THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS GOAL OF OUR MISSION

The kingdom of God is generally described as an experience of total human

wellbeing brought about by God who works in individuals, in the human community, and
creation. The Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New Testament, talk about it in
various ways. Here are several of Jesus’ parables in the New Testament about the
kingdom of God:

Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mt. 13:31-32)

Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed
which
a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest
of
shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Parable of the Yeast (Mt. 13:33)

He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven

is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three
measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Biblical parables are short imaginative stories designed to teach a lesson. Their
meanings are not usually apparent, so that the listener has to reflect on the stories and
make sense of them. She has to make her imagination work. Usually, parables invite
people to a new way of seeing or thinking. That is why parables are interesting because
they ask for the participation of the listener.

The two parables above use simile, a way of speaking that makes you understand
something new or something abstract by comparing it to what is commonly known or
familiar. The first parable compares the kingdom of God to what becomes of a mustard
seed and the second to the effect of the yeast on the dough.

Among the two parables above, the Parable of the Mustard Seed may be the
most well-known. If you are a Christian and attend worship or the Eucharistic celebration
often, you would have heard this story many times, even if you are not familiar with the
Bible. Parables usually have one central point. The main point of the Parable of the
Mustard Seed is the unexpected growth of the kingdom from a small beginning, like the
tiny mustard seed becoming a tree. God’s work for human well-being, which the
kingdom of God stands for, may start small, but it can grow enormous to include so many.

The mention in the parable of birds coming to build their nests on the tree branches
signifies the kingdom’s openness and capacity to welcome all. Behind this claim is the
idea held by some during the time of Jesus that those outside of the chosen people (the
so-called gentiles) cannot enter the kingdom. In many ways, Jesus did not share this
exclusivity. In his ministry, he had always welcomed people from all walks of life.

The Parable of the Yeast focuses on the kingdom’s capacity to silently transform
society like dough is gradually transformed by the yeast mixed with it. The Church and all
people of good will are agents of this transformation. By their work and example,
changes for the better take place in the community. Change may be slow, but it will
indeed happen like the yeast causing the dough to rise.

In these two parables, Jesus was trying to describe the kingdom of God by using
very concrete examples in the experience of people.

The idea of the kingdom of God developed from the experiences the Israelite
people had of God. Throughout their history, they experienced God as giving them
salvation. They understood the salvation given by God as taking on many forms:
deliverance from slavery, possession of land, victory over enemies, fertility of the land, the
prosperity of the family, the gift of wisdom, the expectation of a messiah, and life beyond
death. To verbalize and communicate these experiences of salvation, they made use of
the political expression kingship. God made the Israelites a people and gave them kings
to rule over them. The Israelites understood that the primary task of their kings was to lead
them and make them into a nation in which justice and equality would reign. But their
kings failed in their duty. They grabbed for themselves the riches of the land given to all.
The prophets criticized the kings because of their greed and announced that God himself
will come to rule over Israel after a period of trial and suffering. He would indeed be the
King of Israel who would lead the nation to justice, equality, abundance, and well-being.

CHURCH TEACHING

Here are basic Church teachings on the kingdom of God based on Scriptures. The
following are quotations lifted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Read them,
paying particular attention to the nature of the kingdom, the relationship between the
Church and the kingdom, the recipients of the kingdom (Lumen Gentium, 1964).

541 "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
and saying: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe
in the gospel.'" [Mk 1:14-15] "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the
kingdom of heaven on earth." [LG* 3] Now, the Father's will is "to raise men to share in his
own divine life." [LG 2] He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This
gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom."

544 The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted
it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the poor"; [Lk 4:18; cf. 7:22]
he declares them blessed, for "theirs is the kingdom of heaven." [Mt 5:3] To them - the
"little ones" the Father is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the
learned. [Confer Mt 11:25] Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the cross;
he experiences hunger, thirst, and privation. [Confer Mt 21:18; Mk 2:23-26; Jn 4:6 1; 19:28;
Lk 9:58] Jesus identifies himself with the poor of every kind and makes active love toward
them the condition for entering his kingdom. [Confer Mt 25:31-46]

546 Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic
feature of his teaching. [Cf. Mk 4:33-34] Through his parables, he invites people to the
feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one
must give everything. [Cf. Mt 13:44-45; 22:1-14] Words are not enough; deeds are
required. [Cf. Mt 21:28-32] The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or
good earth for the word? [Cf. Mt 13:3-9] What use has he made of the talents he has
received? [Cf. Mt 25:14-30] Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are
secretly at the heart of the parables.

In what follows, let us reflect on the significance for the Church of some points
indicated in these texts from the Catechism.

The Church tells us that what is crucial in the ministry of Jesus was his preaching
about the inauguration and building up of the kingdom of God. Properly understood, the
kingdom refers to God's reign (active presence) in the lives of people. In other words, the
kingdom is the reign of justice, truth, freedom, love, and peace in human society. It is our
experience of total human well-being or salvation. By preaching about the kingdom and
living according to its values, Jesus has brought salvation to people. We can describe
the kingdom, as manifested in the ministry of Jesus, in the following ways:

1. The kingdom of God is good news because it is all about total human well-being
from God. An alternative term for this total human well-being is “salvation.” But
salvation does not only refer to the well-being of the soul. In the understanding of
both the Old and New Testaments, the human person is an undivided whole. So,
when we speak about the kingdom as an experience of well-being, we refer to
the good of the body, mind, and spirit.
2. As good news, the idea of the kingdom does not emphasize what we can do
because the kingdom is ultimately a gift from God. It is God who makes the
kingdom a reality through us. The Gospels and the letters of Paul stress this truth.
Jesus had criticized people’s reliance on their efforts forgetting that even the skill
or ability to do something is God’s gift. It does not mean, however, that the
kingdom can become a reality with us doing nothing. We are agents of the
kingdom; therefore, we have to use our talents, time, and treasure so that charity,
justice, equality, and peace will reign in our communities.
3. The kingdom is good news because it ends power relationships. Power
relationships imply taking advantage of others because of their situation. It is
misusing power and privilege for ourselves at the expense of others resulting in
inequality and oppression. This kind of relationship can exist in our communities,
workplaces, and even inside our homes. The kingdom's message calls for the
abolition of rules, regulations, structures, or systems that promote this kind of
situation.
4. The kingdom of God as the good news is offered to all. The ministry of Jesus is full
of examples of the inclusiveness of God’s offer of well-being. Jesus welcomed
people rejected by the mainstream society of his time: the sinners, tax collectors,
and all those at the margins of society. He saw in these people the possibility of
change even though society had given up on them. He said that it is the sick who
needs the doctor; he came not for the righteous but the sinners.
5. The kingdom of God is both future and present. In our Christian tradition, there is
the tendency to overemphasize the kingdom's future aspect, leading to the lack
of social and political involvement among Christians. Behind this attitude is the
thinking that if the kingdom of God concerns only our life after we die, then
involvement in the present is not that important. But in the teachings and practice
of Jesus, the kingdom also concerns well-being in the present life. Following the
prophet Isaiah’s reflections, Jesus envisioned the kingdom concerned with the
feeding of the hungry, the freeing of prisoners, the healing of sickness, and the
removal of any form of oppression and slavery.

Behind Jesus’ idea of the kingdom of God is an experience of God. Earlier in this
module, we understood that Jesus had an intimate relationship with God, even calling
Him Abba. His understanding of the kingdom flows right from this relationship. This brings
out the question about how Jesus experienced God. The prophets of Israel saw God as
one who saves. God was known to them as “He who brought Israel out of Egypt.” Their
God was a God who acted on behalf of his suffering people. It was this idea that Jesus
lived and preached.

The kingdom of God is a message about God relating graciously with his people.
God is on the side of human beings, especially the needy and the powerless. He accepts
the broken, the sinner, the wicked, and the outcast to make them whole again. The
Kingdom concept, being a symbol to express in some understandable manner God’s
incredible graciousness, is very rich in meaning, as we can see. For Jesus, we can never
imagine what God has in store for his people. God’s graciousness cannot be limited by
the language we use to express it. Like Jesus and the patriarchs and the prophets before
him, we have to experience and live this graciousness to understand it better.

The experience of God’s graciousness is an experience of salvation. The word

“salvation” is a critical term in Christianity and most religions and is seen as the ultimate
goal of human life. Nevertheless, like many critical religious concepts, it is not understood
quite well by many of us. As used in the Bible, salvation refers to God’s will, which seeks
the highest possible good of the human being in God. Echoing the prophet Isaiah and
the evangelist Luke again, salvation is the setting free from all kinds of needs of the
individual and the community. But although the Biblical meaning of the kingdom is
rooted in earthly realities, it cannot only be reduced to earthly well-being. It relates to the
good of the whole human person in this life and life to come.

Earlier, we discussed that salvation could be related to the Filipino concept of

“ginhawa.” Ginhawa contains a range of meanings that express the Biblical
understanding of salvation: ease of life; relief from pain, sickness, difficulties, or straits;
consolation or blessing received; and freedom from want. To a certain extent, ginhawa
expresses the sense of total human well-being. If the Biblical understanding includes the
individual and the community's physical/ material, emotional, and spiritual well-being, so
does ginhawa.