Debussy’s masterpiece, the Submerged Cathedral, must surely rank as one of the most creative and powerful statements about the church ever made. By means of music, Debussy sinks a gothic cathedral into the depths of the sea. At first, the church sits triumphantly upon the surface of the water as confidently as Peter walking toward Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. But then the fragile membrane of faith holding it afloat is broken and it begins to go under. At this point, the music is terrifyingly beautiful as vast quantities of ocean flood the basements, the hidden chambers, and the massive sanctuary itself. Like a parachuting jelly fish, the overwhelmed cathedral drifts slowly down between shafts of light, through endless fathoms of heavy space, until it finally settles on the twilight sands of the deep. As surely as the city of Atlantis, the church of God is lost.

But a miracle of grace occurs. Somehow, a new beginning is granted it and it starts to rise. As Debussy’s music lifts powerfully and beautifully higher, the chastened church floats upward through the weight of its own grave until at last it breaks the foaming surface. There, with gargoyles gurgling and spires sparkling, it towers above the sea gleaming in glorious sunlight. Its ordeal is over; it is restored.

The questions I wish to address are these: How does the church go under? How does the church stand resplendent in the sun? I believe the answer to both of these questions has to do with the kingdom of God.

The church loses its way when it ceases to promote the kingdom of God and declares itself to be the kingdom of God. One cynic has said that Jesus came to establish a kingdom but ended up getting a church instead. I hope he’s wrong. The intention of Jesus is clear: he came to set up a kingdom (Mark 1:15). But he did not see this kingdom as an empire, a theme park, or an organization. For him, the kingdom was the rule of God in the lives and hearts of people, a relationship with the Father, a special saving magic that changes people and their world. But when the church says the kingdom is a concrete thing and claims to be that concrete thing, and thus usurps the kingdom, drastic consequences follow. The chief of these is that the maintenance and promotion of itself becomes its great objective. The church sinks into a sea of narcissism. 

The church stands resplendent in the sun when it is obsessed with promoting and facilitating the kingdom of God. In practical terms, this means that the church exists to help people have their own relationships with God. And this is done by telling the parables of the kingdom as Jesus told them. These stories show that our fate depends on God’s mercy, not our own accomplishments, that when we are lost, God will find us, that God provides everything we need for salvation, that God is unbelievably generous, that our good works are in response to his kindness. The kingdom is proclaimed par excellence when we tell of a dying thief who asked Jesus to take him into his kingdom and was not refused. Now the sun shines on the church, and the gargoyles gurgle.