The New Kingdom

Unlike the prophets of Israel's past,  John the Baptist had no carved images of Baal cluttering his view.  His message about repentance had nothing to do with turning from idol worship to the worship of the one true and only God of their tradition.  The repentance he preached was related not so much to a particular sin of the people as it was to their need to ready themselves for the new spiritual order which was about to break upon them through Jesus and His Kingdom message.

By the time John the Baptist made himself known in the wilderness areas around the Jordan River, the people of Israel were immersed in a religious system based on doing.  Righteousness had to do with keeping the commandments of God and the man made laws which had grown around them.  While Jesus did not come to abolish the law, He did seek to create a spiritual climate where doing was replaced by being.  What one did was not more important than what was in the heart.  Having defined themselves and their life with God for so long by the external visible things, turning to this new and different way represented a significant change.

 

It remains a challenge for those of us who walk the road of faith in these days.  We like the external markers which measure our faithfulness.  The external stuff enables us to experience what seems like a measure of control.  It feels comfortable for us when we know what to expect of ourselves and everyone else as well.  But, then there is this new Kingdom which has come.  It is a Kingdom where spirituality is determined by the invisible things of the heart.  It is a Kingdom where what we do has no saving power.  It is a Kingdom where the cross looms large. It is a Kingdom that defies being able to figure it out, but one where holy mystery prevails and the way forward is always taking us into unknown territory.