A Tale of Two Kingdoms

We are living in strange times.  As I type, my country is in partial lock-down.  The global pandemic of Covid-19 is affecting every life on this planet in some way.

This morning, as I took a breath, I was musing about the times we are in and the behaviour we see in people around us, and humanity's response in a time of global/universal crisis.

Firstly, I have to categorially state: I do not believe God has sent a virus to punish us.  I do not believe that if we paint the blood of a lamb on our doorposts that death will pass over our households protecting the faithful, and smiting those who reject God.  Why do I not believe this?  Clearly this illness is affecting all of humanity, regardless of faith and belief.  A virus doesn't discriminate by race, gender or religion.   Secondly, to understand God, I always look first at Jesus.  His ministry was one of healing and love.  He didn't walk around casting plagues on sinners.  He healed the leper, he cured the disease, he restored the spirit... he even raised the dead.  We see the attitude of God revealed in the life of Jesus.  I believe in a God who loves us all passionately, and I believe Jesus is a universal saviour.

Returning to my musings... the last few years has been very disconcerting.  Across the world, we are seeing shifts to extremism.  Far right governments and political parties are gaining power.  Nationalism is taking the place of internationalism.  Walls are being built and bridges are being burned.  Immigrants are being demonised.  Foreigners are being treated with suspicion and as outsiders.


Deuteronomy 24:10-15; 17-22

When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you.  If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession.  Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.

Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.  Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.  When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.  When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

In these ancient words for an ancient people in ancient times, we see the heart of a God who cares about the vulnerable, the foreigner, the orphan and widow (those with no protection and security).

And when I contrast what I see in the news before the virus outbreak with what I see during it, the difference is huge.  We are now seeing humanity working together to care for the vulnerable.  We see people loving their neighbours.  We hear of communities coming together, people helping strangers, reaching out to the housebound.  A few months ago, the conservative and increasingly right wing UK government was judging people's value to our country based on their income level.  The talk was of points-based systems to judge the value of a human being to our society.  Thousands of carers and other low paid but hugely critical roles were being told they weren't wanted.  We want high earners to pay higher tax.  Those are the ones we want.  Bring in the bankers and throw out the cleaners.

Yet today, in the midst of our crisis, we now talk of key workers.  People are being protected and prioritised who would previously have failed to meet the "skilled workers" definition.  We are praising the cleaners, the child minders, the teachers, the hospital workers.  Our world has turned upside down, but in some ways, it has reverted to the right way up.  

While I do not believe God causes natural disasters, I do believe, like the famous painting of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, that God reaches out to us and asks us to reach out to him.  And when we connect, we feel the compassion and love that God has for all humanity.   We feel the call to bring love and compassion, to heal and bring hope.  God asks us to partner with him as agents in his Kingdom to bring peace to this earth.    And God does not limit his power to those who worship him.  I believe God is working through the nurses, doctors, scientists, teachers, carers... every spark of human compassion for our neighbour comes from the image of God within each of us.   We are created beings, but we face a choice.

I can sit with the questions: Did God cause this?  Did he allow it?  Is it part of a greater plan?  I will let the theologians argue amongst themselves on that one.  Rather, I can choose to answer a different question:  What does God want me to do about it?

Which Kingdom do we want?  A Kingdom of love, hope, compassion, grace, forgiveness, mercy, justice and the building of bridges, or a Kingdom of hate, greed, lust, abusive power and the building of walls to divide us?

As Jesus taught, may our prayer be "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come."  Let's work with God to make his Kingdom of love for all a reality.