The Kindom of God

Yeah, that's right. I didn't forget the "g." (But I'm not abandoning it, either.)

Don’t think that Jesus doesn’t care about his mother and brothers. One of the last things he did as he hung from the cross was to see to the care of his mother.

But he is making a larger point here, right? Family bonds are not what makes the Kindom of God. Bonds in God’s Kindom have to do with the fulfillment of his word.

Some theologians and Christian practitioners prefer to use Kin-dom over Kingdom to emphasize the relational and communal bonds that transcend all others when part of Christ’s Church. The word highlights that the reign of God is not built on conquest or borders, but on reconciled relationships: sisters and brothers gathered around Jesus’ teaching, the Spirit knitting together strangers into a new household, people defined not by bloodlines but by shared obedience to God’s word. It helps us remember that we’re drawn into a family of mutual care, not a hierarchy of privilege.

But it need not completely replace Kingdom. The heart of the Kingdom of God is that there is a king, one who is all-loving and beneficent. The gospel is good news not merely because we become kin to each other, but because Christ rules with justice, sets captives free, and has authority over the storms, the demons, even death itself (even the wind and the waves obey him). To speak of the Kingdom reminds us that despite all the terrible examples of human despots and dictators, there is one who rules otherwise, not through domination and violence, but love and grace and mercy. God’s reign is not a democracy we invent or sustain; it’s God’s rule breaking in to heal the world.

We need both. The Kindom - a word image not even possible in Jesus’ time as it is a play on the very spelling of English words - reminds us that God’s reign gathers us into reconciled relationship; Kingdom reminds us that Jesus is Lord and not merely our peer. Together they proclaim the good news that God’s rule is both personal and communal: a loving King who creates a new family, and a new family gathered joyfully under one righteous King.

Luke 8:19-25

Jesus’ mother and brothers came to him but were unable to reach him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who listen to God’s word and do it.”

One day Jesus and his disciples boarded a boat. He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set sail.

While they were sailing, he fell asleep. Gale-force winds swept down on the lake. The boat was filling up with water and they were in danger. So they went and woke Jesus, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” But he got up and gave orders to the wind and the violent waves. The storm died down and it was calm.

He said to his disciples, “Where is your faith?”

Filled with awe and wonder, they said to each other, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!”

Psalm 102:23-32

Some of the redeemed had gone out on the ocean in ships,
making their living on the high seas.
They saw what the Lord had made;
they saw his wondrous works in the depths of the sea.
God spoke and stirred up a storm
that brought the waves up high.
The waves went as high as the sky;
they crashed down to the depths.
The sailors’ courage melted at this terrible situation.
They staggered and stumbled around like they were drunk.
None of their skill was of any help.
So they cried out to the Lord in their distress,
and God brought them out safe from their desperate circumstances.
God quieted the storm to a whisper;
the sea’s waves were hushed.
So they rejoiced because the waves had calmed down;
then God led them to the harbor they were hoping for.
Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love
and his wondrous works for all people.
Let them exalt God in the congregation of the people
and praise God in the assembly of the elders.

Prayer

God,

Thank you for Mondays. No, really, I like the new start. The old has gone, the new is coming. Help me to live it well.

Give me the grace and wisdom to navigate today living and leading in the beautiful tension that “God is great and people are good.” Help me see people with the potential of Kingdom siblinghood, if they aren’t already. Wash me in the kin-blood of Jesus, the bond that welcomes and reconciles without preference for lineage or status, but draws near to all who seek your will.

Let this fresh beginning shape my steps today, so that my words and actions both reflect your kinship and point to your reign of grace.

By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.