As a kid, I liked a TV show called The Twilight Zone. It imagined vivid scenarios that blew my mind, so vivid that I still remember some today. Even Sci-Fi creatures are shaped by our real world. The beings we “imagine” from “outer space” may be green or purple, but still they have arms and legs that resemble ours, most have eyes and ears, they talk and move about physically. They’re all humanoid.

The coming of Jesus’s kingdom to earth was something people tried - hard - to imagine. Trouble was, their imagination was limited to what they already knew. A kingdom? Oh, ok, like other kingdoms. Power? Ok, probably like the powers that know. It will bring healing and hope? Sure, just like the healing and hope every leader has promised. 

And in Jesus’s day, there were entire lifestyles and communities that were defined by their guess of what the Kingdom of God would be like. Even John the Baptist, Jesus’s second cousin, got caught up in the discussion. Sunday, so will we.