There are many debates about what the kingdom of heaven means in Matthew, about when it starts, about what Jesus means when he says, “repent because the Kingdom is at hand.”

I wonder why we wonder so much? Why do we care so much about having exactly the right interpretation?

Is is because we want to be kings of understanding your kingdom? Is it because being right will make us special?

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Jesus, did you know how much we love to be the most right one, the most understanding one, the most humble one?

Of course you knew. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made surrender so high on the list of things to talk to our Father about.

“We pray that your kingdom will come–that what you want will be done here on earth, the same as in heaven.”

That’s how you told us to pray about kingdom.

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Here’s why I think that he told us to pray that way, and told us to say “we pray” rather than “I pray.” He wanted us to be in clusters when we said these words, in community. And he wanted us to have to talk about God’s kingdom coming with people who know how much we want our kingdom, or even my kingdom.

I  get pretty confident about my understanding. I can stake out what I think. And then when there are eight people around me, who know me well, hearing me talk about wanting God’s kingdom, there is an instant credibility check.

And when we together are asking that the Father’s desire happen here as well as in heaven, we have to look each other in the eye and say, “That means in us, between us, among us, within us.”

Not my kingdom. Not our kingdom. Your kingdom.

I guess that’s pretty clear.

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A prayer that talks about the king

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On the right in the photo, which has in the background France and Germany, is Nancy. With whom I’ve been married for 41 years as of today. (What I wrote last year.)