Day 28

Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this world; if My kingship were of this world, My servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but My kingship is not from the world.” John 18:36 (From the Fourth Gospel on Holy Thursday Evening)

There are many verses in the Bible that speak about the fact that the world, the material things around us, is not important. Instead, what is important for us as Christians is the Kingdom of heaven. This is spelled out for us clearly in today’s scripture passage.

We see Jesus in His conversation with Pontius Pilate above making it crystal clear that His kingship was not a kingship of this material world we live in, but something else entirely.

There are many things about Lent that are beneficial to us spiritually. Fasting teaches us discipline over our earthly desires, prayer strengthens our relationship with God, almsgiving shows us the path to humility. Lent also strives to teach us that the things of this world: money, power, possessions, are not the things that we should focus on.

Fr. Stavros mentioned in one of his reflections that this time we spend on earth shouldn’t necessarily be called our life, but it should be called our preparation. Our life is what will happen to us for eternity. The time we are given here in the world is the time we are given to prepare for that eternity.

Lent helps us to see that, it is supposed to clear away all of the things that try to draw our attention. This is why we change our diet, why we spend no or at least much less time entertaining ourselves. We are called during Lent to focus on those things that will prepare us to be a part of the kingship that Jesus talks about today.

The revelation of His kingship is fast approaching in the scripture readings of the reflections. It is a kingship that is of the kingdom of heaven, and we are called to be a part of that kingship too. As Fr. Stavros says, our goal of this preparation time we have been given is to inherit a part of the Kingdom of God and not be shut out of it.

There is a saying that goes: “You can’t see the forest for the trees”. It means that a person is too bogged down in details to see the whole picture. The whole picture is the Kingdom of God, the trees can be the distractions of this world.

Look for the forest today!

In Christ

Fr. David