The ten days between the feast of the Ascension (Acts 1: 6f) when Jesus is taken into Heaven, and Pentecost (Acts 2: 1f) when the gift of the Holy Spirit is poured out on God’s people, are characterised by waiting and by expectancy, a ‘not yet’ and ‘already here’.
This is so much our experience as those who seek to follow Jesus Christ and share the love of God we find in Him.
‘Not yet’, but already present. ‘Not yet’, because we see and experience, so much suffering in the turmoil of our world, so much that fails to reflect the love of God and the values of the Kingdom, justice, mercy and peace. ‘Not yet’, because of the suffering of the innocent of all communities in Gaza, in the Ukraine, in so many places often unseen. ‘Not yet’, in the lives of community, family and friends faced with adversity of so many kinds.
But, even so, as we experience the ‘not yet’ we also experience the ‘already present’ – the love of God in Jesus. Jesus takes the mess of our world and our lives to the cross and transforms it, ushering in new life and new hope. We experience the love of God in our lives and in the life of the community even amidst the mess. The ‘not yet’ and the ‘present already’ side by side with each other.
It is this truth that underpins ‘Thy Kingdom Come,’ an initiative that was begun by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York some 10 years ago. Since then it has spread across many nations and many churches. Its focus is on praying that many who have not yet come to know Jesus Christ may come to know His love. Encountering Jesus is to meet God who humbles himself to come among us and to share our lives, and the lives of those who live in our community and our world. Encountering Jesus is not to run away from the pain and the suffering but to know that the love of God, seen in the power of cross and resurrection, is stronger than any darkness. More than this, encountering Jesus empowers us to work with Him for the coming of the Kingdom. It allows us, with Jesus, to be agents of those Kingdom values that shine light into the darkness that so often surrounds us, sharing the light of life.
May our prayer, and our actions in these coming days indeed be ‘Thy Kingdom Come’.
News Hub
Thank you, Bishop. Well said.