Your kingdom come
What does it mean to pray, “[let] your Kingdom come?”
These famous words, couched in the most repeated prayer in history, come from Jesus' answer to his disciples' request, “Teach us to pray.”
Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.
One of the central requests Jesus taught his disciples to pray is “your Kingdom come.” I think he meant his disciples to know what they asked, and to recognize the answer. Do we?
Matthew enshrines a version of Jesus' prayer in his synopsis of Jesus' teaching and acts(1). For this reason, I expect Matthew will illuminate what Kingdom looks like in teaching and action between chapters five and nine. By no means exhaustive, here are three examples to set fire to your imagination.
When the Kingdom comes, the sick are healed.
Jesus touches a man with a skin disease and heals the disease.
Matthew 8:1-4 (ESV)...
When [Jesus] came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying,
"Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying,
"I will; be clean."
And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him,
"See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them."
Last year, a friend of ours came up after Sunday service to ask for prayer. His back had been injured years earlier and he had experienced chronic pain ever since. Amie and I briefly laid our hands on our friend’s back, invited the Holy Spirit, and commanded his back to be made well. Immediately, the pain lessened! A week later we checked in with him and found that his back had been permanently helped, if not completely restored, by our prayers.
What would happen if those you know were healed of their diseases?
When the Kingdom comes, enemies are treated with dignity.
A Roman centurion, representative of the oppressive empire that enslaved Jesus' people, is treated with equal dignity to an Israelite and publicly commended for his faith. Jesus fulfills his teaching to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (ESV, Matthew 5:44).”
Matthew 8:5-13 (ESV)...
When [Jesus] had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,
"Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly."
And he said to him,
"I will come and heal him."
But the centurion replied,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him,
"Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And to the centurion Jesus said,
"Go; let it be done for you as you have believed."
And the servant was healed at that very moment.
The word ‘enemy’ is uncomfortable. I have no enemies, do I? If I shift the definition from a person I fear and hate to a person whose actions demonstrate ill feeling toward me, my most recent enemy was a previous manager.
The manager’s words were neutral, but his actions subtly undermined my credibility. I was constantly on guard lest my words be used against me. When I did speak, it was to protect myself from ever-growing demands on my time and attention. My failures were magnified beyond their impact. Criticism was vague and not followed with any path to growth or restoration. The harder I worked, the more fault was found in my efforts until, finally, I was pressured to leave the company.
My natural inclination at each juncture of a multi-year struggle with my enemy was to return evil for evil. I fantasized about slamming him with his own mistakes as he did mine. I longed to publicly humiliate him as he privately shamed me. I contemplated undermining his authority.
In submission to Jesus, I did not act on my impulses. Instead, I overlooked his mistakes and did not harshly criticize him. I honored him in public and complied with his demands. I reserved critical feedback until I could offer it privately with a generous spirit and with clarity. Even in the weeks before my departure, I spoke well of him in public and private. I empathized with his position and prayed for him.
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Lest you think I acted in love towards my manager by sheer willpower, you should know that I met regularly with a trained therapist and spent countless hours with Amie and friends venting my feelings, sharing my experiences, and receiving prayer and counsel. Participation in the Kingdom is participation in community.
What would happen if enemies in your workplace treated one another with dignity?
When the Kingdom comes, the marginalized are exalted.
Jesus publicly exalts a woman who had been ceremonially unclean for a dozen years, showing the same respect towards this marginalized woman as the Israelite ruler he was on his way to help.
Matthew 9:18-26 (ESV)...
While [Jesus] was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying,
"My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."
And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself,
"If I only touch his garment, I will be made well."
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said,
"Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well."
And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said,
"Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping."
And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district.
In some circles there’s a tendency to diminish the contributions of new Christians. Bible knowledge and clean living become the prerequisites for authority, neither of which are common among new Christians.
One way I’ve undermined this tendency is to honor those least likely to be recognized in our small groups. On one occasion, Amie and I were prompted by the Holy Spirit to offer the role of group facilitator to the person who felt least qualified. She managed the role with excellence and was honored in the sight of all, which had the wonderful effect of boosting her confidence in her contributions (from which all benefited).
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For another take on the exaltation of the marginalized, see my series on privilege that starts with privilege definition. There will be an upcoming series on Amie and my favorite approach to bible study.
What would happen if the marginalized in your neighborhood were exalted?
Next time you pray, “your Kingdom come,” may these images and your own witness fill your mind.