In this homily, Father Richard reflects on Jesus’ teaching on the reign of God presented in Matthew’s Gospel:
I think what Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven or the reign of God is when we live inside of the Big Picture and not inside of the small pictures that we create and seem to prefer. Most of us live inside of our own small, self-created kingdoms: the kingdom of being American or the kingdom of being Catholic or the kingdom of being white. That’s all going to pass away. Those are not the kingdom of God.
The reign of God will not pass away. It’s the eternal state of things, how things finally and fully and freely are. To live in the reign of God is to live with that kind of big perspective, where we move beyond the tiny human-made boundaries that we all create. Most of us are afraid to venture out of our little comfort zone of “people just like me.”
In the second century, the Christian people started calling themselves the “catholic” people. Too few of us were taught that catholic simply means universal in Greek. From the beginning, Christians recognized that their message was not for any one ethnic group or nation, but in fact was about how things eternally are everywhere, all the time. If we can live at that level, then we’re in the kingdom of God. When we’ve had a glimpse of this kingdom, we keep pushing out the boundaries, so we can see God everywhere.
Matthew 4:15 says that Jesus moved away from Nazareth into “Galilee of the Gentiles.” Jesus deliberately moves on to the frontier, the edge, where not everybody is Jewish, where many cultures and ethnicities come together. It’s there, in the land of the Gentiles, that Jesus proclaims the reign of God.
We know we’re living in God’s Big Picture when we can see God in all cultures, in all social classes, and even in all religions. We have to stop thinking that any one religion has God in its pocket, or controls God, or that God only likes certain people who happen to be Christians. Would God be that stingy? Would God be that small and petty to only love people like me? I hope not. Because it’s precisely this great heart of God that is able to love all of God’s children. Jesus comes to the land of the Gentiles to proclaim a God for the universal kingdom.
Every time we pray “thy kingdom come” we’re praying that God can grant, and we can participate in, a universal, truly “catholic” world where all of us can love one another without distinction, and without discrimination. I’m afraid we have to admit that we haven’t gotten very far yet. We still have not caught up with Jesus. We prefer to live in our smaller kingdoms instead of the universal kingdom of God.
A Reign of Peace and Harmony
CAC affiliate faculty Randy Woodley connects the Hebrew concept of shalomwith Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God:
Jesus, in his ancient context of imperial occupation, was also concerned with creation’s harmony, and used the phrase kingdom of God to communicate this idea. The metaphor was rightly understood by Jesus’ audience in contradistinction to the kingdom of Caesar. God’s kingdom stood over against the death-dealing ways of the Roman Empire; God’s kingdom was a Spirit-filled community living out the Creator’s shalom purposes on earth.…
Jesus used kingdom language in his context because it made sense to the people and powers to whom he spoke. His kingdom goal was stated simply: “On earth as it is in heaven.” In other words, heaven’s economy is to be made manifest in creation. And what is heaven’s economy? It is shalom, a Hebrew term often translated as “peace.” But peace doesn’t capture the depth of this word. Shalom is who the Creator is—the one God, a trinity of persons (from a Christian perspective) dwelling in harmony, mutuality, and deference toward one another and the creation. Shalom embodies wholeness, completeness, and love. It is strikingly similar to many Indigenous constructs of “harmony,” which emphasize the interconnectedness and interdependency of all things, the need for balance, and the primacy of community. And if that is what Jesus’ kingdom was about—radical shalom and harmony—it is helpful to translate this metaphor into something like community of creation, a phrase infused with Indigenous meaning, which more readily emphasizes that all living things are participating in this new peace that the Creator is bringing about through Christ. [1]
Brian McLaren considers the metaphor of a “network” to describe the kingdom of God:
For many people today, kingdom language evokes patriarchy, chauvinism, imperialism, domination, and a regime without freedom. Not a pretty picture—and the very opposite of the liberating, barrier-breaking, domination-shattering, reconciling movement the kingdom of God was intended to be!…
God is inviting people into a life-giving network. First, God wants people to be connected, plugged in, in communication with God, so God can transfer to them what they need—not just information but also virus-debugging software, along with love, hope, empowerment, purpose, and wisdom. Also, each person who is connected to God must become integrally connected to all others in the network. In this way, the network of God breaks down the walls of smaller, exclusive networks (like networks of racism, nationalism, and the like), and invites them into the only truly world wide web of love. The network exchanges information and increases understanding for all participants. The network becomes a resource for people outside the network as well, and of course, people are always invited to enter the connectivity themselves.
The metaphor of an ecosystem could work in a similar way: we are currently living in an imbalanced, self-destructive ecosystem, but God is inviting us to live in a new network of relationships that will produce balance, harmony, and health. [2]
=====================================
| The Table Unites & Divides |
 Click Here for AudioThe church has existed for over 2000 years, and throughout the millennia Christians have gathered on Sundays to worship God. Across all those generations, however, very few things have remained consistent—a lot has changed. For example, the church has not always had a dedicated building in which to gather. The earliest Christians met in homes. We have not always had projectors and instruments to accompany our singing. We haven’t always had a complete record of the Scriptures. In the first centuries after Christ, his followers received occasional letters from the Apostles for instruction; there was no New Testament. In fact, there is only one aspect of Christian worship and community that we can trace to the very beginning. Across every generation, every ethnicity, every economic and denominational barrier the simple elements of the bread and the cup have endured as marks of Christ’s people. The table has united the Church throughout the ages. For that reason, we’ll begin our exploration of the Church by looking at the table, its meaning, its place in our worship, and in our life with God. Of course, a shared meal is not uniquely Christian. It’s a powerful tool in every human culture because every society uses meals to both unite and divide. Sharing a table is how we form bonds and establish a common identity. It’s why cultures use meals to celebrate marriages. Two families share a table to acknowledge their new bond as kin. Likewise, every culture uses the table to divide and exclude. Segregation in the American South prohibited blacks from sharing a table with whites to solidify their status as unequal and outsiders. The unifying and dividing power of eating is also a dominant theme in the Bible. In the beginning, the Lord invited the man and woman to eat from any tree in the garden, but eating from one particular tree would separate them from God and life itself. And the Old Testament dietary laws, which seem odd and arbitrary to modern readers, had a very practical function. They prevented God’s people from sharing a menu, and therefore a table, with the nations surrounding them. If people are unable to eat together, they are less likely to form bonds, blend cultures, or intermarry. Israel’s diet kept them separate thereby preserving their special calling and covenant with God. Sharing a meal is a bodily, social, creative, and spiritual act perhaps second only to sexual intimacy in its power to form bonds. A church that ignores this power, or uses it in a manner contrary to the gospel, ought to be concerned. But for Christians who recognize the power of the table, the gospel can shape their lives and community in unimaginable and beautiful ways. DAILY SCRIPTURE GENESIS 2:15-17 LEVITICUS 11:1-8 ACTS 2:42-47 WEEKLY PRAYER From Ambrose (c.339 – 397) Praise to you, saving sacrifice, offered on the wood of the cross for me and for all people. Praise to the noble and precious blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world. Remember, Lord, your creature, whom you have redeemed with your blood. I repent of my sins, and I long to put right what I have done. Merciful Father, take away all my offenses and sins; purify me in body and soul, and make me worthy to taste the holy of holies. Amen. |
