Over the last couple of
weeks, we hear Jesus speaking largely about the Kingdom of God. He compares the
Kingdom to a person finding a treasure in a field, who then sells everything in
order to buy the field. He compares the Kingdom to a merchant discovering an
exquisite, perfect pearl, who then, also, sells everything in order to possess
the pearl. The Kingdom of God must, indeed, be very special.
For Jesus and the Jewish
people who lived in monarchies, albeit being unwilling subjects of a Roman
Emperor whose armies occupied Palestine, the word Kingdom held significant
meaning. For an American, like myself, with no experience historically or
personally of a monarchy, the word “Kingdom” just does not convey the same
meaning it must have had for Jesus and those who listened to him. For me, when
I think of Kingdom, my mind immediately goes to the “Magical Kingdoms” that
Walt Disney and his corporation constructed at Disneyland or Disney World. This
is the kingdom where one can encounter Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White
and the 7 Dwarves, places of fairy tales and enchantment.
Perhaps a much better
world to describe about which Jesus is speaking and almost as accurately
translated is the “Reign of God.” Kingdoms are places to which you go. There
are castles and palaces, surrounded by opulence, defense works, moats and
drawbridges. The Reign of God is not a place but a state of being in which one
is immersed, in which lives are transformed not in the far distant future but
in the here and now. Jesus ushered into Salvation History of humankind the
Reign of God at the moment of his Incarnation. The Reign of God is all around
us, above, below and to each side. The Reign of God is within us. It is as if
we are fetuses living and growing within the womb of God.
The Reign of God is living in a state of being that is
filled with inner peace. Though we may suffer from all sorts of ills, physical
and social, nothing seems to faze us because we possess something that is far
greater than anything the world can offer us. People in whom the Reign of God
is strong possess a contentment for which many long. I have known people in whom
the Reign of God was powerful. You can see the Reign of God in their eyes. They
look from the outside very unassuming, but when in their presence, one feels
radiating from them a power that is hard to describe. It is as if all agitation
in a person’s life falls away as that radiating presence is felt. Everything
feels alright.
As a kid, I use to think
that the Reign of God was something that only clerics and religious possessed. The
priests and the nuns, and the bishops and the cardinals and pope were the
exclusive possessors of the Reign of God. While there are definitely those who
are ordained and consecrated to religious life who do possess the Reign of God,
in my 38 years of ministry I have often found it more likely among the laity.
In each and every parish in which I have ministered, there are certain people
in whom the Reign of God is profoundly present and felt. It is these folks who
have impacted my life as a deacon far more powerfully than many of the pastors
and bishops for whom and with whom I have worked.
But how does one possess
the Reign of God? First, as it has been acknowledged above, the Reign of God is
not something that is reserved only for a specific group or number of people,
but a gift from God that is offered to all who desire it. There is an old song
by the rock group Badfinger that goes, “If you want it, here it is, mmm make
your mind up fast. If you want it anytime, I can give it, but you better hurry,
cause it may not last.” While the gift that is offered in the song needs to be
acted upon immediately because it might be withdrawn, not so with the gift of
the Reign of God. The Reign of God is offered to all, anytime. We are free to
receive it or reject it.
One of the qualities a
person must have in order to receive the Reign of God is to be willing to
sacrifice to receive it. This is something to which Jesus points in the two
parables about the treasure in the field and the pearl of great value. In both
parables, the individuals involved sold everything they had in order to possess
the treasure they discovered. The Reign of God does come at a price. Are we
willing to “lose ourselves”, that is, give ourselves totally to God in order to
possess God’s Reign? Jesus tells his disciples to sell everything they have,
take up their cross and follow him. Are we ready to that? Am I ready to do
this? Am I ready to sacrifice everything in order to have the Reign of God in
my life?
Living in the Reign of
God is a reorientation of life away from oneself and toward God. It is like
flowers and plants that follow the direction of the Sun during the day. They
receive life and energy from the rays that radiate from the Sun. When we follow
the Son, it is reorienting the gift of love away from ourselves to God, and to
others. It is living the Great Commandment of love. When we reorient our lives
away from ourselves and orient them toward God and neighbor, we find that the
energy we receive is far greater than that we can create for ourselves. And the
energy we receive is then radiated out freely to those around us.
The Reign (of God)
falls not only on the plains of Spain, but everywhere around us and within us.
All we have to do is want it and receive it.
