June 24: Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven

When Jesus talked about

the kingdom of heaven

he didn’t mean the place

you go after you die

(if you’re good); rather,

he was trying to describe

what we bring into being when 

we love God and our neighbors

with all our hearts, souls,

and minds—when we create

community that centers

justice, peace and mercy.

But that’s so hard for people

to understand that they

prefer inventing cruel systems 

of rewards and punishments

that bypass such things as

compassion and grace—

which turn out to be

the only things that might

actually save us.

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