For better (Music) or worse (Theology), upon perusing the Concordia Publishing House VBS Materials this year, we decided to look elsewhere. To my initial delight, I came across a program based around the Lord’s Prayer. Since our VBS is mostly made up of our baptized kids, I thought something more catechetical than outreach orientated would be perfect. And to be honest, for the most part, it has been pretty good. But the one thing about this program put out by GospelLight that struck me as odd was which petitions in chose to omit in its effort to fit the Prayer into a 5 day schedule.   Actually it shocks me that they omitted any of them. But I will put the best construction on their choice and assume that they simply decided that to make the program fit nicely into that five day schedule they had to skip some.
So what did they skip? Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be Done. And the more I considered this omission, I think I understand why it was chosen, especially the Kingdom part.
Most publishing houses in creating their VBS programs seek to cook up something that is ecumenically edible. They want to send boxes of their materials to churches of all stripes in order to make their investment pay off. And when it comes to the Kingdom coming, trying to write a explanation of what that means in a way that all can accept, it is impossible.  For when you talk about what different churches teach about this petition, its gets very confusing. If you try to mix all of the teachings into something everyone will eat, you end up with a very complicated Kingdom.
For some, the Kingdom comes when a warm feeling wells up in the heart. For others, it comes at an altar where a penitential prayer is prayed.  For others the Kingdom only comes when the poor are fed and the oppressed are free. For some the Kingdom coming has as much to do with the nation of Israel as it does with anything else. For others the Kingdom coming is all about a complicated trip through the images of Revelation. Some are still looking for an earthly kingdom to be manifested here. Others look for a Kingdom free of any earthly elements. Just try to mix that all of that up into a one day, kid-focused, VBS Lesson. Try and fail.
This shows again the problem with playing the ecumenical game without any true attempt at unity of teaching. We simply end up with a complicated Kingdom that no one can swallow. At Least GospelLight has the wisdom to just skip the confusion.
I truly believe the Kingdom as presented in the scriptures is not that complicated. I believe small children can understand it. The Kingdom comes through the activity of the King in his Church. Through the Word and the Sacraments, the King brings his Kingdom to bear. The Kingdom grows as God’s pastors and people go forth with his Word and Sacrament, accompanied with deeds of justice and love. The Kingdom finally comes in its fullness when the King comes again just as he promised.
Still seem complicated? To much for the kids to swallow? Hardly. In Tell them that the Kingdom comes to them through the things God does in church. Tell them that they are used by God to make his Kingdom grow each time they tell someone that Jesus loves them so much that he died fro their sin on the cross. Tell them one day the King Jesus is coming back to get them.
The Kingdom is simply not that complicated. By God’s design, it is graciously simple. It is for children, and for all who receive it as such.
