“Thy Kingdom Come”

“Thy Kingdom Come”

Text: Mark 1:12-15

© February 20, 2008 by C. Edward Bowen at Community Lenten Worship at First Baptist Church.

A riot had broken out. A riot had broken out at the La Mesa prison in Tijuana, Mexico. Twenty-five hundred prisoners, who were jammed into a facility that was designed for just six hundred, started throwing broken glass bottles at the police, who then responded by firing their machine guns at the inmates.

But at the peak of the pandemonium, as glass and bullets were flying back and forth, a tiny five-foot-two, 63-year-old woman, dressed in a nun’s habit, walked right out into the middle of all that chaos and bloodshed, and held up her hands to signify to both sides that enough was enough. And somewhat miraculously, both sides in that conflict stopped.

You see, for 25 years Sister Antonia had voluntarily chosen to live in that prison, staying in a ten-foot by ten-foot concrete cell with no hot water, and being surrounded day in and day out by convicted thieves, murderers, and drug lords. And for 25 years Sister Antonia had devoted herself to caring for the sick, counseling those who were contemplating suicide, and washing the bodies of the dead for burial. For 25 years, Sister Antonia was convinced that it was in the midst of that dangerous and violent place that God had called her to serve.

After that riot ended, many of the inmates and police officers agreed that Sister Antonia was the only person they knew on the face of the earth who could have pulled something like that off. She was the only person they knew on the face of the earth who could walk out between two angry groups – two angry groups that were both intent on hurting and even hilling those on the other side – and who could bring about an end to the violence, who could bring about peace.[1]

When I came across that story about Sister Antonia, it made me think: that’s what the church is supposed to be like. In the Lord’s Prayer, when we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” it seems to me that one of the things that we’re praying for is for God to give us the courage to go out in the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world and to say “Enough is enough,” to take a stand and say “This is not the way that God wants it to be.”

In several more weeks we’ll be reading the Palm Sunday story in our churches. And on Palm Sunday, of course, we remember the joyful parade that took place as Jesus entered Jerusalem as the Passover festival was set to begin. And as Jesus rode that donkey into the city, the crowds cheered by saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!” (Mark 11:9-10) Well, based on Jesus’ words and actions, what kind of kingdom was Jesus representing? A kingdom of love, a kingdom of forgiveness, a kingdom of peace.

But at the same time that Jesus was having his parade, heading into the city from east, from the Mount of Olives, there was another parade heading into the city, this one coming in from the west. That other parade, the one coming into the city from the west, was for the Roman governor, a man by the name of Pontius Pilate. You see, during most of the year the Roman governor lived in his palace along the Mediterranean, about 60 miles west of Jerusalem. But it was customary at Passover for the governor to make the trip to Jerusalem to be there during the festival. But he didn’t go so that he could take part in the religious observances. No, he went because at Passover tens of thousands of visitors flooded into Jerusalem, and the governor always wanted to be there so that he could deal with any kind of disturbances or uprisings that might take place.

And so as the governor, Pontius Pilate, made his way into the city, he didn’t come riding in on a humble donkey like Jesus. No, Pontius Pilate came riding in on a proud and mighty war horse. And those who followed the governor into the city didn’t come waving gentle palm branches like Jesus’ followers were doing. No, the armed soldiers who came marching in behind Pontius Pilate came bearing spears and swords. And so while Jesus’ parade was a parade of love, forgiveness, and peace, Pontius Pilate’s parade was communicating a quite different message. His parade was saying to the people: “Look out! We stand for the Roman ways of doing things. We stand for violence, revenge, and fear.”[2]

So a basic question seems to be: In our lives, which parade are we a part of? The parade led by Pontius Pilate – a parade of violence, revenge, and fear – or the parade led by Jesus – a parade of love, forgiveness, and peace?

By looking at the world around us, it certainly appears that there are a lot of people who are a part of Pilate’s parade. For instance, recently I read that a fast growing trend among some teenagers is for them to get together with their friends and go out and beat up, and sometimes even kill, homeless people out on the street. They’re not doing it for the money – homeless people generally don’t have any money to speak of. No, those teenagers are doing that simply because they figure that it’s a violent world, and going out and attacking homeless people is an easy and convenient way for them to take part in some violence themselves.[3]

During this season of Lent, as we pray the Lord’s Prayer and say “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we need to realize that there are two parades going on in the world – each of them headed in entirely opposite directions. There is the parade headed by the like of Pontius Pilate – the parade of violence, revenge, and fear – a parade that has many, many followers. And there is the parade led by Jesus – a parade of love and forgiveness and peace. Which parade are you a part of? Which parade do you want to be a part of?

In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, let us have the faith to follow in the way of Jesus. In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, let us have the faith to look to God and pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In the midst of a violent and often hate-filled world, let us have the faith to believe that there is another way – the way of Jesus, the way of peace.