Catholic Social Doctrine: A Reflection on the Kingdom of God and His Christ
The Cross is the sign of the kingdom of Christ
The Kingdom of God is a strange kingdom whose king finds his earthly manifestation not on a throne, with gold crown, and lush raiment. What kind of king is it whose glory is to be nailed to a cross--a cross which St. John Eudes called the thronus amoris igneus, the wooden throne of love--with a crown of thorns, essentially disrobed and naked, and a sign, intended to be mocking, but which, ironically, declares his hidden kingship in the three sacred languages, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
PrintCORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - In the mind of his disciples, Jesus was. and is. and ever shall be King. That is why for centuries we have prayed in the Te Deum:
You are the King of Glory: O Christ.
When you had overcome the sharpness of death:
you did open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
But Jesus is not an ordinary King with an ordinary kingdom. Christ's kingdom is a kingdom not of this world. (John 18:36) It is an invisible, spiritual, internal, eternal one--though it is among us, about us, around us, and within us in time until the end of time when it would reach its fulfillment. "The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed," Jesus told the Pharisees, "and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you." (Luke 17:20-21)
It is a strange kingdom whose king finds his earthly manifestation not on a throne, with gold crown, and lush raiment. What kind of king is it whose glory is to be nailed to a cross--a cross which St. John Eudes called the thronus amoris igneus, the wooden throne of love--with a crown of thorns, essentially disrobed and naked, and a sign, intended to be mocking, but which, ironically, declares his hidden kingship in the three sacred languages, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
The kingdom of God, St. Paul further explains, "is not a matter of food and drink." Rather, he tells us, it is a matter of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit." (Rom. 14:17) This means it is a moral, and even more importantly, a spiritual and supernatural reality, and not simply a bodily, temporal, or social one. It is not something flesh and blood will inherit, like some sort of human realm or human property. (1 Cor. 15:50) It is not just talk, vain hope, empty words, since there is a real power behind it. (1 Cor. 4:20)
Mere words don't allow us admittance; it requires something internal--repentance, a conversion, a "re-turn" to God--and a fixed intention on only doing the will of God the Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 7:21) This means that keeping the commandments and teaching others to keep the commandments is what this kingdom is all about. (Matt:5:19) It is a secret, a mystery, the knowledge of which has been imparted to Christ's intimates, (Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10) and yet one which must be proclaimed to the world.
But what a precious secret which is to be proclaimed to the world and, as it were, made unsecret! It is like a field one discovers contains treasure, and one covers it up, sells all he has, and buys it, so as to become rich in the bargain. (Matt. 13:44) It is the pearl of great price, one for which the spiritual merchant will sell all he has to acquire. (Matt. 13:46)
And yet that secret which is to be unsecreted-proclaimed from the housetops and shown from the hills-is silent, inexplicable, marvelous, and has an organic tendency to grow and bear fruit. And so the kingdom of God is like the mystery of the seed sown by a farmer, which grows, whether tended or not, and which ultimately reaps a huge harvest. It is like a mustard seed, a tiny seed, but one which grows into a huge tree. It is like yeast which is mixed with dough and which makes it rise. (Mark 4:26-32; Luke 13:19-21)
In a sense, the kingdom of God was present in Christ, and is Christ, since he drove out demons and explained that this was a sign that the kingdom of God had come to us. (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20) It, in fact, is also mysteriously, intimately, and indissolubly linked to Christ's Church, which is Christ's body, "the kingdom of Christ now present in mystery," (VII, Lumen gentium, No. 3), the "seed and the beginning of that kingdom," (CCC § 768 quoting LG, No. 5), a "sign and instrument of the kingdom." (Dominus Iesus, No. 18)
"In fact, the kingdom of God which we know from revelation, 'cannot be detached either from Christ or from the Church . . . yet while remaining distinct from Christ and the kingdom, the Church is indissolubly united to both." (Dominus Iesus, 18) There is a "unicity" in the "relationship which Christ and the Church have with the kingdom of God." (Dominus Iesus, No. 19) Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia.
Because this kingdom exists with us in the Church, so the good wheat grow with the tares in the kingdom's field, there is good fish and bad fish in the kingdom's net, which might confuse us or cause scandal. (Matt. 13:24-30, 47-49) We must however remain faithful to Christ and his Church, as those who reject Christ are not part of the kingdom of God. (Matt. 21:43) And yet, it is open to admission for those who, at the last moment of their lives, repent, for the first shall be last, the last shall ...
You are the King of Glory: O Christ.
When you had overcome the sharpness of death:
you did open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
But Jesus is not an ordinary King with an ordinary kingdom. Christ's kingdom is a kingdom not of this world. (John 18:36) It is an invisible, spiritual, internal, eternal one--though it is among us, about us, around us, and within us in time until the end of time when it would reach its fulfillment. "The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed," Jesus told the Pharisees, "and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you." (Luke 17:20-21)
It is a strange kingdom whose king finds his earthly manifestation not on a throne, with gold crown, and lush raiment. What kind of king is it whose glory is to be nailed to a cross--a cross which St. John Eudes called the thronus amoris igneus, the wooden throne of love--with a crown of thorns, essentially disrobed and naked, and a sign, intended to be mocking, but which, ironically, declares his hidden kingship in the three sacred languages, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
The kingdom of God, St. Paul further explains, "is not a matter of food and drink." Rather, he tells us, it is a matter of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit." (Rom. 14:17) This means it is a moral, and even more importantly, a spiritual and supernatural reality, and not simply a bodily, temporal, or social one. It is not something flesh and blood will inherit, like some sort of human realm or human property. (1 Cor. 15:50) It is not just talk, vain hope, empty words, since there is a real power behind it. (1 Cor. 4:20)
Mere words don't allow us admittance; it requires something internal--repentance, a conversion, a "re-turn" to God--and a fixed intention on only doing the will of God the Father who is in heaven. (Matt. 7:21) This means that keeping the commandments and teaching others to keep the commandments is what this kingdom is all about. (Matt:5:19) It is a secret, a mystery, the knowledge of which has been imparted to Christ's intimates, (Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10) and yet one which must be proclaimed to the world.
But what a precious secret which is to be proclaimed to the world and, as it were, made unsecret! It is like a field one discovers contains treasure, and one covers it up, sells all he has, and buys it, so as to become rich in the bargain. (Matt. 13:44) It is the pearl of great price, one for which the spiritual merchant will sell all he has to acquire. (Matt. 13:46)
And yet that secret which is to be unsecreted-proclaimed from the housetops and shown from the hills-is silent, inexplicable, marvelous, and has an organic tendency to grow and bear fruit. And so the kingdom of God is like the mystery of the seed sown by a farmer, which grows, whether tended or not, and which ultimately reaps a huge harvest. It is like a mustard seed, a tiny seed, but one which grows into a huge tree. It is like yeast which is mixed with dough and which makes it rise. (Mark 4:26-32; Luke 13:19-21)
In a sense, the kingdom of God was present in Christ, and is Christ, since he drove out demons and explained that this was a sign that the kingdom of God had come to us. (Matt. 12:28; Luke 11:20) It, in fact, is also mysteriously, intimately, and indissolubly linked to Christ's Church, which is Christ's body, "the kingdom of Christ now present in mystery," (VII, Lumen gentium, No. 3), the "seed and the beginning of that kingdom," (CCC § 768 quoting LG, No. 5), a "sign and instrument of the kingdom." (Dominus Iesus, No. 18)
"In fact, the kingdom of God which we know from revelation, 'cannot be detached either from Christ or from the Church . . . yet while remaining distinct from Christ and the kingdom, the Church is indissolubly united to both." (Dominus Iesus, 18) There is a "unicity" in the "relationship which Christ and the Church have with the kingdom of God." (Dominus Iesus, No. 19) Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia.
Because this kingdom exists with us in the Church, so the good wheat grow with the tares in the kingdom's field, there is good fish and bad fish in the kingdom's net, which might confuse us or cause scandal. (Matt. 13:24-30, 47-49) We must however remain faithful to Christ and his Church, as those who reject Christ are not part of the kingdom of God. (Matt. 21:43) And yet, it is open to admission for those who, at the last moment of their lives, repent, for the first shall be last, the last shall ...
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It's refreshing to come to a place on this site which speaks of hope and of Christ's love for all of humanity. Mostly on this site and it's postings, I read such angry, hopeless posts. Should we speak out for justice? Absolutely. We speak out for justice by living as Jesus lived. We speak with our lives in service, not with vitriolic accusations towards others. It is up to Him to judge. It is not up to us. :( None of us should have an individually chosen ethic. We, as one body, should be in unison, living out the Glory of our Redeemer. Sharing the peace and love that he gives freely. Only then can we expect any change. Change begins within. In Baptism, we accept a new relationship as sons and daughters of God; brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus took words and turned them into announcements proclaiming the kingdom of God. He called Yahweh "Father" and invited us to do the same. When we do so, we accept a new relationship. We put away the old. Jesus, Lord of the kingdom of God takes any gift, whether a few loaves and fishes from a young boy, or the desire of a Pharisee who climbs a tree; He takes all these gifts and breaks them open, makes them new, and passes them around. He takes hearts and finds love; he takes fields and finds treasure hidden in them; he finds trees and nests of safety in the tiny mustard seed. He uncovers the kingdom of God, his Father everywhere in creation! He takes the law and breaks it open to find spirit and life; then he takes the hearts of men and women and breaks them open to see if they are true or not. He takes weakness, sin, and disease and breaks them open to find health, strength, peace and hope. Finally, he takes death and finds within it everlasting life! Whatever he takes and breaks apart and blesses God for, he shares with his friends and gives them the command: "Do this and you will remember me!" It is so easy to hear all of the negativity surrounding current events and be drawn away from His message. So, thank you for reminding me that there is a better world to come. That it is not at all about this world and the insanity which seems to grow exponentially as days turn.
I just came from watching a couple of hours of TED talks. all very interesting. very informed.
and uniformly atheist. No TED talks were about HOW BAD IS ABORTION FOR HUMANITY?
no TED talks were like this wonderful article on the Kingdom of God. I really like this author's writing. In fact, the page today on Catholic.org contains excellent material. None of the TED talks had a priest, or a Catholic, putting forth an academic argument for Christian charity, or the transformative power of the Eucharist in human development. I guess the kingdom of God is NOT of this Earth....very sad in a sense that the Word is not being heard in these circles.
It is interesting to note that when the people wanted to make Jesus their king, He fled from them, because He came, did & does everything in The Fathers Name & Will. So all that he receives is from The Father & none else, for even in His death he humbled Himself to The Father according to the Will & not to man, for humbling to man is humbling to sin. This goes on to prove that Jesus Christ does not Compromise on sin in any way & to the saying "Every word of GOD counts" to live by it, & to this would be the Kingdom of GOD brought in by His Christ.