Can you hear it in the distance? Like the sound of a distant drum.

There is something about the melodic rhythm of music that envelopes us, inspired us, attracts us and draws us in. As a musician I am very aware of the beauty of being in rhythm and the violence (I use that word deliberately) of being out of rhythm.

In speaking of the Kingdom of God, I wonder if a good analogy is looking at it as the rhythm of God. Inspired by Water Brueggemann’s book, Cadences of Home: Preaching among Exiles (I book I would recommend for anyone, especially preachers), I think we need to hear and be reminded of the rhythm of the Kingdom.

I think in essence, reading scripture is like that, as we move in that same rhythm, following the music, we being to move in the rhythm of the Kingdom – the rhythm of Jesus. But the opposite is also true, when we move out of sync with the rhythm and at times against the rhythm, it begins to destroy the beauty of the kingdom.

The rhythm of the Kingdom is beating in the distance…it is a beautiful sound…a counter-cultural sound…can you hear it…is it making you move?