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And the maiden feared for her life as the evil dragon approached the cave where she was held prisoner. When all of a sudden, the strong prince entered. He drew his sword, cutting off the head of the dragon, saving the beautiful maiden’s life. They fell in love. He took her as his wife and eventually took the throne and they ruled as King and Queen over that fair land…the end.
When my children were young, I used to read them stories of Kings and Queens; princes and princesses. As a person of faith, though, I’m starting to wonder about the teaching of these narratives. I’m increasingly coming to believe that the way of God, expressed in Jesus, is not based in power over, in ways that are lifted up in words like: “Kingdom”. But rather, the way of God is found in community, in God’s family, in ‘kin’. As such , many are encouraging the use of terms that narrate the power of a loving community that is better expressed in words such as: “Kin-dom”, rather than “Kingdom”.
Kingdom or Kin-dom…what’s in a word? Well…a lot! The term “Kin-dom of God” was first coined in the late 1980’s by Sister Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz. Sister Isasi-Diaz is a Cuban-American theologian and one of the founders of the growing movement of Mujerista theology: a Latin American form of feminist liberation theology. In her book En la Lucha: Elaborating a Mujerista Theology (1993), she proposes the use of the term Kin-dom as an alternative to Kingdom. She writes: “I began to talk about the Kin-dom of God rather than the Kingdom of God because I wanted to express the family relationship that God desires with all creation. Not a hierarchy of ruler over subjects, but a community of sisters and brothers.”
Have you ever pondered that word we are so accustomed to using? Kingdom. It seems to be innocent enough. It’s right in there with the Lord’s Prayer, right? ...“thy kingdom come” (well not entirely, but we’ll get to that a little later). However, the more we explore it, the more we may find it not being representative of the Way of Christ that we understand and seek to live out? Sister Isasi-Diaz proposes that “Kingdom” language reinforces patriarchal and hierarchical power structures. It is a shift from hierarchy to mutuality; from domination to partnership; from patriarchy to inclusivity; from empire to community. I don’t see Kin-dom language as simply a “feminist rebranding”. Rather, it’s a profound theological correction that sees God’s reign not as a political monarchy but as a web of kinship where all creation lives in right relationship. It is a reflection of the shalom that dove deeply into last week. Whereas kingdom creates images of domination, and monarchy, and male rule; we might just find that kin-dom better reflects our understanding of the liberating message God is expressing in Jesus. Looking at other progressive Christian traditions, we are now seeing an increased usage of ‘Kin-dom’ language outside of just our own United Church of Canada. In the Progressive Catholic communities, and south of the boarder in the United Church of Christ, the Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Churches. So, this morning, we look at two texts that may cause us to ponder a deeper consideration of…Kin-dom or Kingdom.
Diving into the two texts, we find ourselves steeped into the newness that God is birthing. “Sing to the Lord a new song!” begins the psalmist in the 98th Psalm. And centuries later, Isaiah echoes a similar sentiment: “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.” Both are songs of newness: new songs, new creation, new ways of being. And both speak and proclaim hope in a God who isn’t finished with the world just yet. This morning, we explore “God’s Kin-dom: A Renewed Heaven and Earth”, the divine newness: God’s ongoing re-creation of life, and our invitation to live not in a Kingdom ruled by power, but in a Kin-dom (a familial community) shaped by love.
Psalm 98 invites us, I think, to join in the music of that Kin-dom. “Sing to the Lord a new song,” the psalmist calls, “for God has done marvelous things!” This is not a sentimental song; it’s a song of revolution. It’s sung in the midst of real life, with all its struggles and injustices. And yet, it dares to believe that God’s justice and steadfast love can renew the world. Renew it even when the world feels broken beyond repair.
Notice, with me, how inclusive this song is: “All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.” The rivers clap their hands, the hills sing for joy, and all creation joins the chorus. The psalm doesn’t limit salvation to a select group of people or one place. It’s a cosmic symphony where humans, animals, water, mountains. Where each part of creation harmonize in the melody of divine renewal. Psalm 98 invites us to listen for that new song; to notice the rhythms of renewal around us; and to add our own voices to God’s ongoing music of love.
Turning to Isaiah 65, where that song becomes a prophetic vision. “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth,” says the Lord. “The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating.” This may be one of the most beautiful passages in all of Isaiah. It’s not about escape from the world. It’s about the transformation of it. Isaiah’s people had returned from exile, full of hope, but what they found was their city in ruins, their society fractured, and their hearts weary from disappointment. Into that disillusionment, God speaks a word of hope: “I will create anew. I will rebuild. I will restore joy.” And then comes that vision of shalom (that we explored last week): People will build homes and live in them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not labor in vain. Children will be born into safety and blessing. Even the vicious wolf and the gentle lamb will sit and feed together. This is God’s Kin-dom: a world re-created through justice, compassion, and peace. It’s not some far-off dream. It is God’s hope for this world; a world renewed; a world reborn.
We talked a lot last Sunday about the Hebrew word for peace, shalom. It was Remembrance Sunday; however, we were reminded that it means far more than the absence of war. Shalom means wholeness, harmony, and completion. It’s the flourishing of all relationships: human, ecological, spiritual. When Isaiah speaks of wolves and lambs feeding together, he’s not talking about an unrealistic fantasy. He is describing what shalom looks like when God’s love transforms creation. In the Kin-dom of God, shalom becomes real. It looks like restorative justice instead of retribution. It looks like healing communities instead of hardened divisions. It looks like shared tables, not fortified walls. The Kin-dom calls us to see one another as kin…as family. Where each person, each creature, each part of creation are all woven together in a divine web of belonging….as kin.
So how do we go about living as citizens of this Kin-dom? How do we join the song of Psalm 98 and the vision of Isaiah 65? I think, that we start small. We start right where we are. Every act of compassion, every gesture of inclusion, every prayer for peace. Everything is a note in God’s new song being sung. In our actions when we welcome a stranger, when we feed the hungry, when we listen across differences, when we care for the Earth. In all of this, we are living into the Kin-dom now.
And we aren’t building it alone, we are merely joining God’s work of renewal that we hear in Isaiah and the Psalm, and in the ongoing thread of all of Jesus’ ministry. And our moments of grace add to that glorious kin-dom melody. At Northwood, we see glimpses of this Kin-dom all around us. In the food pantry and the Shoebox ministries that nourish bodies; in the Jazz Vespers and morning worship services that nourish the soul. It is found in the laughter of many, in prayers shared together, and heartfelt moments embraced. It is in the quiet courage of those who serve as they are called and able. Each of these instances is but a verse in the new song God is writing through us.
So how shall we live? How shall we pray “thy kingdom come / thy kin-dom come?” In the Lord’s Prayer, the Greek word used is basileia which has been translated as “kingdom,” “reign,” “rule,” or “sovereign activity”. Important to note, it does not primarily mean a geographical place, but rather the dynamic reign of God, God’s active work of setting things right. The new heaven and the new earth being born; a new song being sung; a time when the wolf and the lamb feed together in peace. So, when Jesus teaches “Let your basileia come. He is inviting God’s just, healing, restorative rule to break into the world…the new Kin-dom. And when we take this passage into our living, it is also a time when we celebrate the beautiful kinship of all creation.
May thy kin-dom come through our living, our loving and our serving.
Amen.