Wait for it…

“The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

John the Baptist

“The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus

I am waiting, I am waiting
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Waiting for someone to come out of somewhere

The Rolling Stones

Have you seen them?  Advent calendars have been out in the stores for the past few weeks.  There is an incredible variety: some are made out of carved wood and quite ornate; some dispense a piece of chocolate each day while others offer small bottles of wine. There is even a LEGO Star Wars Advent calendar. I prefer the old-fashioned paper calendars where you pry open a numbered door each day. To each his or her own.

Advent calendars emphasize that we have entered a season of waiting. We wait for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem.  We wait for the Cosmic Christ to return at the end of time. Waiting, waiting, and more waiting. Which is fine. But, what if the wait was over, at least partially?

I have no hard data to back this up, but I suspect that for most people the words ‘kingdom of God’ are synonymous with ‘heaven.’ In that understanding, the kingdom of God is far away and yet one more thing for which we wait.

What if we didn’t have to wait? What if the kingdom of God is, as Jesus said, already within us? What would that mean for our lives?

The term ‘kingdom of God’ has a somewhat complex history dating back to ancient Israel. It can have multiple meanings, from being identified with the people of Israel to God’s total reign on earth. It has caused misguided souls to try and establish God’s kingdom by force of arms. But, Jesus uses the phrase in the sense of an interior acceptance of God’s rule. It is a “spiritual reality rather than a political system” (Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary).

Why is this understanding important?

If we believe that the kingdom of God is another name for heaven, then all we can do is wait for it. Nothing will change in the present.

If we believe that the kingdom of God is a political system, then we will be willing to go to war to bring it about.

But, if the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality within each of us, if we accept God’s sovereignty and reign in our hearts, then we will live out God’s kingdom here and now. We will live as kingdom people, filling the world with God’s love, justice and acceptance. We will be people who can change the world because we have first been changed.

Before anyone gets nervous, I’m not talking about A Handmaid’s Tale kind of change. That would be antithetical to the real kingdom of God. Freedom, equality, justice, love and concern for others – those are the hallmarks of the kingdom. The good news: we do not have to wait to make kingdom values a reality. We can live them out right now, in our daily lives.

Someday, Christ will return and God’s reign will be complete. In the mean time we wait, not passively, but with the assurance that Christ lives within us.  The kingdom is indeed near.

I love Advent, I love the sense of anticipation. I even love the countdown to Christmas day. But, to welcome the kingdom you don’t need a calendar, you don’t need to wait. It is a gift you can open and share right away.