Homily for the Monroe Area Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service

As followers of Jesus we are tasked with joining Him in his work of bringing healing and wholeness to the world. This is what we pray every time we say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We must recognize that we’re living in the already-but-not-yet Kingdom of God. We are standing on a threshold, the in-between, liminal space where God’s Kingdom has come in the form of Jesus, in his incarnation and crucifixion and resurrection, in the way Jesus healed and loved and served. And God’s Kingdom continues to come in us, in the ways we gather together as the corporate body of Christ, in the ways we care for widows and orphans and clothe the naked and feed the hungry. This is God’s Kingdom coming.

 

But then we blink, and this spiritual reality seems but an impossible dream. God’s Kingdom, in all its glory and fullness, is not yet here. We take just one look at the media and we’re reminded of the brokenness in our world. Our eyes are brought to tears each time we read yet another headline about a mass shooting or police brutality or bomb threats in our schools. Something inside us churns with discomfort and lament when we pass by the homeless in our own city or we read about the growing number of children in foster care or we learn more about the realities of human trafficking in our corner of the world. The realities of poverty and neglect and abuse in our own community is something we must grapple with. This is what it means to be followers of Jesus – to feel the brokenness and join in His healing work in the world.  

 

And on top of the chaos swirling all around us, we deal daily with our own worries and limitations. Physically we face illness and aging and injury and cancer. We grieve miscarriages and infertility. Our relationships with friends and family members can bring joy, but so, too, can they bring pain and heartache. We battle depression and debilitating anxiety and all-consuming addictions.  

 

Where is God in all of this? That’s the question each of us must wrestle with time and time again. We have plenty to concern us, more than enough worries for today. Our job as members of God’s Kingdom is to always search for his grace in the midst of our brokenness. “But strive first for the Kingdom of God” it says in Matthew 6:33. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now” (Eugene Peterson, The Message). This is our task – to arrange our lives in such a way as to see God in all things. We, whose spiritual eyes have been opened to God’s realities, must continually search out these glimpses of God’s work in the world and call attention to it. We hunt for God’s goodness in all people and in all circumstances, and keep on declaring to all who will listen, “God   is here.”

 

And no, this isn’t easy. To keep sight of God in the midst of our mundane comings and goings, in our family gatherings and in our board meetings and in death and loss and in poverty and bigotry… this takes constant vigilance. We must live spiritually disciplined lives if we intend to partner with Jesus in bringing his kingdom to earth as it in heaven.  

 

According to Paul’s words in Philippians, we must take on the spiritual disciplines of rejoicing and prayer. Rejoicing?  … Prayer? These practices might sound obvious and even simple, trite reactions to earth-shattering problems. But as a response to the brokenness and oppression plaguing our world, rejoicing and praying are downright rebellious acts. According to the Life with God Bible definition, to rejoice is to take “utter delight and joy in ourselves, in our life, and in our world as a result of our faith and confidence in God’s greatness, beauty, and goodness.” This practice of finding reason to give things in all things is to push back on the way our culture tells us to live.

 

And Prayer. Prayer is one of the most subversive ways to live, to acknowledge the spiritual reality of God’s Kingdom breaking through in the midst of our physical reality. Prayer is a way to continually be sharing with God what we are doing while discovering what work God is accomplishing and how we might join this work. To pray in all circumstances, rather than fretting and stewing in worry, is to rebel against the status quo. “And before you know it,” says Philippians 4:7 in the Message, “a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (MSG, Ph 4:7)

 

These disciplines of rejoicing and prayer are not magic tricks to make God’s peace appear. Rather, they open our eyes to the spiritual reality – that the peace of God is always in our midst. When we train our minds to think about the things of the Spirit, our awareness will constantly come back in tune with God’s presence in all things. Paul writes, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

 

So this is where the peace comes: when we tune our ears to listen for the voice of the Spirit in all things, the voice of love and joy and peace.

• The Spirit speaks truth, not lies or condemnation
• The Spirit speaks honorably of others, not sowing seeds of dissension or competition
• The Spirit speaks justice, real justice, God’s Kingdom justice which stands in solidarity with those who are oppressed or marginalized by the power-hungry.
• The Spirit brings purity, not corruption and darkness and fear.
• The Spirit’s work is pleasing, compelling…life-giving, not life-draining
• The Spirit’s work is commendable, excellent and deserving of praise…and we get to be a part of this work!

So as we live on the threshold between the already and not yet of God’s Kingdom, let us be vigilant in our hunt for the Spirit’s presence in every moment, practicing prayer in the midst of lament and sadness, and giving thanks in all things. For glimpses of God’s work of wholeness and healing can always be found.