Conference 3: Already, not yet

After his baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to be tested. Mark, with his dramatic proclivities, says that Jesus is ‘immediately thrown by the Spirit’ into the wilderness (Mark 1:12).

Consolation and desolation are fundamental human experiences. God is present in both, but we need help from significant others to understand their meaning. Community is essential.

From the wilderness of testing and temptation, Jesus emerges to announce the nearness of the Kingdom:

From this moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand (Matthew 4:17).

The kingdom of heaven is an elusive term. Jesus gave it no concrete meaning. Rather, he speaks about the kingdom in images and metaphors:

The biblical tradition links the kingship of God closely with the motif of the Spirit. It was one of Israel’s ways of speaking about the Spirit and the Spirit‘s relationship with the world. 

In fact, the kingdom could be described as the ‘irruption’ of the Spirit into the world. 

Ancient cultures experienced a natural connection between the material world and the world of the Spirit, but this is no longer our experience. With our scientific way of thinking we no longer easily connect the world of matter and spirit. Is the rupture irreparable?

A First Nations leader in America is cited:

Of course, nature is an invention of you westerners. Where you see nature, we see spirit at work. The universe of matter is a risk taken by the Spirit. 

The rupture that we now experience is not normative in human history. Still, we must admit that we have always had difficulty connecting matter and spirit. Psalm 41 (42), spoken and written years ago, has a distinctly modern tone:

My tears have become my bread,
by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:
where is your God?

We are not immune from the materialistic view that dominates our cultural landscape. Many sincerely ask – at times sarcastically – ‘Where is your God?’ The voices are loud and relentless.

Jesus enters our world. It is not neutral ground. He has come to ‘break the grip of the powers that are in charge in our world. ’ There is a malignant spirit at work, continually trying to divide matter and spirit.

In the early scenes of the Gospel, particularly the Gospel of Mark, the clash and encounter with the demoniac is dramatic. It might be worth our while letting Mark 5 speak to us again. This remarkable scene – no less than 20 verses – speaks into the heart of our perennial challenge with the forces of evil and division.

Demoniac manifestation in the Gospel is varied. There are subtle changes and development:

As Jesus’ ministry proceeds, overt manifestations of the demoniac recede from the story. 

But a more subtle presence of the demoniac remains in the designs of his adversaries, who want to encompass his death (Matthew 12:14), and in the hearts of the disciples who resist the instruction Jesus gives them about what lies ahead of him in Jerusalem.

We begin to understand, in a deeper and more symbolic way, that the demoniac is acting in opposition to human and divine freedom. This is the real struggle:

Think of the plethora of modern addictions – pornography, gambling, drugs, alcohol, etc. 

Think control and bondage of persons, both personal and collective.

Think destruction through violence, even in our homes.

Indeed, we witness many manifestations of a lack of human freedom aroused by the evil one. All, in one way or another, are forms of death. Where does this leave us?

The counter to all of this is the freedom that flows from being grasped by the kingdom.

Two parables of the kingdom are unique to Matthew: the treasure in the field and the pearl of great value:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid, then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13:44, 45-46).

Note the pattern of these parables:

‘Finds’  ‘Sells all’  ‘Buys’  

Or, think of it this way:

‘Freedom’ ‘Dispossession’  ‘Possession.’

We observe:

The kingdom is essentially future, not something one can possess right now.

But the glimpse of it relativises all other attachments, lending the freedom to ‘sell all’ in order – one day – to gain it. Thus the kingdom, while still future, is already working transformation. 

The kingdom is a splendid interplay of present and future. A well-known theological adage cleverly expresses it: ‘the kingdom is already, not yet.’

The classic definition of faith given in Hebrews is another helpful, interpretative tool of the kingdom and its meaning:

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11).

The light of faith, by which we know the true identity of Jesus gives rise to the hope of eternal, resurrected life with God. Faith and hope are intimately related.

Indeed, the kingdom of heaven is close-at-hand. We experience its power now, but we await its full arrival upon death. We can say, in our ‘heart of hearts’:

We have found the kingdom – and the kingdom has found us.

The experience of ‘having been found’ impels us to announce the kingdom.

However, this is impossible without others. We note Jesus’ method: he ‘calls to himself’ two sets of brothers (Matthew 4:18-22) and later sends them out ‘two-by-two.’ This communal aspect of the Gospel is essential, with Psalm 1 telling us that ‘most of life depends on the company we keep.’

Only as Jesus’ new family are we ‘sent-out’ to counter the various forms of death with the love and freedom of Christ.

Amen.

Q. The Kingdom has found you. What are you prepared to sell to buy it?