Upside Down Kingdom

This is the first of several reflections I am having from Wells' book Above all Earthly Powers.

I work in the door and window department of two Home Depot stores. The doors that I clean, shift, and mark are nothing but plain slabs of wood, steel, or fiberglass with an engraving or piece of glass to accent. Most of them are white or brown. It is just a door. Then I stare into the picture on the label and see this door in my dream house. I never saw my dream house before, but I did the other day, and it was all because of a door. Ironically, I have taken an interest in doors. Therefore, now I look at the door and not only see a slab of substance, but an entry way into my kingdom.

We look at pictures, television and movies and see flawed ideas of wholeness and piece them together to suite our own fantasies. We have a drive to make our present reality match our fabricated fantasy that is taken from the media and pictures, and in order to do this we consume those we have to have to get one step closer. At the same time this act of consuming is stimulating, but is short lived (Wells 2005,p, 42). Much like the anticipation of receiving that shiny gift on Christmas morning, only to be slightly disappointed moments later when our desire to consume resurfaces. We make ourselves think we need something to improve the present state of our bodies, cars, and houses.

This is the drive behind our consumption. Pretty soon our value becomes based on what we have, and we only can have when we produce. Wells said, “And yet what has not been shaken is the belief that consuming is essential to the nurture of the self” (Wells,2005,p,41). The result is a fragmented society. The desire to produce, consume, and be stimulated has driven us farther apart from each other and God and into our selves. We are in a deep, dark whole when human nature has become defined by what we can produce. “This is no coincidence. The death of God is always followed by the death of the human being” (Wells,2005,p,48).

I fantasize about the Church and how it could change the world everyday. The Kingdom of God is a righteous fantasy in that it is here already here, but not yet. There is potential for progression to bringing the kingdom of God nearer and nearer. However, this fantasy is not obtained by a selfish and flawed agenda of how we are going to consume. The Kingdom of God on earth is a selfless and divine way of life that is achieved not by consumption but by giving and seeking to satisfy the needs of others before ourselves.

Therefore, the Kingdom of God to the modernist is a similar concept to modern society – sojourning to make reality match an ideal. But, the way of life is drastically different. Jesus and the Gospels is a harsh contrast to our made up ideas of wholeness and the way of achieving wholeness. It is no wonder the Kingdom of God is sometimes referred to as “The Upside Down Kingdom.”

This upside down kingdom confronts right in the face of our individualism, consumerism, and struggle with authority. The ways of Jesus are drastically different from our society demands of us. So much so, that it might be a sin to be American. I heard some people say if you want to find God go to the poor and the oppressed people of the world and you will find him. At first, I disagreed with this. Then I began to think about what Jesus says, and what the Scripture say. It is the humble, the meek, the oppressed people that are seeking and in need searching for God’s redemption. When are into ourselves, our flawed fantasies of wholeness, and consuming whatever it takes to achieve that flawed fantasy – we don’t need God, we don’t have time for God, we don’t need others, and we don’t have time for others. This leads me to think deeper about the early church when it says “they devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” A community of faith in Jesus had gotten so committed to this kingdom living that they were able to put aside their own fantasies for the greatest one. I think the western church is too scared to release all their possessions because that is drastic and it might be uncomfortable.

blessed for being the least

The Sermon on the Mount Part I

The Roman Empire was large. It was dominating. It was scary. This is what was familiar to the group of people that was sitting next to Jesus on the day he decided to give them a lesson on true greatness. The culture all around these people was saying, take control, get as big as you can, have as much power as you can, show no sign of weakness. Is it possible this culture threatened them because they came from an unpopular, nomadic nation that struggles keeping their own land? Is it possible that Jesus had a political bent behind his words in the beginning of his sermon on the mount in Matthew 5.1-11? Is it possible that his words were more reaffirming rather than convicting and confrontational?

I wish I could have been there, because I love it when people say truth so boldly that it flies in the face of everything that is. I imagine myself sitting there smiling like a giddy schoolboy because this man has just put words to what I have been sensing. That sense of doubt, frustration because in order to exist and have meaning you have to gain power and step on everyone else to get it. I imagine being motivated to stand up for my country (Israel) and being proud of our smallness, the only ones who have one God, and weak because we help people and resolve fights. I imagine walking away and being blessed for being the least, which means being completely comfortable with who I am, what I do, and who I believe because of God and his righteousness.

South of the Mason-Dixon

I have been living in MD for one week now. It is starting to get more and more real, which means that I am beginning to see how different it is, or how different I am. There are several things that are different like:

- People hang out in parking lots a lot. We had trouble getting to our parking space in Hollywood video parking lot b/c we did not want to be rude and interrupt the the conversations people were having in the middle of the road.

- Dollar stores are really popular and really crowded.

- People talk different.

- I have no idea where I am going. It took me 1.5 hours to get home last night b/c I got lost. I need to get a map.

Some other things are different not b/c I am south of the mason-dixon, but b/c I have taken a drastic career change (sort of). Gina and I left good friends, good community, and a good place in an effort to move in the direction that we always talk, think about, and get frustrated about. We found a group of people that are after some of the same things, and it is good. However, this move meant quitting jobs that were good, moving for the second time within 6 months, moving hours away from school, leaving some good friends, living with the family for a time, and taking on a job that will teach me how to be content.

I have noticed about myself the following:

- When our stuff is chaotic, I am chaotic. I get cranky! Part of this might be b/c we started a new diet at the same time of this transition. If you ever move, DO NOT DO THIS!
- I have been sheltered for several years from the real working world. Being with normal people outside of the church. I tell them I am in seminary, and they think I am in some government program.
- I can get up before 7am

In the midst of all this chaos, God still appears. It is vague and quiet. But we have sampled freedom, encouragement, and experienced God's presence through provision and guidance. Have you ever experienced something and said "There is something else going on here" Yeah, that is happening more often since our decisions.

The other day I was at the MVA (MD"s DMV) getting our tags, and licenses, etc. taken care of. To make a long story short... We were one day before we got fined and penalized for a few hundred dollars, and we took care of it in one trip that should have been two.

Also, when we were there, I got a phone call, found out that I lost Gina's wallet that has ALL her information and money in it, called the guy who found it (by the way found it on the highway), and it ended up that he was coming to the same place...the MVA. He got there, and said "Dude, that is so weird. I had a feeling that you would probably be here, that is soooo weird"
... Something else is going on here

Anniversary

Well the remorse of our dead fish did not last long. It happened on the arrival of Gina and I's first wedding anniversary. So 365 days has passed since my wife and I became one. Here are some of my favorite memories and observations from the year.
- the honeymoon
- walking around on our honeymoon in snow flurries with only summer clothes
- saturday afternoons in the park reading chronicles of narnia
- Like PJ and his wife, Gina will always have to eat/drink whatever I am eating/drinking next to her
- the first year of marriage is fun!
- for us, God does not call one person and the other one has to follow, he calls both of us as one person.
- my favorite memory is us being sad together
- most traumatic memory is when we got in a car accident on the highway.
- I dont have it all figured out, even after reading "Five Love Languages"
- I think Gina is a prophetess - she speaks truth beyond so close to my heart and what I deal with. It is frightening to have God that close.
- Playing baseball in park. I bruised Gina's leg.
- Watching movies on a sunday afternoon.
- All the funny moments and stupid things that we do when we are sleeping. Like talking in our sleep, peeing the bed, moving funny, humming, patting the other person. There was night I was absolutely sure there was a spider crawling above my head. I woke up and started smacking all around me, and I even turned on the light.
- Our christmas pictures! check out the flickr link on the right.

Memories are essential to moving forward. If the effort is never made to remember, then the story of love is lost and we will not know where to go.

Death and Life

Recently our pet fish, Sushi, died. Many of you have gotten to meet Sushi. He was great. So I have decided to write him a little eulogy in memory of him.

Sushi, our relationship started with pity, and ended in pity. We had pity on him in the massive pet store that stored him in a small plastic cup with a little hole for air. If you ask me, the pet store was NOT so pet smart. We took him home, put him in a glass bowl, and then soon into a tank. We talked to him, We fed him. I tried to pet you. We made him angry by putting a mirror up to his tank (sushi was a Beta fish - Japanese fighting fish).

It ended in pity as we watch him die with a disease they call the "ick." It began to eat away at him, and we had pity. We thought about Euthanasia, but we were hoping, and Gina was praying that the meds we gave him would help. That week was bitter sweet. He were dying, but we began to reminisce of all our memories we had with him as our first pet. Because he was the first and because I thought of the cool name, we will never forget sushi.

We have moved on. Gina had pity on another Beta fish. This fish we got for free, and his name is tumor because he has a tumor growing out of his face. The not so smart pet store was just going to let him die.