11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Anthony Brankin
It is amazing how in today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of heaven. He compares it
to many things, but He never actually defines it. I suppose Our Blessed Lord wanted us to know that the Kingdom of God is vastly more mysterious than a regular kingdom. And I know that when we try to define the Kingdom of God we end up with something very earthly. For example, the Protestants—the ones who call themselves “Christian”—they believe that
the Kingdom of God will arrive at the Second Coming. They actually think that Jesus—when
He returns—will rule the world for a thousand years. This is wrong. Jesus is not going to come back and rule for any period of time—as if He were some sort of earthly King. It is almost blasphemous to think of God as a politician who rules our world in the most minute of details.
Now there are others who see the Kingdom of God as the world being ruled by God indirectly—a world in which the religious leaders are in total control. This is what we have in
many Muslim countries—where the Imams and scholars make all the laws and do all the
interpretations. This is wrong too. The Church understands that the priests have the Church to take care of and the laity will run the governments. And that is the way it should be.
But it does not mean that Jesus (by means of His Church), does not have a role to play in
teaching the nations, the parliaments and congresses. Indeed nations must observe the laws of
God. They must provide a way of life for the people to achieve their ultimate goal—getting to
heaven—being saved. Nations should observe the teachings of the Catholic Church—wherever
those teachings are necessary to save our souls.
To promote family and morality
This means that when the Kingdom of God is being lived—governments and nations promote family and morality. This is doing the will of God and living in His Kingdom. We do the will of God even in our country’s laws and civic structures. Anything that helps families and people to live and to live virtuously must be encouraged and developed by law. Things like marriage and jobs and big families and children must be protected by law. And anything that hurts people and families—like gay marriage and abortion must be outlawed.
It is clear—if we have been paying attention—that we are not near at all to the Kingdom of
God. You wonder if anyone is trying to do the will of God. Certainly there are whole nations
who suffer because they are not following God’s will. There are other nations who make others
suffer—for the same reason. What do we do? Well, if the Kingdom of God is doing the will of God in our own lives, then we must live as God wants us to live. And that means we must live our lives according to the teachings of Jesus taught to us by His Church. This is not just for Catholics—it is for everyone—including atheists and Muslims and Secularists.
The Kingdom of God—the reign of Jesus—begins in me—first here in my heart. That means I must worship God above all things. I must pray every day and go to Mass every Sunday. I must live a moral life—a modest life—a clean life. I must be kind and peaceful with everyone—at work or at home. I must follow the Ten Commandments. But then eventually—after me—the Kingdom of Heaven takes hold in our families and then in our cities—and then in our countries. And eventually—though not perfectly—we will all be doing what God wants us to do. Actually this is what we pray for in the Our Father when we say “Thy Kingdom come” we pray that His will be done—“on earth as it is in heaven.” First in me—and then out to the world. That is the Kingdom of God.