Posts Tagged ‘the kingdom of God’

Pondering the Kingdom of God

Sunday, November 24th, 2013

Christ the King

2 Sam 5: 1-3; Col `1: 1-12; Luke 23: 35-43

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

You know what?  Heaven is not run by the people!  There won’t be any politicians running for office or campaign promises there.  There aren’t going to be any elections either.  We are not going to get to vote for anyone or anything if we make it there.  We will have to just settle with whatever we get from God.  Heaven is after all a Kingdom- and Kingdoms have Kings not elected presidents.  Heaven is the Kingdom of God; and that Kingdom lasts forever- and forever is a long time.

God has already chosen His King, His anointed one- Jesus Christ.  That’s what today’s readings are all about- Christ the King.  We hear that Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God”.  We know that Jesus came before all of us and made everything.  Heaven has angels and saints in it but they are subjects, not voters.  God wills that things be handled by His King Jesus the Christ; and it will always be that way- forever.

And while all of us aspire to be part of God’s Kingdom,  It would be naïve of us to think that we will all be the same.  We are all loved by God equally, but each of us is unique, and is loved for our uniqueness.  And each of us will have our own unique place in Heaven if- if we follow Jesus as the Gospel calls for.  Let us ponder things about such a heavenly Kingdom :

First, we are each given gifts from God in this life.  If we don’t learn to be happy with what is ours in this life, it will be difficult to be happy in the Kingdom of God forever.  Life here is our opportunity to learn to accept the gifts that God has chosen for us.  But to appreciate these gifts to the utmost, we have to do God’s will for us because all of our gifts were especially chosen for us.  The closer we are to doing God’s will, the easier it will be for us to use our gifts.  If we try having it our way rather than God’s way there is going to be a problem- a disconnect between our gifts and our lives.  That can result in pain for us; and it will be the same in the next life as well- it will be Heaven or Hell for us.

The more we are given; the more God expects from us as stewards of those gifts.  Some of us were gifted with fame, money, power, special talents, or good looks as viewed by the world’s standards.  Others were entrusted with more ordinary things in life here.  We are white, black, yellow or red; and we are male and female.  But that doesn’t make any of us better than the other- just different and destined for our own special role in the Kingdom of God.  God loves all of us the same; and He is interested in how well we accept what He gives us.  Life here is like the tip of an iceberg compared to eternity, where we will experience the rest of our gifts.

Our greatest gift is life itself.  God wants us to cherish that above all other things.  He has gifted us with instincts that motivate us in exactly that way- to defend and preserve our lives no matter what.  If we don’t respect our life and the life of others in this world, why would we be expected to value life in the next?  And so, no matter what our quality of life, we simply must learn to love life itself.  After all, if we want to live an eternity with God, we must value life forever.

Next, all of us were born with limitations; but these also are gifts.  None of us could be perfect as only God is perfect.  If we can’t learn to live and be happy with our limitations in this life; how can we expect to be satisfied with our limitations in the next life forever?  But, even in the next life we will not be perfect; otherwise we would be God, and we are not God.

One of the biggest problems we have in this life is our tendency to have expectations.  We hope for, and expect that things will go our way.  But they don’t- they go God’s way.  Jesus the Christ is our King and so, we need to learn to be obedient to the King.  God, like all kings, is really big on obedience.  A house divided against itself cannot stand.  And so, God demands our obedience in His Kingdom- forever.  So, it is important for us to learn obedience in this life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises the good thief Paradise.  From that we learn that the kingdom of God is paradise- a place of eternal happiness.  Why does he promise this thief paradise?   Because this man recognized his limitations; accepted them, and recognized himself for what he was; promising to learn from his mistakes.   He just wanted a chance to be remembered by the King.  All of us are called to do the same.

The other thief was arrogant and cynical, presuming to judge Jesus on his terms and according to his standards, as were the rulers and soldiers who sneered at Jesus.  These are people who are in control in this world; but the lessons we just outlined for the Kingdom of God escaped them.

And so, take the opportunity today to think about the coming of the King who will lead us into eternal happiness in His Kingdom.  Love life; accept your gifts and limitations, learn the King’s will for you, and be obedient.  Then you will enjoy the good life of the kingdom of God forever.

The Ultimate Covenant- the Kingdom of God

Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Mt 16: 13-23

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Lest we become too critical of Israel for breaking the covenant that the Lord made with them as we listen to the first reading, consider this:  Haven’t we broken our covenant with God as well?  Not just the covenant of Moses’ day, but rather, the New Covenant, the covenant promised in the New Testament? 

 

Jesus promised us Eternal life if we believed that He was the Savior.  That’s right, first we must really believe, and then we must follow after Jesus by using His example, the example left in the Gospel, the new way of living life, by first discerning and then doing the will of the Father, just like He, Jesus did.   

 

And yet, which of us is not guilty of failing to do all that?  In the Gospel, Jesus confirms in his talk with Peter and the disciples, straight up, that He is the Messiah.  And he also tells Him straight up, that by following the will of His Father, He, Jesus, will suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, and then die, be buried, and rise from the dead.  And what does his main man Peter do?  This man who is living right alongside the God made man, who tells Jesus that he believes He is the Messiah?  He doubts Him. He even rebukes Him for suggesting such a thing.     

 

How about us, are we any better than Peter?  How many times have we doubted, and not really believed?  Belief implies trust, forbearance, patience, and calmness whenever we are confronted with trials.  It means always knowing in our hearts, that is, believing with our hearts, that God is with us no matter what happens to us.  And there is something else that we need to believe as well.  Because if we believe that God is with us, and we bear up to whatever trials we are tested with, then we need to believe that the reward is great.  Jeremiah sums the reward up very well this way:  “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD.  I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more”.   

 

Yes indeed, “after those days”, the days of our life on this earth, we shall all know Him, and our sins will be forgiven forever- such tremendous consolation, and such is our reward, to know God forever; to be in perfect harmony with Him; and to live happily with everyone else who is saved.  Amen!