The reflection by Rev. Jeanne Randall-Bodman presented on Sunday, November 8, 2026.
“Obviously, we cannot live with a kind of manic urgency all the time. We do harm to ourselves and to others if we try to live in that way, with a kind of apocalyptic readiness and anxiety pressing at all times. But believing that there is something imminent about the emergence of God's kingdom leads us to ask good questions.
“We say that again, even though we don't speak about the immediate second coming of Jesus, we believe that God's kingdom is close, that we can participate in it. And these are the questions we have to ask in order to do that: Who is at harm that needs to be protected? What are the injustices that need to be called out? Where does mercy need to be extended? These are the serious questions Jesus asks in his invitation to the kingdom of joy.”
Liberating Words:
Wisdom of Solomon 6: 12 - 20
Matthew 5: 1 - 13