Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, August 24, 2020
by Dr. Kimberly Leetch, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: God’s kingdom is brought to this earth whenever we choose, with our unique gifts, to bring it.
It can be tempting to consider today’s prayer petition as a call for the end of all things, or at least the promise of eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom. And indeed, God’s kingdom is heavenly, even though we cannot fully grasp what that means.
But God’s kingdom is also this world. This earth, the planet, the ecology, the animals, the people—even the industry that has made the roads and cities unrecognizable as God’s green planet.
So, what does it mean for God’s kingdom to come? Are we asking that God rain down peace and justice onto a broken world? Or are we committing to raise peace and justice up out of the broken world itself? To be agents of God’s justice and peace? To be workers for equality, equity, sustenance, acceptance, compassion, and love?
Yes, to pray for God’s kingdom to come means we are making a commitment to create a world here on earth that closely mimics what we imagine heaven to be like. Every decision we make, every choice, every action has the potential to bring God’s promised kingdom to life here or to squelch it.
Years ago I found myself stifled by the immense needs of this world that keep it from becoming God’s kingdom. Everywhere I turned, someone with a passion for a cause urged me to join the cause, and I became paralyzed with the realization that if I couldn’t do it all, then I could do none of it. Slowly I began to realize we are all given different gifts so we can all bring a small piece of God’s kingdom in the way we were gifted to bring it. At the young age of 50, I realized my gifts were in raising kids and my situation afforded me the opportunity to foster newborns. I now know what I want to be when I grow up: a foster mom for babies with medical and developmental needs. I might only affect one life, but it will be in a big way. That’s how God is using my gifts to bring God’s kingdom here. How might God use yours?
God’s holy reign includes the earth, and all that is in it. How can you become a better steward of that around you?
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