Picture This

The kingdom of God is justice and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Come, Lord, and open in us the gates of your kingdom.

On several occassions, we have gathered for worship and sung the words to this meditative Taize song.  The lyrics are a plea for God to show us the kingdom, a cry for God to help to see justice, peace and joy.  We sing these words because it is hard for us to see.  We miss the signs of God's kingdom.  We fail to notice God's reign.As if Jesus knew how difficult it would be for his followers to really picture  life in the kingdom, he gave us  metaphors, images and parables to help us see it.  In the gospel of Luke, he taught his followers about life in the kingdom using a series of stories.  In the mids of their confusion and misunderstanding, it's like Jesus was saying "picture this..."  The stories he shared were not always straightforward, and require our thoughtful interpretation.  Yet, hearing them helps us to see what we have been missing.Over the next couple of months, we will be exploring these stories and looking for evidence of the kingdom here and now.  Each week, you are invited to take and share pictures of ways you are "seeing" particular kingdom characteristics.  Be on the look out for humility, joy, simplicity, generosity, and faith.  Where and when are they showing up in the midst of daily life?Pictures can be sent to Greg Warner at greg1warner@gmail.com so they can be used as part of our worship gatherings.I hope you can be a part of this intentional time of looking, finding and celebrating together!Peace + love,Susan