Election Week Letter from Tyler
“Fear not, little flock, for your Loving Parent delights in giving you the Kin-dom.”
According to the author of Luke, Jesus said these words to a small group of people living without houses in a country where they were oppressed, and in a time of incredible political violence and economic disparity. This week, I’ve been returning to these words of blessing as I sit with my own anxiety about Election Day, about the past decade, and about the days of increasing violence that are likely ahead.
It seems comical that Jesus would promise his followers the Kin-dom considering their circumstances. The twelfth chapter of Luke, where this sentence occurs, presents a Jesus confronting the anxiety of his age. He talks about the fire that is coming. He chastises those listening to him for not reading the signs of the times the way they read the weather. It’s also in this chapter that Luke includes the admonition to make peace with one’s accuser on the way to court, bringing to mind the injustices too often faced by those of us who live on the margins.
Yet, although things are grim, Jesus still reminds us that our Loving Parent delights in giving us the Kin-dom – and we can remind ourselves that the Kin-dom of God is different from the kingdoms of humanity.
God’s Kin-dom is one of kinship, not dictatorship. God’s Kin-dom is not dependent on political power, false peace, or the creation of an “other.” God’s Kin-dom exists in all the spaces where love exists – even in the midst of human kingdoms where violence and hatred are on the upswing.
In the very next chapter of Luke, we find the parable of the yeast, where Jesus likens the Kin-dom of God to yeast (which in his time was a symbol of sin). He essentially says to his followers, “You are the bad apple that will spoil the whole barrel.” In a society run on greed, hatred, and dehumanization, we are the insidious ones who value generosity, love, and human flourishing. Though it seems like there is too much flour, with the power of our God who is Love, we can be the leaven that infiltrates the loaf.
Like many of you, I’m anxious about the future. I can see a cloud forming, and know when it’s going to rain. I can feel the wind blowing, and know when it will be hot. However, I also know the Kin-Dom of God exists outside these political weather patterns. In Luke chapter twelve, after telling us God delights in giving us the Kin-dom, Jesus admonishes us to be ready, and to fulfill our responsibilities to the Owner of the House. Our responsibility is to carry the Kin-dom into every corner of our communities. Don’t lose ourselves in the moment, but hold ourselves to the call to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Fear not, little flock, for your Loving Parent delights in giving you the Kin-dom.
Please, keep being the Kin-dom of God for this time and this place. No matter what happens today, or in the days that follow, you are the leaven that infiltrates the loaf.
Blessings,
Tyler
