By FR. MICHAEL P. ORSI
The Bible says a lot about kingdoms. We heard an abundance of kingdom references in the readings for the Feast of Christ the King. In the Gospel (Luke 23), one of the criminals being crucified with Christ (the so-called “Good Thief,” known in tradition as St. Dismas) asks Jesus to “remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
Luke tells this story in a way that emphasizes Jesus’ kingly role, and to show that the new order Christ established among His followers — this assembly (Greek: ecclesia), or church — was indeed a new Kingdom. In setting forth such a description Luke is making a powerful statement that’s every bit as political as it is spiritual. It’s easy to see why the Roman authorities were wary of the early Christians who were attracting recruits all over the empire. Caesar Augustus, emperor at the time, and his successors detected a definite threat to their authority.
But Christ’s Kingdom is a central focus of Luke’s story, a fundamental understanding he wishes to convey. And he has structured his entire narrative very cleverly to lay it out.
For example, there’s the telling little detail about that sign tacked up on the cross calling Jesus “King of the Jews.” And in another section of his Gospel Luke reports one of Jesus’ talks (known as the “Sermon on the Plain”) in which Christ lists a series of beatitudes, pairs of phrases in which the Lord notes certain blessings people will enjoy and then explains the significance of being so blest….Blessed are the poor in spirit; theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven….Blessed are you when you’re persecuted; you will be called the children of God — and others with which we’re all familiar. Essentially, these sayings constitute the charter of Christ’s Kingdom. They are how we’re called to live our lives.
There are other kingdom references, as well. One is in the “Our Father” (or “Lord’s Prayer”), where Jesus explains that the coming of the Kingdom will permit God’s will to be done “on Earth as it is in Heaven.” And of course, when the Lord responds to the Good Thief’s recognition of his authority, Christ does what only someone who holds true authority is empowered to do: He pardons him.
“Today you will be with me in paradise.” As we come to understand what the good news of Jesus is (gospel means “good news”), it’s important to remember what it is not. It’s not the album, Jesus Is King, by Kanye West. Popular culture frequently grabs onto certain religious themes, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Secular society makes entertainment out of far worse ideas.
But Kanye has aligned himself with Joel Osteen, the noted proclaimer of the “Prosperity Gospel,” that insidious proposition that if we only believe in Jesus, we’ll receive great earthly rewards. Osteen tries to give this idea a Christian gloss, but it’s not Christianity.
Christianity maintains that those who are poor, who are meek, who suffer will be blessed. It doesn’t preach against striving and accomplishment, but neither does it ascribe any particular spiritual grace to worldly success. Also, the Gospel is not integralism, the idea that religion must take over and dominate the secular world order. Plenty of people are so repelled by what they see in today’s society that they conclude the only solution is government by the Church. That is Islam. It is not Catholicism.
Jesus’ message also means that we don’t live in a cancellation society, where our faith authorizes us to seek out and attack others whose views are in conflict with our own. Social media has encouraged far too much of this attitude, often referred to these days as being “woke.” And it provides a ready means to destroy people’s lives. That’s not what the reign of Christ calls us to do.
What are we called to do? Very simply, we must put Jesus’ beatitudes into action in our daily lives. When He says, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” He’s telling us to give single-minded attention to the rule of God. When He says that we’re blessed because of our “hunger and thirst for what is right,” He assures us that we “shall be filled.” Though we may suffer for the cause of righteousness, we will be part of the Kingdom. There will be a place for us.
There’s a further requirement of our participation in the Kingdom: We must invite others to come into it as well. We live under the reign of a wonderful King. We should be eager to share that reality, to tell others about what it means to us, when opportunities arise to do so.
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