More on "Jesus and the Kingdom of God" by Stanley Hauerwas.
To begin to understand Jesus' announcement of the kingdom we must first rid ourselves of the notion that the world we experience will exist indefinitely. We must learn to see the world as Israel had learned to understand it - that is, eschatologically. Though it sounds powerful and intimidating, in fact it is quite simple, for to view the world eschatologically is to see it in terms of a story, with a beginning, a continuing drama, and an end. And "a story needs an ending. A point must be reached at which one can feel that certain issues are resolved, a certain finality has been achieved. In this respect a story departs from real life. In reality there never is an end.... But the story-teller cannot accept this.... The story-teller needs finality, a closed sequence of events such that a judgment can be passed." It is against this background that Jesus' announcement of the kingdom must be seen, for he came to announce an end that, while not yet final, nonetheless provided a necessary perspective for our continuing life in the world.
We are in the midst of the drama. In our story-telling, we say we know the end of the story. It has not come to its completeness and yet the story has been told about what is to come...how the end is full of the love of God who rescues and blesses and restores all things. In the meantime - in the midst of the drama - the end informs our life. The power of evil and brokenness and terror and threat and fear is not the prevailing power. So...in the meantime, we can live as though evil does not have that power within this story-telling that it seems to have. In Israel's story-telling, there was the constant threat of the powers all around them - great powers - greater than anything Israel could muster. And yet, who is around today...Israel...even though the story is not over...the story-tellers continue to live through time. We, as followers of Jesus, are within this kind of story line. When Jesus announces the kingdom, it is a story - a vision - into which we are invited to walk despite all the evidence that evil is prevailing and will prevail. It is this story-telling that brings to the faithful - life that is not overwhelmed by circumstances. Rather, we keep stepping into the story of promise that has already unveiled the end into which we walk with all our lives.
Connection: Some times, this doesn't seem right. Some days, knowing the end of the story is not enough to face the brokenness of the day. And yet, the promise is still out there for us and we must remind one another of this story line even when we do not feel as though it is real for us.
Lord of the End of Time, when you judge us as blessed and throw your net over all people it is an action we can count on no matter what other stories are told among us. We are blessed by what you have already done and what you have announced and invited us to announce even today in words and acts in your name. Praise be to you, O God. Amen.
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