Thy Kingdom Come
Thy Kingdom Come
Stop.
Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and put your hands over your heart. Say the words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Repeat as often as you need.
Listen.
A man who will not help or support others unless he can do so without affecting his safety or his property will never help his neighbor. He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss… Anyone who does not do that for his neighbor, but forsakes him and leaves him to his misfortune, becomes a murderer in the sight of God, as St. John states in his epistles, “Whoever does not love his brother is a murderer,” and again, “If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need [yet closes his heart against him], how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:15, 17). – Martin Luther, “Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague”, 1527
Reflect.
This week, we are reflecting on Martin Luther’s letter to a church and its leader in Breslau, Germany in 1527 regarding the Christian’s responsibility in the middle of a plague. This letter was printed in Christianity Today in May of 2020. To read Luther’s letter, you can visit: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/may-web-only/martin-luther-plague-pandemic-coronavirus-covid-flee-letter.html
In his long and wide-ranging letter, Luther addresses many all-to-familiar arguments about Christian responsibility in difficult times. If you make the language more modern, it’s almost as if you can hear him speaking to our current circumstances. Replace “plague” with “pandemic” and it starts to hit home, almost uncomfortably.
One of Luther’s biggest points in his letter deals with the Christian’s responsibility to a neighbor. Luther notes that some people might not have the courage and strength in faith to stick around when a pandemic hits. He says this not to be accusatory, but to state facts: it’s too much for some, and they should care for themselves by leaving if they must. But not everyone needs to leave. In fact, some can and should stay.
He doesn’t have a lot of patience for those who could help, who should offer their skills and abilities, but won’t. He points out that living in community comes with obligation. Being a Christian in society means you do not support only your own interests and welfare. There will never be a situation where helping others will come at no cost to you. If you are called to are for your neighbor – and you are – then you must accept some sacrifice or inconvenience.
If you are in a position to live out your confident faith by serving others, even though it means some compromise to your life, it is precisely how God’s will is done here on earth. Refusing to do so is a denial of God’s gift of life to that person. We cannot pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer asking that God’s kingdom would be known here on earth without being willing to live out its counter-cultural message of personal loss for communal gain.
It is my prayer that we who call ourselves Christians would find our identity not in serving only our personal interests for our individual success, but that we would see our call as to the whole community. In the words of the late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone, we all do better when we all do better.
Pray.
Carry me past my discomfort, God, as I make meaningful choices for the good of all your people. Show me your will and empower me to do it so that I might make your kingdom known here on earth. Make me a loving neighbor to your glory. Amen.
Carry On.
What is one thing you can do today to make your neighbor’s life more safe, abundant, and free?