This past Sunday we read Jesus’ description of life lived the Kingdom of God on earth as in heaven, what we commonly call The Beatitudes (which means blessedness, or a state of joy). When we live according to God’s Way, we discover the life we are made for but this life is counter to what the world tries to assure us is the ‘good life.’ To see, hear, and experience God’s Kingdom here and now, we have to look through the lens of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection to repair the cataracts of power and privilege that cloud our vision.
In the reading from Ruth for today, we are given a glimpse of the hardship that people can face when the systems of this world operate in such a way that certain groups are pushed toward the margins of society for the benefit of those who want power. These three women, beloved daughters of God, are facing life without the men in whom society has said their worth and identity depend. Naomi does her best to help her daughters-in-law to navigate this impossible imposition. And both Orpah and Ruth make the decision they deem best given the circumstances. Ruth chooses to stay with Naomi, grounding her worth and identity in God.
In Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul asks that Onesimus, a victim of the oppressive systems that allow slavery, be known and received as a fellow beloved child of God, a brother, in an attempt to supplant the worldly system with the Kingdom of God.
In each of these situations, all of the ‘shoulds’ and ‘ought tos’ and ‘it’s just the way it ises’ are replaced by relationship with our fellow image bearers. People are seen as beloveds not as a means to an end. There’s no score keeping or tit-for-tat but relational, redemptive actions that build up rather than tear down. These individual, relational acts don’t change the systems, they bypass them, working for the Kingdom of God.
I hear so many of us saying “what can I do” with feelings of inadequacy as we observe, are harmed by, and participate in the hate and anger fueled systems of the world today. We feel helpless to change the systems that dominate us, in which we have built our own life. These stories from our faith ancestors show us what we can do. Every humble act of mercy, kindness, and love lead to justice which leads to peace for the people we encounter each day and ourselves. Jesus never told us we had to save the world, only to love as we are loved by God.
With each relational act we do our very best with God’s help to live in the Kingdom-on-earth-as-in-heaven here and now, regardless of what the world says should be. Pray that God will open your eyes to see the divine image in everyone.
How can you show someone they are God’s beloved today?
Mother Nancy's Coffee Thoughts 