the low-down is basically a walk through matthew’s accounts and the various uses of the truly epic and oft-misunderstood phrase, “the kingdom of heaven/GOD.”

taking a page out of the rabbinical school of study, we’re first looking closely at the law of first mention(s) – both in the first and new covenants, considering the radical* birth of the kingdom of heaven/GOD and the inherent questions it raises for us today.

i am using the word ‘lost’ because as much as yochanan (john), yeshua (jesus), and the apostles used the phrase [kingdom of heaven/GOD], it seems the body of christ has largely swept it under the gospel-rug. and make no mistake, yochanan was certainly not the first one to coin that phrase: it stems from a history of empire and power and spheres of power or control; what may also be described as the dome of a king: a kingdom.

i am also using the word ‘lost’ because many of the symbols themselves have been, in a sense, lost unto us 21st century sojourners of the way: followers of the christ. we read his parables, we envision his symbols, then our minds go blank as we search for a mustard seed and plant around our neighborhoods in suburbia, and finally (most of us) skip – er, skim – the rest of the chapter, taking refuge with a familiar verse from psalms. note the bit of sarcasm…

we live in such a dome today. a nation of boundaries governed by a modern-day king-of-sorts: a president: one who presides, sits in front of.

it would not be far-fetched to say that we find our legal citizenship in the kingdom of america, for example.

so, does it matter and what does it mean that there exists another kingdom in the very midst of the one we’re in? how are we to make our living in light of this reality? etcetera and ellipsis.

Q/ what is the most recent conversation you have had regarding the “kingdom of heaven/GOD?” or do you find that you are not having very many conversations at all about it?

*radical. used here not to elicit images of mohawks or lady gaga; rather, in reference to the word’s origin, from radish: of or having roots. that is, being radical or, going back to the roots, to the beginning.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Apostle Paul to Timothy

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after many years of trying to follow and love yeshua, study and experience the scriptures, listen and feel for the wind, and learn to be still enough to know my father’s voice, i have come to this profound, small statement: the bible is full of errors.

oh. don’t get me wrong; i don’t believe GOD’s words are fallible. i have not arrived at some brand new heresy. i don’t think the bible (the scriptures) mean something entirely different from what they say. but i do believe it is full of errors.

we recognize that an error is a deviation from accuracy, correctness; a belief in something untrue; even the condition of believing as truth, something that is untrue; and it can also be said that it is a moral offense and wrongdoing: a breaking of the law.

and any amateur associated with these pages will agree, there are stories at every turn which follow the development of a person’s devious journey from their eden to zion and everything in between.

eve was deceived and, perhaps more consequentially, began to deceive herself and others. oh to err.

the israelites know all too well what it looks like to believe in something untrue as they forsook YHWH for the lifeless idols of their neighbors. oh the error!

from samson to peter and king david to the pharisees. paul makes it clear that if one were to break a single law, then s/he is a lawbreaker. again, the error.

i very much enjoy etymology. it is the study of the derivation of a word and/or historical linguistic change. for example, we know that the original meaning of error was to “wander or go astray.”

i like to let that sink in. to think about my own journey, beautiful and devious and humbling and terrible and wonderful and good and bad, but mine nonetheless. full of wanderings, no doubt, but also full of times of returning to GOD: everyone we meet and every moment that washes over us is changing us, leading us, moving us, making us to become as we are. i like to let that sink in.

none of these errors ever stopped GOD from being who he said he was. he is the redeemer. he is the rescuer. he is the remedy.

where there is deviation, he can bring correction. where there is transgression, he forgives.

people always get hung up on the consequences: yes, there are consequences, sometimes exceedingly great consequences! but they are like the shadow that proves the sunshine (switchfoot reference). the consequences remind us of the law of the harvest. we reap what we sow. GOD said that, and you know what? it’s true! because, he is truth. but we are not to get stuck here: we are to get stuck on being still, and knowing that he is GOD.

paul was in this line of thinking when he commented that “where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more!” where there is wandering, his presence abounds all the more! (and should we go on sinning so that grace may abound? of course not!)

i am so thankful the scriptures are full of the truth. which is to say, it is full of errors. which is to say, it is full of salvation experiences. which is really to say, it is full of the hopes and dreams of YHWH – to create one new humanity. we are to “make the most of every opportunity” paul tells us, and that everything in these scriptures is GOD-breathed, and is actually to be used to equip us!

are we allowing ourselves and our journey to be offered up to GOD? our journey full of errors and wanderings – are we allowing him to correct us? to teach us? to lead us? that we may be equipped – not to become better people – but to become one new humanity!

may we forgive as he forgives. may we love as he loves. may his kingdom come and his will be done.