The Kingdom

Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of God than anything else. But what did he mean by “The Kingdom”?

 

In worldly terms a “kingdom’ represents the place where a king rules, where he has supreme authority. When Jesus spoke of ‘the Kingdom’, He was speaking, not about an earthly state, but rather the rule of God in the hearts and lives of His people. As Christians, God calls us to be, not only loyal subjects of the King of Kings but also we are invited to be part of building His Kingdom wherever we are.

 

In the Lord’s Prayer we say “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How on earth do we go about doing that?!

 

This prayer of Archbishop Oscar Romero* helps us to understand more fully the part we can play in building God’s Kingdom:

 

It helps now and then to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

 

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

 

No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness. No programme accomplishes the Church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

 

This is what we are about.

 

We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise. We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

 

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.

 

This enables us to do something, and to do it well.

 

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

 

We are the workers, not the master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are the prophets of a future not our own. Amen.