Local time where you're at. ("Where you're at"?)

Since my arrival here, I have used this as a place in which to make political and social comments, reserving theological comments for other venues, however this seems a good time to go a little theological.. Those of us who are confessional Lutherans, recognize the doctrine of Two kingdoms. As God’s children, we live in both the earthly kingdom, ruled by men, and the heavenly kingdom, ruled by God. This past Sunday’s Gospel lesson, has applications in both kingdoms, and I pray that this will aid our brother Darth in his contemplations.

The lesson to which I refer is Matthew 10:34-42.

In Matthew 10, Jesus has identified the Twelve, and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of Heaven to the people of Galilee and Judea. Before they left, our Lord gave them instructions on how to conduct their missionary work, and on what to expect from those to whom they preached. verses 34-42 are at the tail end of this discourse.

In these 9 verses, Jesus tells the Twelve(and us) three things. The first is that which also applies to the earthly Kingdom.

³⁴ “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

The message is simple, those who responded to the Gospel message, began to see the world differently. They thought differently and they behaved differently. Those who rejected the Gospel message did not change. Those who responded to the Gospel, became a part of God’s family, while those who did not, remained in Satan’s grasp. The things of Satan cannot abide the things of God, which is what caused the discord Jesus spoke of.

In our Temporal, secular world, the same thing happens. Bad and evil cannot tolerate good, and will do everything it can to shut down the expression of good. In our nation, we see this happen all around us. I would give examples, but I suspect that all in this forum have their own list.

The bottom line folks, is that if good is to triumph in our nation, of we are to remain a free nation of citizens, rather than the enslaved subjects of some sort of dictatorship, we mus continue to make our voices heard. This is true for the Church in proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven, and it is true for those in the political world who fight to maintain our liberty.