Sara at a rock concert

The kingdom of God is like

Sara at a summer outside rock concert.

It’s the Tuesday you’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity. Your favorite band is playing and you scored tickets before the sellout date. It’s hot, your legs are sticky and your blanket has grass all over it but you don’t care. The no named opening group isn’t half bad. As the sun starts to set the band makes it out onto the stage and they begin to play their first high energy song. It is as awesome as you had dreamed it would be. As they start to move through their set you glance over at this woman and 

she's intently staring at the stage, hands up, singing, just as everyone else until


 the lyric.

Epic soul moving emotional swelling lyric…you know the one

And everything in her world is still. Is she going to cry? I means it's a really good song, great beat. Why does this lady look like her whole world is being shifted. 

Maybe you should ask her if she's ok. 

or hug her

or offer to by her a beer

or something. 

Your friend slams into you nearly knocking you over and spilling your snow cone all over your shirt.

Here is what the folks at Novitas had to say 

-The kingdom and its thin spaces are different and individualistic for each person. What may move one person may not have an effect on the next. I also think that we see only glimpse of the kingdom and are allowed to experience it with others, before we are jolted back to earthly reality.

(Time travel, I like!)

-Someone will always have a different experience than you and if you focus on wondering why they are experiencing things differently than you than you miss out on the experience yourself

(Sometimes we are so wrapped up in others that we may miss out on what is happening to us in that moment. WOW powerful stuff)

-Extremely anticipated and worth the wait. Something has happened in this woman’s life that is extremely relate able to the lyrics maybe even to the point that it helps her understand her life better. This happens when the music plays and the lyrics have awakened/stunned her soul.

- Your friend just wasted a perfectly fuckin good snow cone

(haha. Could be a waste or the snap back to reality? Maybe? Maybe?)

-When we stop and really hear the song we can’t help but be moved. Sometimes people see it in a different song than I do. Sometimes they listen to the whole concert and never see it at all.

(Awareness and the thin spaces. It’s happening around us all the time. We just have to STOP, collaborate and listen)

-There are times of great beauty and meaning and celebration I life, but everyone experiences those moments in a unique way. Regardless, even in the midst of the greatest moments we are thrown off by giant messes that disturb our moment and sometimes it is our closest friends that causes these messes.

-It is full of anticipation. It is full of motion. The music, the words can inspire and bring meaning both bad and good flooding each person differently. Sometimes even though experience is the same different people will in take that as happy or sad or maybe neither.

-It changes lives, just as the lyric in the song.

Wow this Novitas group really came up with some test explanations. If you enjoy these posts be sure to check out Rob Bells posts with his modern day Parables

Let's back up 48 hours and give some background shall we?

Sara works at a doctors office. She's single, attends the occasional church service and happy hour on Friday with her friends. Day in check day out check. Ever since her closest friend past away she just doesn't feel.

Anything.

No buzz, no rush, no sadness. Her coworkers decided to surprise her with tickets to that new band she's been raving about. Little do her coworkers know is the concert is on the same day that her best friend past away. She just wants to feel connected.

Something.

When Sara hears these lyrics she's moved in a way she hasn't been since her friends passing. She feels it and her heart swells.

The kingdom of God is a place where everything will be made right. No more sadness no more sorrow and we experience life to the fullest.


Bonus question:

What's the lyric Sara hears at the concert?

The high school cafeteria

OK! So, we are on the second of our modern day parables. Inspired by Rob Bell and his take in his blog on random everyday situations

The kingdom of God is like…….

The high school cafeteria.
You have made it past the first two periods. The bell finally rings and finally……

It’s lunch time.

You snag your paper sack lunch packed with the perfect turkey sandwich. As you stroll into the lunch room you search the room for your friends and you spot them and move past the lunch line. You see the less than edible selections. 

What do they even make those mash potatoes with? 

You’re thankful your mom packed your lunch. You see all the kids settling into their regular groups jocks, artists and math nerds. Everyone, for the most part, including Greg. He's the principles son. Nice kid, good grades, plays basketball. Normally sits with the popular kids. As you over hear conversations about the latest

Fill in the blank. Sports score, technological gadget, controversy, video game, etc.

You see Colby making eye contact with Greg. Colby the ultimate math wizard and running for class president. You wonder is that about the intense debate that happened in political science class this morning around the governments system of health care. Both have their groups that they flex around to so it’s not odd for these two to be talking, but this lunch time routine today seems different.

 Colby goes over and stands next to Greg.

 Exchange a moment of silence. 

You catch Greg's dad principle Krumpski scanning the room ensuring the lunchroom is in order. He makes eye contact with the two boys and smile. Greg's makes room for Colby and begin to have a normal conversation about Saturday night. You unwrap your sandwich.

Here is what

Novitas church came up with

-Getting into the kingdom is the equivalent of eating your lunch and there may be obstacles and battles on the journey but eventually you will get the feast

(Love the focus around the food. Maybe there is not just one big one at the end maybe we experience the feast at multiple points along the journey as well. Interesting) 

-Everyone has their place in the kingdom, however there shouldn’t be any hindrances or rules dictating out place. There is natural order that we long for, and are also happy to see the evolution of this. 

(Everybody gets to play, everybody is a part of the kingdom)

-Gay romance between Greg and Colby. They are perfect together. Even dad approves. It’s a happy time.

- The kingdom brings together unlikely people. It is a break we look forward to in the middle of our day. You will find all kinds of people there. Some you expect and some you don’t but yet everyone from the school is still all there, together. 

-At certain moments we long for the comfort of the kingdom. Just like our sandwich 

 

- Everyone has their own spot, their own purpose. Longing for lunch time. Longing for the kingdom.

-It is full of individuals and groups of people. It is also a place to get fed both physically and intellectually. Each person has a part to play and their own contribution. Relationships are also found here.

Here is a little background to the story

What you don't know about Greg is that he's gay. The battles, the struggles for the past 4 years. Most have been accepting, friends and family but not his dad. You see Colby and Greg have grown up together. When Greg finally made his decision to accept who he was. Colby was the first person he told. He also was there as his best friend to help Greg tell his dad about who he really was. The two have grown apart since entering high school but still share the bond of Greg’s life changing experience of telling his dad about his homosexuality.
Just like the kingdom where everyone is invited. Everyone is accepted.

Bonus question:

What's the significance of Colby and Greg's conversation about Saturday night?

The kingdom of God is like.......

Have you ever been trying to explain an idea or a concept to someone and

 it's just not clicking?

You then try your best to relate it back to something in their world. A story, an analogy, something rateable.

This whole conversation we see Jesus having with people is about the kingdom. But to make it make sense he has to try and put it ways they will understand a little more and more. Jesus didn't just want to share the truth he wanted people to discover it

It's like a

       Treasure

                     A big party

                                    Mustard seed

 I don't know about you but I can't recall the last time I really pondered the mustard seed, hunted for treasure or sowed in a field.

Want to share some of my own parables. We will get to the meanings laters. I shared these small stories with my church community

Novitas church  

You guys rock for playing along!

 

 and they were awesome enough to take the time to shed some insight on how they related to the parable and what they thought the teaching point was. And if you weren't there or you have a new thought. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
  Rob Bell has been doing this similar thing in his tumbler blog post and it inspired me to do the same.

So here we go.........

The kingdom of God is like......
A pen cap
It gets lost, chewed on, kept out of children's mouths, wedged behind a desk, thrown everyone's junk drawer. It also has many uses such as a hair pin, a way to pick a lock, restart your DVD player, scratch off a lotto ticket impromptu guitar pic, and the ever infamous way to open a Capri sun when that dang straw just won't work.

We encounter the pen cap every single day without even realizing it. Whether it is cleaning out the minivan for weekend sport activities or entering your boss’s office to discuss a new business strategy.

Here is what we have so far-

-We always forget about the kingdom of God and lose sight of it 

-Pen caps are considered almost valueless, yet they are extremely useful and helpful at times. We often ignore them, yet when we need to use them they are available all around us. We abuse it often, but then later find a need for it. Likewise the kingdom of God. It doesn’t seem to have value in day to day life, but when we cry out for help, God is there to comfort us or send another person to help us.

- It can be simple but/and/or useful. It can be found in everyday, mundane or the magical. It is often right in front of us and we don’t even notice. 

(Mundane sometimes is the best parts)

-We use it to pick the dirt out of our finger mails or itch a particularly irritating itch. It’s used to accomplish many goals, but we never think about it in depth.

-People throw it away and don’t give the kingdom the attention it deserves.

-We don’t understand the kingdom signification 

(Me either!)

-We are surrounded by it, but we do not always take notice of it. However, if we truly need it, it always seems that we lose it or can’t find it until we are desperate for it.

-Even the smallest things can change your heart even the course of your life.

(It all has significance. We may not be aware in the moment but it all adds up in some way)

Here is what I intended it to mean

Drum roll……………………………..

The pen cap
completes the pen in the tiniest way. You don't need the cap to actually use the pen, but they are meant to be together. And it will dry out.  Just as the kingdom here on earth.  The cap and life on earth are meant to be together and even though you don't need the kingdom to live this life NOW....life will eventually end. Dry out. Run out. Until the cap is placed on the pen to keep it from running dry.

What are other uses of the pen cap?