Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
When I was a student in seminary I was accused once of having a “realized eschatology.” There are undoubtedly worse taunts that are hurled about on the seminary playground… accusations of Pelagianism or other heresies. But it was a theology professor who commented on my “realized eschatology,” and it was said with a note of kindly criticism, suggesting that I might do well to explore a fuller or more balanced doctrine of eschatology.
To explain: Eschatology is that branch of theology that describes “last things.” The eschaton is the “final event in the divine plan. The end of the world.” The ultimately fulfillment of God’s plan. It is more than just an end; it is a completion, a fulfillment. The coming of God’s kingdom. Eschatology studies these subjects.
A realized eschatology holds that much of that divine plan is made real now… that we experience at least a significant portion of God’s plan now, here, in this world, in our daily lives. The kingdom is realized in our lives. We do not have to wait until the end of time to experience God’s fulfillment.
Today I want to try to express a more balanced view of eschatology. I want to talk about the kingdom that is yet to come. And maybe Professor Charlie Price, who now dwells in that kingdom beyond, will smile a bit.
The readings for this Last Sunday after Pentecost place the issues of eschatology and the Kingdom of God before us. The readings talk a lot about kings, earthly kings and heavenly kings. And, although it is not an official commemoration on the Episcopal calendar, today is informally known as Christ the King Sunday. We consider what it means to name Christ as King.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus does not seem to have described himself as the Messianic king. He clearly did not see himself as the political king many Jews at the time expected the Messiah to be. But Jesus does talk a lot about the kingdom, Gods kingdom. And Jesus says the kingdom is drawing near.
The kingdom drew near as Jesus drew near. As God incarnate, the kingdom dwelt within Jesus. He bore the kingdom within him. And as we, and others, draw near to Jesus we glimpse the kingdom through him. The kingdom is realized in our lives as we bring Jesus into our lives.
To go completely off script, I wonder if we see and know the Kingdom sort of like Bali Hai. This illustration will only work for those of you who know South Pacific.
Bali Ha'i may call you, Any night, any day,
In your heart, you'll hear it call you:
"Come away...Come away."
Bali Ha'i will whisper In the wind of the sea:
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
Someday you'll see me floatin' in the sunshine,
You'll hear me call you….
If you try, you'll find meYou will hear. You will see. In your heart you will know. If you try, you will find me. In a way, we know the kingdom second hand if we know Jesus, and that is wondrous.
Where the sky meets the sea.
But to know the kingdom first hand, to realize it, to experience it fully in our own lives, that is yet to come.
The readings for today speak of God’s kingdom as beyond this world, beyond even time. Jesus says to Pilate, “My kingdom is not from this world.” And the Revelation readings refers to the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come… who is beyond time.
If I asked you to describe God’s kingdom, what would you say? What do you think the Kingdom of God is like?
I read that across the ages, Christians have tended to describe the Kingdom through what they perceived as its antithesis in their own day… The kingdom is a place without slavery. The Kingdom is a place without poverty or hunger. The kingdom is a place without the dehumanizing power of multinational corporations. The kingdom is a place without war.
We have wonderful images of the kingdom from Scripture. The peaceable kingdom where, improbably and impossibly, the lion lies down with the lamb. There are Jesus’ kingdom parables. The sower, where the kingdom is a place that nurtures health and growth. The pearl of great price, where somehow the kingdom brings value into life. The mustard seed where the kingdom is a place of safety and inclusion.
Today’s collect reminds us that in the kingdom we are free from sin and all barriers that separate us are dissolved into reconciliation. So is the kingdom doable on earth? Can we as human beings achieve any of these manifestations of the kingdom? Even with God’s help, can we bring the kingdom near?
As Christians have thought about God’s kingdom there has always been a tension between the now and not yet. Between a yearning for the kingdom present now, and a vision of it yet to come.
Luther described the kingdom yet to come as the realm of divine grace. A place where everything (everything!) is suffused and governed by divine grace.
Those with a more realized eschatology have described the kingdom as a realm of ideal human relations. This world, perfected. And Christians have felt called to work to make that kingdom real, to do “kingdom work.” To work for social justice and the dignity of every person. Our baptismal covenant calls us to do this work as much as we are able.
But. But in the face of our repeated failure and despair to bring the kingdom fruition on earth; in the face of profound disagreements among Christians about what constitutes “kingdom work;” in the face of our inevitable slavery to selfishness, violence, and laziness… In the face of our inability to make God’s kingdom real, it is very good to remember Luther. To remember that the realm of divine grace is real. To remember that God’s kingdom yet to come, God’s kingdom brought to fullness and fruition by God, is absolutely real and lies ahead.
So maybe a balanced eschatology goes something like this: I am grateful for partial manifestations of God’s kingdom that are realized in this world, in my time. I am grateful for the glimpses I see that bring hope and assurance and renewed commitment to do kingdom work as best I’m able.
But, thanks and praise to God, this is not all there is. Let us joyfully and humbly remember that the fulfillment of Christ’s reign, promised to us, is better than all this. Better than this world around us. Even if we could fix everything in this world, the Kingdom of God is so much better than this. The glory of God’s hope for us, the glory of God’s plan for us, is so beyond our imagining, so beyond anything we could possibly create… The kingdom of glory not yet realized in our midst lies ahead.
