Lectionary Scripture – Luke 23:33-43 (NRSV)
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!" There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews." One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Today, you are with me in Paradise
Luke’s words above capture a defining moment in history. In that moment, some mocked the innocent one dying upon the cross. Others considered him part of a typical day in the life of the Empire. Others grieved inconsolably for a loved one executed so tortuously and shamefully. Yet some see and understand that a shocking new beginning is about to take place, one from which there will be no turning back. And nearly two thousand years later, from that utterly dark and agonizing moment, two billion souls now claim to follow and pursue the cause of one who died so scornful a death. It was a death that made all of us of responsible for what’s not right and what’s not just in the world. In short, it made each of us responsible for doing justice, speaking justice, and creating justice that will bring about God’s Peaceable Kingdom here on earth.
Most appropriately, scholars and theologians therefore ask in what sense do we see ourselves responsible for bringing about the Peaceable Kingdom? In what ways are we doing justice, speaking justice, creating justice? What are our individual responsibilities? And if we are doing those things, what then does the process of establishing the Kingdom here on earth look like? What does the Kingdom itself look like?
I doubt that I have answers of any real use to anyone. I know however what drives me at the core of who I am. It slipped out during a prayer I gave at an interfaith service in September 2001 following the events of 9/11. Surprising to me, local news media picked it up and broadcast it that evening on the eleven o’clock news. Simply put, I had prayed these words, “No living soul should ever suffer a single moment of terror.”
Looking back at that statement, and if there’s any truth in it, what does it mean that our world should look like here and now? Well first and foremost in our current economic climate, it would mean that no one person or groups of persons should have the ability or even the remotest opportunity to throw world markets into any kind of tailspin that takes years or decades to recover from. Whoever allowed such sociopaths to gain this upper hand anyway? The short answer is me and you. Who can correct the problem? You and me. How so? We do it by making sure no one can ever again get away with financial speculation based solely on thin air. We keep it from happening again by jumping on even the smallest sign that someone somewhere is cooking the books. We keep it from happening again by protecting the whistleblowers that courageously come forward and say that something is wrong, illegal, unethical, or immoral. We do that instead of erecting walls through laws or processes that allow various parts or pieces of our legal system to intimidate whistleblowers seeking after justice. For the truth of it is this my friends that there are plenty of moments of terror in watching all one’s savings go up in smoke and there are plenty of moments of terror when one no longer has a job and cannot provide for oneself or one’s family.
And what about the moments of terror when a man or woman cannot obtain healthcare and medicines for their child? What about the moment of terror a child experiences seeing their parent in pain or dying because some fool somewhere thinks God’s children shouldn’t bear the burden together of ensuring that every parent and every child and every person gets the healthcare and medicines they need for having as full and beneficial a quality of life as possible.
What about the wars? What about the terror wars always proliferate such as the destruction of life, destruction of the quality of life, the rapes, the beatings, the torture, the disease, the famine, and the grinding debt created by war on behalf of leaders who dismissively think it unnecessary to pay for a war and casually toss that burden of debt onto younger generations. In the days of God’s Peaceable Kingdom, God will have a very special place for such leaders and promulgators of death and terror.
So what does the Peaceable Kingdom here on earth look like? It looks like the most splendid comfortably warm and sunny summer day ever experienced in your life. On that day, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of the Prophets and the Spirit of Peace will be everywhere permeating every living thing and every living soul with their message of peace and justice. There will be no poverty. There will be no disease. There will be no one experiencing hardship. There will no one seeking advantage over others. There will be no one worried over their institution or business or church or family or community surviving into the future.
And what will we spend our time doing in the Peaceable Kingdom? We’ll spend it exploring and learning and understanding the vast potential of life that lies beyond the dark and evil influences of our times. For when we find the courage to be the Peaceable Kingdom now, we will have finally arrived to the day Christ says to us, “Truly I tell you, today you are with me in Paradise.”
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