“Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

I will continue on our reflection on the Lord’s Payer.

I want to start with the phrase, “Thy Will”.

All of us believe, whether we admit it or not, our lives are not random. At least, it is our hope that we have a purpose in this life. We also believe that our lives are lived to the fullest when we discover this purpose. As religious people, we call this “the will of God”. Muslims will tell you that the meaning of Islam is “submission to God’s will”. In the colloquial language, Muslims often used the phrase, “inshallah” which means, “If God wills” after every plan or proposal because they believed that God’s will is superior and better than their own rational plans. The Will of God plays an essential role in the lives of peoples of all religions.

In the scientific community, the religious phrase is substituted for “Laws of Nature”. It is the desire in some scientific fields, especially among physicists, to discover the one rule which governs all creation. They have discovered many universal rules in the process and have done great things with them. It is a similar idea to the religious notion. We believe that if we know God’s will, we can organize our lives to live in harmony with it. We are convinced that our happiness is intrinsically linked with it.

Many times people have asked us what made Mary and I leave our home countries to go the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. In my case, I was a native of Singapore and Mary, of Maine. Incidentally, we met in São Paulo. She went there before I arrived. Therefore, neither one of us followed each other to Brazil. We both went there for the same reason.

It is not any different from the reason why most people go to church or other religious institutions. We wanted to discover God’s will for our lives. We felt in our souls that it was connected with this ministry. Therefore, the most personal answer we can give to anyone for doing this ministry is that it makes us feel happy and fulfilled.

Many times I have heard preachers say that God has individual plan worked out for each one of us. I used to believe this but not anymore. I am more than convinced that God has only one single plan for every one. God has One Perfect Will for every being and creature and there is room and space for everyone to be part of this. Jesus, from the very beginning of His ministry, has proclaimed God’s plan. God desires for us to be part of His Kingdom here on earth. This is God’s will.

The way we perceive and understand God’s Kingdom in our midst will shape how we discern God’s will for our lives.

The Kingdom of God is not something we can materialize with our own personal efforts and strength. It is not based on our wishful thinking nor accomplished by our creative measures. It is something beyond our understanding and comprehension. Sometimes it appears to be illogical and impractical to our ways. Think about this; Jesus came into this world as a son of a carpenter. This is not the way to establish a political Kingdom. According to our standards, He should have been born into a influential family. Before his birth, no carpenter has changed the world in human history. Yet, this carpenter’s son has influenced the world more than any skilled and intelligent political rulers of human history.

When we pray, “Thy Kingdom come”, we are actually saying that God will establish His Kingdom regardless of what happens in this world. He establishes it according to His values and principles revealed through His Son, Jesus. The sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew explicitly teaches us these values and, in the midst of this profound teaching, we find the Lord’s Prayer. The Kingdom of God is something we can only see clearly when we pray to God to open our eyes and ears. Our wisdom and knowledge won’t suffice. We need to pray that our faith will be awakened to see the eternal presence of the Kingdom of God in our midst. Where the Kingdom is manifested, there is hope, peace and joy.

To be honest, before I started working in this ministry, I never imagined working with homeless children and youth. Like I mentioned before, I come from Singapore. All I knew about South America back then was it was a place of military dictatorship and carnivals. However, I was earnestly seeking God’s will for my life. I was open and available. Then I heard someone mention Brazil. My interest perked up for no rhyme or reason. Then I felt a desire in my heart to see what God was doing in this country. I ended up in São Paulo without any plans to work with homeless children. A missionary brought me to the streets to meet the homeless youth. I saw about two to three hundred children and teens sleeping in the streets. I should have been shocked and disturbed by this sight. I was surrounded by hopelessness and misery. The number is significantly less today. However, it is still unsettling to see families living in this condition for three generations. Children who have never had a home in their lives. Young boys and girls at age of ten or less living without any adult to guide and protect them. Even worse is how society looks at them. It treats them as problems which need to be solved. The government is more concerned about clean streets for the tourist and they see the homeless children and adults as a nuisance. All this should have depressed me but I was struck by something beautiful and hopeful. In an inexplicable manner, I was seized by the Kingdom of God. I saw it with own my eyes. You may ask what exactly did I see?

It was something unexplainable but not unidentifiable. The New Testament tells us that the essence of God’s nature is Love. In the streets, we met with children and teens who have been rejected from the day they were born. They were considered outcast by society and many hold them in disdain. Despite all this negativity directed towards them, these young people are still open to love. They are sensitive to love. I don’t want to romanticize them. There is violence and deceit present too. However, it is not different than the kind you find in any middle class neighborhood. It is just that in the streets everything is open for everyone to see. Nevertheless, whenever we engage with the kids, we sense this aura of Love around us. Recently, this presence of God’s love has even drawn the attention of passerbys. Sometimes so-called regular people come and sit and watch us. Sometimes someone will ask if they can play a game with us. They sense the will of God being manifested in their midst. In other words, they see when two or three are gathered in His Name, God’s Love is manifested.

When I first started out in this ministry, I was about 25. Many said that it was just youthful idealism. Perhaps a little messiah complex thrown into the mix. All these were true. However, when we seek to do His will, His Spirit will purify our souls. Eventually I went to seminary and took the ordination route. I served in several parishes. I enjoyed visiting members and praying and comforting people in my parishes. However, I never saw the Kingdom of God as clearly as I saw it when I ministered to the homeless youth. Therefore, Mary and I chose to return to this ministry in 2013. Now, the Bible made more sense to me whenever I am among the homeless youth. My faith makes sense to me. I discovered God’s will in the lives of these young people and there was a space for me to be part of it. I am not saying what we do is superior or better than others. I am saying that when we find our place in God’s will, things will fall into places. Life won’t get easier but there is happiness and fulfillment. Some people say that it is a special vocation. Maybe it is true. I don’t know. I think it is just prayer. God responded to my prayers to see His will being done. Whenever we pray the Lord’s prayer, we are asking God to open our eyes and hearts to experience His will being done. It is not about what we do but how we see God’s Kingdom manifested in our midst. When this happens, we will easily see our place in God’s eternal will.

Therefore, I hope this simple reflection will contribute in your understanding of God’s will for your Life. There is a space and place for everyone in God’s eternal project. You don’t have to come Brazil where we are. Neither do you have to accomplish great things in order to fulfill His will. God’s will is simple. There are no hierarchy in God’s will. There is only One will and whenever we do it, we will sense the immensity of God’s love in our lives. It will bring hope and fulfillment to us. It will make the gospel more real and meaningful, not just to us, but to the world.

Let us pray together, “Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and avail ourselves to be part of the great and many wonderful things God is doing in our midst.