Prepared by: Richard G.

Pazcoguin UST Institute of Religion

In a time when the Jews were looking forward to the re-establishment of their fallen kingdom, Jesus came to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God. The KINGDOM OF GOD was the dominant theme of the public ministry of Jesus Christ. Though he did not define what the concept meant, Jesus pointed out indicators that helped his audience understand what the kingdom was. Jesus presented the Kingdom of God as a reality that is both HERE and NOT YET.

KINGDOM OF GOD = KINGDOM OF HEAVEN HEAVEN

In the New Testament, we find three concepts: Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, and Heaven. The first two are synonymous. Conservative writers simply use Heaven as a substitute for God. Hence Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are one and the same. HEAVEN, the dwelling place of GOD, is where we go when we die. The KINGDOM OF GOD or KINGDOM OF HEAVEN will come to us.

The fullness of the Kingdom of God is experienced only at the closing of age or on the last day. It is not something we experience at the point of death, for death is not our ultimate destiny. There is a more significant event THE END OF HUMAN HISTORY. This event marks the full establishment of the kingdom of God. This Kingdom is a GIFT from God and a TASK on the part of man.

But while the fullness of the Kingdom is something we anticipate, the seeds of the Kingdom have already been sown in the present. The present is a foretaste of the future. The Kingdom of God is the present is found in LIFE BLESSINGS, blessings that uphold and further life.

KINGDOM = SALVATION
Salvation is not only salvation from sin, but also from sinful conditions, i.e. those conditions that God doesnt want us to be into e.g. hunger, sickness, loss of dignity, etc.

Luke, in his gospel (4: 17-19), presents an incident in the synagogue wherein Jesus read the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, and spoke of that incident as the prophecies fulfillment. In the prophecy of Isaiah, we find how Isaiah and Christ understood what the kingdom meant. Though the prophecy did not define the kingdom, it gave SIGNPOSTS to the Kingdom: The Good News is preached to the poor Liberty is given to captives Sight is restored to the blind The Year of the Lords Favor is proclaimed: JUBILEE- Return of Land and Property, Release of Slaves, Recall of Debt, Rest of the Earth. How do these become signposts to the kingdom? Where is the Kingdom then?

In the words of the Lords Prayer, we can deduce where we can find the Kingdom of God: Our Father in heaven, Holy be your name, YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN What happens in heaven that must also happen on earth so that the KINGDOM will come? Where then is the Kingdom of God? Wherever the WILL OF GOD is done, the KINGDOM OF GOD is there.

GODS WILL!

If the KINGDOM OF GOD is where HIS WILL is done, then for people to experience the KINGDOM, they must be liberated form the SINFUL CONDITIONS that hold them bound.

POVERTY (hunger, thirst, nakedness, homelessness) CAPTIVITY and OPPRESSION as a result of injustice DISEASE (both physical and spiritual)

GOOD NEWS: food, shelter, clothing, restoration of dignity LIBERATION

RESTORATION OF HEALTH

THE KINGDOM COMES WHEN GODS WILL IS FULFILLED!

What happens to those who obey Gods will? Whoever does the will of God is my brother, my sister, and mother. Mark 3:35 Those who do the will of God are incorporated into the family of Jesus. Hence, the members of the kingdom of God arent just subjects of the King. Rather, they earn for themselves the dignity of being called children. Because of this, we who belong to the Kingdom are able to call God OUR FATHER

The Kingdom of God is at hand, reform your lives and believe in the Good News. Mark 1:15
Because the Kingdom of God is wherever Gods will is done, and the opposite of Gods will is sin, then Jesus calls for REPENTANCE and BELIEF IN THE GOSPEL as the conditions for THE KINGDOM EXPERIENCE. Turning away from sin is not merely avoiding evil, but DOING GOOD PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS, i.e. to make conscious efforts to FURTHER AND UPHOLD HUMAN LIFE.

For sure you still remember the Great Jubilee Celebration in the Year 2000. The JUBILEE, as described in the Bible, is a concrete manifestation of the Kingdom of God. The JUBILEE SONG describes to us what the Jubilee is all about, and perhaps may further clarify our understanding of the Kingdom. Its a time of joy, a time of peace, A time when hearts are then set free, A time to heal the wounds of division. Its a time of grace, a time of hope, A time of sharing the gifts we have, A time to build a world that is one.

Its the time to give thanks to the Father, Son, and Spirit, And with Mary, our Mother, we sing this song: OPEN YOUR HEARTS TO THE LORD AND BEGIN TO SEE THE MYSTERY THAT WE ARE ALL TOGETHER AS ONE FAMILY. NO MORE WALLS, NO MORE CHAINS, NO MORE SELFISHNESS AND CLOSED DOORS FOR WE ARE IN THE FULLNESS OF GODS TIME, ITS THE TIME OF THE GREAT JUBILEE! Its a time of prayer, a time of praise, A time to life our hands to God, A time to recall all our graces. Its a time to touch, a time to reach Those hearts that often wander, A time to bring them back to Gods embrace.

Carlos H. Abesamis

A THIRD LOOK AT JESUS

Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 2000 Douglas Elwood and Patricia Magdamo

CHRIST IN PHILIPPINE CONTEXT

Manila: Christian Literature Society, 1971 Albert Nolan, O.P.

JESUS BEFORE CHRISTIANITY

Quezon City: Claretian Publications, 1999