

tally, fo so live the will of God that other people will be able fo see it clegty:\ not
to setl Jesus Christ like a box_of detergent - but to be what we say we are. ou. eae

Finally, it is to pray "Thy Kingdom Come" - knowing that it is already here - it is oe

— i

Lesa aan inen ama ba :
at hand whenever the will of God is done - by me or to co. it is to know that God's King+ wa

dom is hidden in cur lives - Just as surely as yeast is in peeed. | 14 is to know - with al
SanrErECiEryimcimacerblt,. — me Lied

the maturity we can muster=that God's Kingdom is not a Camelot :\i+ does not mean painiess—

te,

ness} Life without grief and suffering and sickness anc death \ but that it exists precisely
A bl a aemmete el i — niin

in the midst of all of that - Just as it was never more present in the life of the world
‘Sate CC Co

than when Jesus himself was put to deavh.
a, Sl aan aaa

"The Kingdom of God fs at hand" he sald) And | know it is - sometimes in worsh'p,| some-

times at the bedside of someone U1 \ sonetings when a chitd gives me a pus, | songtines when
inal crate al

ee

someone loves when they have every reason to hate ,\ sometimes when people give themselves
~~ s

to their community and fellowmen and don't really have to.

Standing in the bombed-out ruins of his church in Stuttgart in 1944, Helmut Thiel icke,

De el

preached a sermon that | have read and reread many tines \ Let me share one sentence with
Fe ed

rman —

you:

"Th, with, and under the world's anguish and distress Ning with and

—_—

under the hail of bombs and mass murders, God is bullding his kingdom".

(Our Heaventy Father, P. 60)

(7)

Jesus Said:

Eee

"The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God Is at hand; |repent

and believe in the Gospel." AMEN

Father, as we move through this Lenten. Seasen, help us to see that your Kingdom is as

close as the person sitting next ta us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN