The Kingdom of God: The Already and the Not Yet

Call to Worship

L: Beloved disciples, welcome. As we gather, what are you seeking?

P: We seek God’s presence all around us.

L: Beloved disciples, if God’s presence is all around us, what are you seeking?

P: We seek to recognize God’s presence among us.

L: Beloved disciples, if God is among you, what are you seeking?

P: We seek God in the faces of family, friends, and neighbors.

L: Beloved disciples, if God is in the face of your neighbor, what are you seeking?

P: We seek God in the search and the work for peace and wholeness for all God’s creation.

L: As we gather today, may we meet God in our seeking and in our finding.

All: Amen.

Reading #1: Luke 17:20-21

Reading #2: Matthew 6:25-34

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 6:25–34.

Sermon

We live at the intersection of the already and the not yet. Now the Bible gives us an understanding of both of these places. The already began in Genesis with the words, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The already is exactly what it sounds like. Those things that have already taken place, the things of the past. Things of the distant and not-so-distant past. From the creation of the world, the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the flood, all of the things we read about in the Bible. And even the events of the past week. Time moves forward and whatever is in the past is a part of the already.

But the already is not simply the past. It is the past that God has been working in. Even when we don’t realize it, even when we don’t recognize it, God is at work. Now, it’s not too hard for us to look back at our lives and see the ways in which God has been working. Matter of fact, with hindsight being what it is, 20/20, it’s easy to see where God has been working. It’s easy to note those moments in which God had everything under control, even when we worried that He might let us down.

And on the other hand, we have the “not yet”. Which is just how it sounds. Those things which have not happened yet. The things that are still to come. These things are also described in the Bible and affirmed by believers in the past and the present. For instance, Jesus told His disciples that He would come again. He told them He was going to prepare a place for them and that He would come back so that they can be where He is. The vision the apostle John describes in the book of Revelation is a world that is radically transformed by God. A world in which God creates a new heaven and a new earth and finally dwells among His people for all eternity. A world in which we read promises there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more sorrow. A place of pure joy and worship in the presence of God. Life, if that’s what we’ll call it, will be radically different when the kingdom of God comes. But it’s not here yet.

But this is where we live. This is where we find ourselves. In between the already and the not yet. That which has been as God has moved and that which will be when God’s kingdom comes. Which raises a question, “what are we doing here?” Jesus gives us the answer in the text we heard this morning. Actually, He gives us both the right and the wrong answer.

Let’s look at the wrong answer first. Jesus tells His disciples “not” to worry. Now I don’t know why Jesus would tell them not to worry. I mean, I’ve always heard that if you find something you can do well, you should do it. And I know a lot of people who do a really good job of worrying. Some of you are sitting right here this morning. Some people have perfected the art. But Jesus tells His followers that worrying does not help. Worrying does not solve problems. Worrying does not bring the desired answers. Do me a favor, tomorrow morning, call your regular doctor, make an appointment and ask this question, “what does worrying do to me physically?”

Instead, as Jesus speaks to His followers, He tells them what to do. “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Jesus is challenging His followers to change their perspective. The reason we worry is because we think life revolves around us in our moment right now. We think life should be all about me, all about what I want, what I deserve, what I think is fair. But that way of thinking is self-centered. It’s me focused.

But when I begin to seek God’s kingdom, when we begin to seek God’s kingdom, we take our eyes off of ourselves. Our perspective changes. Our thinking changes. Our understanding changes. We begin to realize that while worry defeats us, seeking God’s Kingdom helps us to grow. While worry makes us look at ourselves, seeking God’s Kingdom helps us to see the Spirit of God. And when we see the Spirit of God moving, we will discover, we don’t need to worry. So let’s call upon God to let His Kingdom come.