Come.
No
not like we think about it, as in come toward, come here, come this instance.
See
I am coming soon (Rev. 22: 12)
Two
thousand years later, where is this coming, when is this coming. Soon?
Come
– the Greek word is ERCHOMAI-
To
come, to go, to arrive, to bring, to enter; to expect.
ERCHOMAI-
to give, to fall; to grow, to light, to
turn.
ERCHOMAI
– to start and to set out
Come
– a movement without implying destination.
COME,
ERCHOMAI an expansive invitation to journey in God’s time.
Jesus
in calling the disciples said, “Come follow me.” (Luke 18: 22)
Jesus
turned and saw John the Baptists’ disciples following and said to them … “Come
and see.” (John 1: 38-9)
Jesus
said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as
these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.” (Matt. 19: 14)
Jesus
invited: Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give
you rest. (Matt. 11: 28)
Even
demons received an invitation – come –
Jesus
said, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.” (Mark 5:8)
COME
– in its fullness is the centre of centuries of prayer.
Jesus
taught the disciples to pray: Your
kingdom come. (Luke 11:2)
COME
– listen carefully; this is mind blowing talk;
Fluid,
evolutionary, revolutionary.
p-hoof
with hand expression, exaggerated facial expression
The
invitation to come – for God’s kindom to come-
Collapses,
amplifies, resets, augments, redistributes time;
The
human conception and perception of time.
God’s
kindom come is moving but, isn’t moving towards us or away from us;
We
are immersed in it.
It
is here and not here and yet everywhere; the Alpha, Omega, the beginning and
the end;
What
was, what is, what is to be.
Once
upon a time…
Coming
out of the water, Jesus saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descend like
a dove on him. “You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1: 10-1)
As
Jesus -come into himself- began in earnest; kindom come.
Nathanael
said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and
see.”
And
he did; and we do.
towards
the end of Jesus’ human existence Jesus specifically says
The
hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. (John 12: 23)
And
here kindom came – yet, not;
Started
not finished
Christ’s
time – God’s time- starts with the invitation COME.
For
centuries the kindom remains and has started over and over,
Come,
come, come.
“We
want to think that the kingdom is coming to us, like a bus on a route. And we
want to think it is arriving soon, not that it is just starting out.” (christswords.com)
We
want deliverance now from a world gone mad.
We
hope, we plead
Come
soon
Before
another school shooting; before another destructive life-taking windstorm;
before more whales are found dead in our waters; before another deadly disease;
before another terror attack, new war, or nuclear war;
Come
soon
Come
inoculate the human race - now –
from the fast-spreading virus of anger, fear,
and violence.
The
invitation is offered new, COME, in each moment, with each reading, with each
proclamation, with each sharing, with each telling, with each invitation to
friends/family and others that we give:
The
Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let everyone who hears say, “Come.” And
let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life
as a gift. (Rev. 22:17)
COME.
Friend
COME with me – together let us go hand in hand and quench our thirst;
Enemy
COME with me – together let us go hand in hand and lay down our burdens;
How
many have been invited and started the journey by this word?
Come
– and a group of disciples do
Come
– and disciples of John do
Come
– and demons do
Come
– and children do
Come
– and the heavy-laden do, the thirsty do, all those who hear do
Come
– and the hosts of heaven, heaven and earth and all their creatures, the angels
and arch-angels, the cherubim and seraphim, Mary Magdalene and Peter, and the
great cloud of witnesses do;
Come
– and we do, washed in the waters of baptism;
And
in that moment the stepping into the invitation to come,
starts
the journey of kindom with Christ in the community
Together
carrying the burden of and quenching the fire of anger, fear, violence
And
God’s time -the kindom- rings with resurrection and hope;
“Surely
I am coming soon.” And
a myriad of voices respond - Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Rev. 22: 20)
As
people of faith – those having COME – those who continue to come
Those
who show up in daily life and live the best they can
Being
apart of the ‘coming’ journey – part of the kindom;
Praying
“your kindom come”
Responding
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
We
COME.
We
COME to be together as one; to hope together.
We
COME to wash our robes.
At
the call to COME we wash off the soot of the world, the residue of apathy, ashes
of hopelessness, the grit of lawlessness, and any sediment of shame
We
COME to fully participate in the journey of God’s time, God’s kindom, and Jesus’
prayer that all may be one.
ERCHOMAI - COME
Hymn
955 - Come to the Water of Life, from
“All Creation Sings,” Augsburg Fortress 2020
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