When
Jesus Christ, the Anointed, came to earth, the Jewish people were expecting a
ruler or messiah who would wrest political control from the Romans and establish
himself as King on earth. Yet Jesus’
idea of kingship is strikingly different.
My kingdom does not belong to this
world, he tells Pilate in this Sunday’s Gospel. His purpose on earth is not to contest the
rule of Caesar, but to testify to the
truth, that truth being the authority of God to rule our hearts, a truth
embodied by God’s Love, a Love unwavering and without limitations. Reading Christian themes back into the Book of Daniel, we see that God the Ancient
One gave Jesus dominion, power, and glory – dominion,
moreover, that is without limit and without end: his dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away. Jesus’ kingdom is eternal as God’s Love for
humankind is eternal, planted solidly in a world brought out of chaos by a
loving God: Your throne stands firm from of old… (Psalm), the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come,
the almighty (Revelation).
So
what is our role in this kingdom? To
love as he loves us: this is how he has made us into a kingdom, by sharing with us the capacity to love
as God loves, to be open to God’s Love as well as to love of other, and to
offer that love in abundance to
Other. This is the true Kingdom of
God: it is a truth that transcends mere
political struggle and carries us into the eternal, to the very clouds of heaven. To him be glory and praise forever, thanks be to God!
This reflection is based on Fr. Pat's Thursday night Scripture class.
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