Our readings this evening are first about a king who lost his way and faced God’s judgment, and then in the New Testament a vision of the coming of the kingdom of God which suggests the sudden eruption of final judgment into a world which is taken by surprise as it goes about its ordinary business. That vision, as recorded by St Luke drawing on his sources within the Early Church, is based on memories of what Jesus said about the coming of the kingdom of God. But it is also historically conditioned, seen through the lens of contemporary Jewish history and eschatology. Our task – and it is a considerable challenge – is to determine what it might mean for us to-day.
Saul had begun well as a young king, but as time passed he came to rely more on his own judgment and policies, less and less on the God he served and the guidance of his wise old counsellor, the prophet Samuel. He had turned into a ruler like any other ruler, and he and his whole dynasty needed to give way to the clearer faith and vision of the young David. Saul’s similarity to other failed leaders is revealed in the final crisis which destroyed him. In accordance with the specific prohibitions laid down in the laws given to Moses (Exodus 22.18; Deuteronomy 18.10) he had forbidden his people to consult mediums and wizards. Because such people encourage trust in mysterious dark sources of power, consulting them is incompatible with belief in the final and definitive power of the one true God, the faith which set Israel apart from all its neighbours. However, faced with a military crisis, Saul breaks the rules which he himself has made (does that sound familiar?) by consulting the witch of Endor, requiring her to call up for him the spirit of Samuel whose guidance he has previously ignored or rejected. But Samuel can only confirm the outcome which Saul already feared. In the battle with the Philistines next day, he and all his family will be wiped out and the stage cleared for David to succeed him. Thus Saul faced his moment of truth, his Day of Judgment, and was found wanting.
Our New Testament reading had a more distant focus, on the coming of the Day of the Son of Man. Some Jews of the first century believed, or at least hoped, that the Old Testament prophecies predicting a bright future for their nation and for Jerusalem were moving towards fulfilment. These hopes lie behind the question which the Pharisees put to Jesus. With Roman consent they had rebuilt the Temple. Their religious leaders had already been granted a wide measure of responsibility under the oversight of the Roman governors. Meanwhile an increasingly vocal nationalist wing looked forward to establishing full independence. The Coming of the Kingdom was in the air, but it was all to end in brutal suppression. In AD70 the First Jewish War ended with the destruction of the rebuilt temple, and further uprisings over the following sixty years or so would lead to the total eradication of a Jewish state for nearly two thousand years. These events were only just beginning to unfold as Luke compiled the material which would become the text of his gospel, and when Jesus spoke about the future he may well have reflected the culture and expectations of his time, albeit with some highly significant modifications. His vision of the coming of the Kingdom of God reflected the Old Testament expectation of a triumphant and glorious future for the people of God, and within that context he deliberately identified himself with Daniel’s vision of a Son of Man, leading to the accusation of blasphemy which was used to justify his trial and crucifixion. What was new and radical was Jesus’ recognition that suffering and rejection – as foreseen in Isaiah’s poetic references to the fate of the suffering servant – would also be central to the story.
In tonight’s reading there are three aspects to Jesus’ words of prophecy about the coming kingdom. First there is the sense that the coming of the kingdom is not so much an external event in the realm of politics, but rather an inner experience: the kingdom of God is among you, or within you (v 21). Second, you don’t need to go looking for it because it will be both clear and dramatic. Indeed it is already there for those who have eyes to see it in the drama of his own ministry of healing and preaching, and not least – in anticipation – in his own experience of suffering and death. Third, there is a clear expectation of a final event combining elements of the destruction of Jerusalem with a final judgment on all mankind.
What are we to make of all this now? In so far as Jesus was anticipating historical events, the destruction of Jerusalem and the elimination of a Jewish state in Palestine took place between 66 and about 130 AD. It seems to have been reversed in the past century, though one has to wonder whether that will turn out to be the end of the story.
What is radically new in these prophetic utterances is the insertion of the suffering of the Son of Man, and the accompanying assertion that those who try to make their life secure will lose it, whilst those who lose their life will keep it. This is where Jesus’ message and above all the example of his life and death, has utterly transformed our experience of the world. It is no longer the stronger army that wins the battle.
Remember Lot’s wife. She was the one who looked back, remembering the comfortable life she had enjoyed in the prosperous cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reluctant to follow the angels to that place of safety which God had prepared. Jesus showed us that the Love of God is stronger than any human authority, even when backed by the massive force of a great empire. God’s Love is stronger than death itself. Moreover, by the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, that same power is available to us. The only condition – the condition which he accepted himself – is that we should not count the cost. But that condition turns our lives upside down. We can no longer measure success by the usual standards of money, power and influence. We cannot measure our security by the strength of our walls or the value of our investments. Remember Lot’s wife who was reluctant to leave all that behind. Led by the angels, we must set out to do what the Love of God in our hearts requires, leaving the outcome in his hands. That is how the kingdom of God breaks into our world.
Lord, give us the grace to know and to do what Love requires.