Check out this story:
For all we know this guy could have been engaged in something really important, or he could have been playing Candy Crush, or he could have been watching one of the millions of kitten videos on youtube. If either of the latter were true, what a bummer, he could have witnessed something truly spectacular!
There are a few places in the Gospels that proclaim the kingdom of God or kingdom of Heaven is near. Seems to me that most of the time these passages are taught, the nearness of this kingdom is related to time, the day/hour/year/minute/era of reckoning is coming upon us.
Lately I’ve been wondering if we don’t have it all wrong, maybe the kingdom of God or kingdom of Heaven is near…near as in distance or space.
Some Celtic Christians believed that the distance between heaven and earth is 3 feet, and that God occasionally exposes thin places so we can get a glimpse.
Some believe that multiple universes exist beyond our own and that there may be 7 more dimensions that we don’t sense or experience regularly. Maybe like what we see in “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” by CS Lewis.
So, considering all of this, when Jesus (the creator and sustainer of all things) says, “Repent, the kingdom of God is near,” maybe he’s not saying, straighten up and fly right because your days are numbered…maybe he’s saying change your worldview; look around at this big, beautiful, diverse creation and recognize the movement of God in it. And then get in on the action.
Over the last two weeks I have heard two different teachings on Moses and the Burning Bush. These two different teachers claimed that the Burning Bush in the story was always burning, and this was the first time Moses noticed it.
What a fascinating thought…maybe the kingdom of God is always near, and we fail to notice it. Maybe we’re just too busy tending the flock or look at the flickering pixels in our hands to recognize. What a bummer…
My prayer for myself, and the rest of us, during this Lenten Season is that we will begin to recognize the nearness of the kingdom of God.
And I pray that we will learn to walk in faith, wonder and awe.
Pilgrims and Prophets 