My Kingdom is Not from this World

I tell the story of John Woolman because it illustrates a couple of things about what we are exploring this morning. In inviting people to respond to the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand, Jesus was offering an alternative to the kingdom of Caesar. In that he was doing two things at the same time: he was inviting individuals to commit to a radical obedience to God their king, but he was also establishing a community whose way of life was based on kingdom principles. The kingdom of God is therefore both intensely personal and strongly communal. The first point about personal commitment is illustrated by Woolman’s deep personal commitment to following through on his convictions about slavery, ethical practice in his trade and animal welfare. The second point about an alternative kind of community is illustrated by the Quaker emphasis on non-violence, consensus decision-making and staying in community in spite of differences. Without Woolman’s deep personal commitment he would not be remembered today. Without the community of Friends of which he was a part, his efforts would not have been nearly as effective as they were.