At every Sunday worship service, and in just about every
liturgy of our church, we pray the Lord’s Prayer. When we pray this prayer, one
of the things we say is: “…thy kingdom come, thy will be done…”. Many of us say this phrase without giving it much thought. However, this phrase has recently
been taken up by the Archbishop of Canterbury as a challenge for all of us to
recommit ourselves to a life of prayer and service in the church.
As we reflect on the phrase, “thy kingdom come”, we are
immediately reminded that we are part of something much larger than ourselves.
This of course is true when we consider our individual connection to St.
Michael’s but even more so when we remember that our small church is part of a
larger diocesan community, which is part of a larger denomination, which is
part of a larger communion, which is connected to the whole Christian faith
itself which expands outward in time and space beginning with Jesus Christ, all
those centuries ago.
This simple phrase, “thy kingdom come” also reminds us
that we are part of a movement which is larger than just our local mission. We
are part of undertaking that is participatory and calls us to be involved by
committing ourselves to something greater that we could do on our own. Truly,
none of us would know the joys of our faith, the fellowship of our church, or
be as effective in helping those in need, without this movement of faith being
handed down to us from those who came before. Those people who passed this mission
to us have not only given us a great treasure, but also continue to enrich our
lives by our memory of them and all they have done for our world.
As we think about these things in the light of the Easter
season, I hope many of us will decide to take up the Archbishop’s challenge and
recommit ourselves to taking on a greater role in this wonderful movement that
began so long ago. Of course, St. Michael’s provides us with many opportunities
to take up this challenge. These opportunities range from volunteering in one
of our many outreach ministries, to participating in a fellowship group. One
might also consider taking on a leadership role or working behind the scenes to
help support a wide variety of ministries, all of which work together to expand
God’s kingdom. If you would like to have a conversation about how you might recommit
yourself and use your gifts and talents to further God’s kingdom, please don’t
hesitate to speak with me or anyone on our Vestry or parish staff. May God bless you in your journey!
If you would like to learn more about the Archbishop’s
movement, you can visit his website at: https://www.thykingdomcome.global
