Daily Reading for June 23
The kingdom of heaven is all around us, among us, in unsuspected places, in places where we might expect to find it if we look hard enough, and growing in ways we may find distasteful or surprising. A couple of nights ago, a group of young people moved into the next dormitory on the campus of the University of Kent. They were partying quite energetically when I went to bed. The noise woke me up at a quarter to three, and the loud screams and laughter continued until 5 a.m. I think Jesus would say the kingdom of heaven is like that, for their mirth and delight said a great deal about joy and peace, even if I had a hard time joining in. . . .
The kingdom of heaven is like 650 bishops marching through the streets of this city a couple of days ago, insisting that together we can end global poverty if we have the will to do it. . . . The hope of ending poverty is like a mustard seed that can grow into a tree of life large and generous enough to shelter all the people of this world—but it will take lots of us to water and fertilize it.
Where and how do you look for the kingdom of heaven? It will take what is old and what is new—the good stuff from the past and the surprising possibilities of the present. Where will you look in your own life? What treasure do you seek? What old thing must be preserved, and what new insight will be a clue to the kingdom of heaven around us? The struggle to answer those questions goes on throughout our own lives, in the church, and all around us. And the fish don’t have to be sorted until the end of time. So fear not, keep looking, and give thanks when you find a glimpse, no matter whether it sounds like a riot in the wee hours of the morning, or smells pretty fishy.
From “Field of Dreams,” a sermon preached at St. Martin in the Fields, London, 27 July 2008; quoted in Gospel in the Global Village: On the Road with Bishop Katharine by Katharine Jefferts Schori. Copyright © 2009. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com