The Kingdom of God
One
After Jesus returns from His temptations in the desert, he preaches in Galilee, “the time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). God sends His son to defeat Satan and win back His people. He calls us to be gathered around Jesus our savior, who fills us with His Spirit. This is what it means to belong to the Church (CCC #541). We must repent of our sin, however, to enter into this Kingdom; or, rather, to allow this Kingdom to enter into us. “Upon being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God was to come, Jesus answered, ‘The Kingdom of God comes unwatched by men’s eyes. There will be no one saying, See, it is here’ or, See, it is there. Rather, the Kingdom of God is here within you” (Lk 17: 20-21). The Kingdom of God is not so much what we do but what God does to and for us.
Two
Repentance is the key to entering the Kingdom of Heaven. But this repentance is only preliminary, although necessary. Repentance is how we shape our effort so that we can remove obstacles to God’s grace. Satan encourages those obstacles, and uses fear, distractions, and sin to keep us enslaved. To be his slave means to be dictated to, used, lied to, and made to feel unworthy. He’s so good at it, we don’t recognize these affects sometimes for years, if at all. When we think only of this world—of our riches, pleasures, status, and power—we commit ourselves to Satan’s kingdom because he is the prince of this world. The result of this commitment is loss, loneliness, monotony, division, and death. This is why we need to repent to enter the Kingdom of God. We must detach ourselves from these lures through self-denial, and then pray and receive Jesus’ sacraments so that He fills us with Divinity. Then do we discover love, adventure, joy, excitement, and eternal life. Then the Kingdom of God lies with us! Who is the King of my heart?
Three
Jesus teaches us about the Kingdom often, but He uses parables because the Kingdom of God is a deep mystery. Is it here, or not? If it fulfills me, why do I keep seeking things of this world? If it frees me, why do I have to repress the urges that well up within me that are sinful? Why aren’t they removed? The Kingdom is both here and not yet.
The Kingdom is mysterious because it is God’s realm brought into our realm into our hearts, by Jesus and the Holy Spirit. But our hearts can be cluttered with too many selfish desires and pursuits. Even though the Sacraments purify our hearts, the tendency to sin remains. If we don’t repent from this tendency, it dominates us, and makes the Kingdom of God seem to be a Kingdom of repression. Furthermore, if we think that we must find and enter it all on our own, it seems too impractical and too much work. Yet, entry into the Kingdom is a gift of grace. To get it, we must give up our worldly loves and our sense of self-importance. Jesus teaches, “The man who doesn’t welcome the kingdom of God like a child will never enter into it” (Mk 10:15).
Four
Children naturally trust their parents. They don’t wonder or worry about what they will eat, what they will wear, what they will do next; food, clothing, even toys seem to come to them without their effort. They are simply receptive and expectant. Our Heavenly Father calls us to that same openness. When our faith is open and expectant, we receive good gifts from Him. Our docility reveals our living as children of heaven, reveals that we belong now to a different Kingdom. Do I trust that my Father provides for me?
Five
To be childlike doesn’t mean to be childish. We must still exhibit virtues typically associated with adults. Especially the virtue of patience. Although longing for the Kingdom knows no bounds, Christ demands of us this most difficult of all virtues—patience. We must be patient with ourselves and with our defects—which does not mean that we can cease trying to correct them! We must be patient, too, with the world in which God permits weeds to grow among the wheat, even, in fact especially, in the Church, His Kingdom on Earth. When our patience is accompanied with deep trust in Him, then do we discover this Kingdom of God in our midst. It will be radiating from our hearts. Over the next day, when worries or anxieties arise, call out, “Father, Thy Kingdom Come!”