Sermon: "Kingdom Moments"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

Our Gospel reading today picks up the theme which may be the most prominent one in all of Jesus' teaching and preaching - the kingdom of God. We read, "Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom." How often Jesus taught and preached and proclaimed the kingdom! Then we read that Jesus called the twelve apostles to join in his work. What he instructed the twelve to teach and preach and proclaim was this: "The kingdom of heaven has come near." "The kingdom of heaven has come near."

Our other readings today tantalize us with the awareness of the kingdom's nearness. Consider, first, our Old Testament reading in which Abraham and Sarah welcomed three messengers from God. The word from God, through those messengers, was that these two faithful servants - very old in age - would become parents. Their son Isaac would be a sign that God's promises are trustworthy, and through Isaac, the people of God would know of God's everlasting covenant with them. How often Abraham and Sarah must have remembered that day and realized that the kingdom of heaven had indeed come very near to them!

Then, in the passage from Romans, St. Paul describes for us the reality of the kingdom, in theological terms. "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." And, continuing, "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us." And so, Jesus - the first citizen of the kingdom of God - died for us, making us citizens of that kingdom and inheritors of the kingdom's promises. The kingdom is indeed ours, by and through the action of Christ. It's as though Christ sponsors us for adoption into the family of God and presents us in person to the Father. Indeed, with this awareness, "the kingdom of heaven has come near."

This kingdom - which is so near - is much more than a place. In addition - and more importantly - the kingdom has to do with relationships . . . relationships that find meaning and significance in our relationship with God in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Relationships of the kingdom are the objects of our collect today: "Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion." That's kingdom talk, my friends. And, then, of course, our Lord himself taught us to pray for the kingdom: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Therefore, again, the kingdom is indeed much more than a place. It has to do with relationships.

Part of the joy of my responsibilities as bishop is to encounter people in relationship and - by doing so - to see glimpses of the kingdom of God. For instance, this diocese has been involved in Haiti for a number of years, and I, too, have worked with the people of that country in the past. Whenever I traveled to Haiti, I experienced a surprising awareness of my own circumstances. That is, invariably, I expected to take some worthwhile aid to Haiti, only to be given so much more in return - and to find myself richer as a result. I think the kingdom is like that. Indeed, I believe the kingdom becomes known in such moments and encounters as those.

Next week, Annie and I will return to South Dakota, and we look forward to another trip to our companion diocese. We will once again be part of the Niobrara Convocation, the annual gathering together of the Sioux People who were dispersed to many reservations more than a hundred and fifty years ago. We will again be blessed by this collection of people who are so spiritually rich and so very, very poor in worldly terms. As we see them, we will again consider the words of Jesus, "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first." And we will leave the Cheyenne River Reservation knowing that we have caught a glimpse of the kingdom of God.

Within our diocese, too, I have been privileged to discover the presence of the kingdom of God. For instance, I think of the young people and children at Grace Point Camp. Each week at this diocesan camp a different group gathers from various places around our diocese. They develop a very real Christian community, and that, my friends, is a foretaste of the kingdom…I think of this parish of Church of the Nativity and your work in the ministry of feeding the hungry…I think of Thankful Memorial Parish and their efforts to improve literacy in south Chattanooga…I think of St. Christopher's, Kingsport, whose laymen build ramps for handicapped and elderly people in their community and beyond. Each of these examples offers a sign of the kingdom of God, and I give thanks for them all … and for many, many others in East Tennessee and north Georgia.

The kingdom of heaven is known, too, in everyday - almost mundane - ways. I think of the fellowship of potluck suppers. I have witnessed community so profound and deep in those settings - community that tends to the needs of pastoral care and spiritual growth for those gathered around the table of fellowship… And, finally, I think of the love and commitment expressed when a parish presents candidates for confirmation, reception, and reaffirmation. The bishop will ask the question, "Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ?", and the parish family responds, "We will."

These are kingdom moments - times that the kingdom of heaven comes near - opportunities within our human relationships to know God the Father, in God the Son, through the power of God the Holy Spirit. Surely, it is in and through one another that we may see and know Jesus Christ, as he promised. And when that perception and knowledge are ours, then we experience the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus the Christ taught and preached and proclaimed that "the kingdom of heaven has come near." In our own lives, then, may we open the eyes of our faith. May we perceive the kingdom of heaven when it comes near. And may we know with the certainty and the power of the promise of Jesus that it is indeed the kingdom of heaven that he gives to us!

Copyright © 2008 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee