“Your ‘Kin-dom’ Come” moves listeners from a Sunday morning prayer to a practice of relating that says we are ready—not just for Jesus, but for each other. Gathered around the story of Jesus’ birth, the Advent series from The Raceless Gospel podcast invites listeners to remember our relatedness and reconnect as family.
The title is an adaptation of the Lord’s prayer, which includes “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Georgene Wilson, a Franciscan nun, took one letter off to remove the sound of empire— “kin-dom.” The word also effectively dethrones patriarchy.
Ada Maria Isasi- Diaz popularized the neologism, adding it to the ecclesial lexicon through her work, “Kin-dom of God: A Mujerista Proposal” and the church is better for it.
“The fact that ‘kingdom of God’ has remained the governing metaphor for Jesus’ vision of a world order centered on justice and peace, speaks more to the interests of those who exercise power in churches— institutionalized Christianity—than to the relevance it has in the lives of the common people, of the people of God,” she wrote.
It moves us from territorial claims to getting to know each other by first name, from the desire to rule over each other to the realm of deep and divine belonging. The word “kin-dom” brings us closer together and to answering the Lord’s prayer for unity (John 17:21-24).
I want listeners to hear me clearly: Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.
I took Latin in sixth grade and these words from Terence, a Roman playwright who was once enslaved. The English translation is “I am human; I consider nothing human alien to me.” We are human and there is nothing strange about the fact that we are here together.
This podcast series is an invitation to a sneak peek at the evidence of things unseen: the undivided “kin-dom” of God that is coming. Four episodes of proclamation, it is a reminder that the glory of God is revealed each time we meet. Face to face with the stranger or the neighbor across the street, the mystery of who they are to us is shown in small talk that demonstrates there’s nothing alien about their humanity.
But I will have to say more about that later because Jesus is coming! Mary’s water has broken and the Spirit is hovering, waiting in all four corners of the world for the “kin-dom” that is coming. Not from the halls of government but from between her knees,
Jesus will come, not to rule with an iron fist, but to remind us that we are all God’s children.
It will require our participation. Mary doesn’t need to hold our hand as she bears down; that’s Joseph’s job. Instead, we’ll need to hold up our end of the deal as Christ’s new creation.
Born again, we are called to practice a new way of relating—not as strangers but siblings, not as rivals but relatives, not as newcomers but next of kin. It is a connection without caste, political orientation or the social- coloring of skin.
Instead, we are offered Jesus’ way of relating—as Mary’s baby and our elder brother. He didn’t come to be served but to be delivered into the hands of his parents. Jesus came as a member of a family—not of the ruling class.
He needs his diaper changed—not power.
Also, let me explain that each of the four episodes is named after an African American spiritual, which serves the dual purpose of preparation of mind and heart and direction of body for all who seek freedom from “ruling relationships.” From the star of Bethlehem to the North Star, may you make connections for your liberation. Don’t miss it because there is a “kin-dom” coming!
The first episode drops today and is available on all streaming platforms.
Director of The Raceless Gospel Initiative, an associate editor, host of the Good Faith Media podcast, “The Raceless Gospel” and author of Take Me to the Water: The Raceless Gospel as Baptismal Pedagogy for a Desegregated Church.
