Kingdomtide and the Church on the Fourth

Those of you of a certain age, who grew up in certain denominations, may remember a season in the church calendar called Kingdomtide. Back in the 1930s an ecumenical group of churches decided to give this name to the weeks between Pentecost and Advent, with an emphasis on Jesus' teaching about the kingdom of God. Later the season was shortened to a three-month period from late August to Advent. But nowadays the term Kingdomtide has pretty much been retired, even in the United Methodist Church, which was the last holdout to keep it going.

Kingdomtide may no longer part of the liturgical calendar, but US Independence Day is a good time to reflect on our relationship between the church and government. Churches throughout this country will take a variety of approaches to the holiday at services this weekend. Some will largely ignore the holiday and emphasize instead the lectionary readings or other pastor-chosen themes for the day. Others will sing a national song or two to open the service but otherwise go on with the rest of a normal service. But some congregations will make their service a complete Fourth of July celebration with banners, music, and sermons on topics like freedom and service and honor.

How we worship this weekend reflects and reinforces our theology of the kingdom of God. Our services make statements (implicit or explicit) about how God's kingdom relates to the church and to human kingdoms. In 1776 the thirteen American colonies rejected the rule of their earthly king and called on an unspecified Providence to assist their quest for independence. Since then the church in these United States has experimented with various forms of church-state relationships. The Methodist Episcopal Church started as its own denomination here largely because John Wesley's own Church of England -- the official church of the previous regime -- was finding it very difficult to thrive in a post-Revolutionary America.

Churches supported by a nation or earthly kingdom do indeed create complex issues that compete for a Christian's loyalty. Back in the first centuries after Christ's resurrection, some government officials would not get baptized into the church until they retired. The work of the nation, especially when it comes to waging war and enforcing punishments on criminals, can cause conflicts for Christians. (Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to convert, put off being baptized until he was on his deathbed.) Some theologians over the centuries have tried to make the case that the kingdom of God will be brought about through a combination of the church and secular governments working together under the lordship of Christ. Others have argued that church and state represent two very different kingdoms, even saying that wedding the two is a form of idolatry. Pay attention to your church's Independence Day worship service tomorrow (if you are in the US). How you worship is a statement of your congregation's (or at least your pastor's) beliefs about how these two kingdoms are related.