Wednesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
July 30, 2014 6:30am
The phrase “the kingdom of God” or “the
kingdom of heaven” occurs 122 times in the New Testament.
We hear two of those times in
today’s gospel.
Jesus compares the kingdom to a treasure
buried in a field and to a really valuable pearl.
This idea of the “kingdom of God” is very rich and has at
least three dimensions or layers to it.
First, Jesus himself is the
kingdom of God in person.
So, the kingdom is a person and
not a thing.
Jesus, by the way he speaks and
teaches, leads us to realize the overwhelming fact that in him God himself is
present among us.
He is the kingdom of God.
Then second, the kingdom of God
is something interior to us.
Our inner self is the essential
location of the kingdom of God.
So the kingdom of God is not
located on any map.
Instead, it is in our inner
being.
This leads to the third dimension
of the kingdom: the kingdom of God is to radiate out from us as individuals and
become visible through the community of believers in Jesus, in other words,
through the Church.
God is present with us as a
community.
We are the living body of Christ
on this earth.
And through this presence, God,
the kingdom is also to become present in and throughout the human community or
society in general.
So, 1) through the kingdom that
is Jesus, God with us,
2) the kingdom enters us and
dwells within us,
and then 3) the kingdom emerges
from within and becomes visible in the community of faith and even in the human
community in general.
That is something of the richness
of this expression in the Scripture.
