The Kingdom of God is a Person

Gospel Reflection-Memorial of St. Leo the Great. 11/10/22

USCCB Mass Readings

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”

Many churchgoers have no doubt heard their pastor bemoan every year about the difficulty of writing a sermon for Trinity Sunday. The scholarship from the Catholic tradition has been thorough on the Trinity. The mystery has always been, for me, the concept of the Kingdom of God. When Jesus speaks about the Kingdom, what exactly is He trying to communicate to us?

The kingdom arrives in the present with our Lord Jesus Christ. The incarnation is an eschatological moment—a moment of choosing for humanity. It is the fulfillment of the prophet Ezekiel of the Lord coming to shepherd His own people.

The Prophet Ezekiel speaks the word of God, “11 For thus says the Lord God: Look! I myself will search for my sheep and examine them. 12 As a shepherd examines his flock while he himself is among his scattered sheep, so will I examine my sheep. I will deliver them from every place where they were scattered on the day of dark clouds.”[1]

And so, the Good Shepherd—the Lord comes to us in the flesh, the frailty of humanity, to give us a message of good news. The good news is that the Lord pursues us with goodness and mercy calling His people back to the green pastures of paradise. The time is now. Hear the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”[2]

Jesus Teaches the People by the Sea by James Tissot. Public Domain.

We, the sheep of our Good Shepherd, have been scattered on the day of dark clouds when our first parents’ original sin darkened the powers of our souls and condemned us to die. There is hope. Let us be reminded by Pope Leo the Great that our Good Shepherd does not abandon us, “Recall that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and have been transferred into the light and kingdom of God.”[3]

Amen.

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[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition. (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Eze 34:11–12.

[2] New American Bible, Revised Edition. (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Mk 1:15.

[3] W. A. Jurgens, trans., The Faith of the Early Fathers, vol. 3 (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1970–1979), 275.