10-01-19

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS

October 1, 2019

Scripture: Matthew 4:17

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Thought for the Day: Today is a big day in my family, for today is the anniversary of the opening of Walt Disney World in Florida. Today marks 48 years since “the happiest place on earth” opened a second happy venue in Florida. You might be a big Disney fan or you might find it all a bunch of nonsense, but I’m more taken by the vision Walt, Roy and others had in those years. When they thought big, they thought BIG! The kingdom Jesus referenced did not have a rollercoaster or 6ft mouse or really expensive lunches. But what Jesus suggested wasn’t just big, it was BIG! Amidst a people living under occupation, with a religion reeling from multiple events of near elimination, to have someone announce that God’s Reign “has” come near would be BIG or boarder-line crazy talk. Of course, Jesus wasn’t talking about kingdom in the traditional sense of the word. He wasn’t thinking of a government with fortified cities, but a way of life that bound people together. Too often Christianity has gone BIG by building BIG, when in fact Jesus’ announcement was BIG for how counter it was to the norms and expectations of the day. How do we demonstrate the Jesus BIG in today’s world?

Prayer: Bind us together under your big tent of love, Lord, where the tent flaps extend over every human being in every time and place. Bind us together for something truly BIG, a life of love modeled after Jesus. Amen.

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