Autumn,
harvest time. In German, the word for
autumn is “Herbst,” a word cognate with our word “harvest” (English is a west
German language, after all). The
readings for these two weeks have at least one clear theme, developed in
various autumnal colors: God is looking
for a fruitful harvest from his people. And that means: from you, from
me. You and I must “bring God’s Kingdom”
by faithfully and loving doing what is good, and “speaking the truth from the
heart.”
Three of our Gospels often place on
Jesus’ lips the symbol, “the Kingdom of God,” or in Matthew’s equivalent, “the
Kingdom of heaven.” (As a devout Jew,
St. Matthew did not want to take the sacred name of God on his lips, lest he
sin.) We find in these three Gospels “parables of the Kingdom.” The “Kingdom” is not some earthly ordering of
affairs, not “heaven,” not “the Church.” These are three common and widespread misunderstandings of Jesus’
symbol. The phrase is not used by Jesus
in St. John’s Gospel; rather, he there Jesus speaks of “eternal life,” which
does not mean “afterlife,” but “God’s life,” and our life as lived in union
with what we call “God.” The “Kingdom of
God” means, at various times, God’s Presence among human beings; God’s way of
doing things; the mind of the Almighty (His plan for all creation); God’s life
shared with his creatures; and so on. It
is an extremely rich symbol, but one easily misunderstood. Just keep in mind: wherever you see goodness, beauty, truth, and
justice, you are seeing what Jesus points to as “the Kingdom of God” being
realized here and now.
Apparently, Jesus agrees with the
anonymous prophet known as “Second Isaiah” (chapter 40-55 of Isaiah): “God’s ways are not our ways.” Whereas we expect God to reward those who
deserve greater rewards more richly, in the parables we hear this week and
next, we are assured that God acts as He wills, and is not limited by our
expectations or sense of justice. “Are
you envious because I am generous?” Who
are we to complain if God chooses to lavish his richest blessings on those who
are tardy, who turn their lives over to God even late in life? No one can earn God’s favor; it is freely and
generously given.
Clearly, what God is waiting for,
and seeking to bring about, is a wholehearted response in each of us, which
will “bear fruit richly for the Kingdom.” Those who are slack or lazy or prefer to spend their lives playing
around with their toys and games accomplish little good, and do not help to
further “God’s way of doing things.”
Those who are diligent to use whatever skills, gifts, talents they have
for the spiritual and material benefits of others are “children of the Light,”
or “sons and daughters of God.” Do not
be fooled: those who do good, and do it
generously, are agents of God’s Kingdom, whether they attend church or not, are
ministers or not, or whether they “believe” or not. What God wants is a loving response to His
ways, not lip service, and surely not churchy pretense.
Not just our actions, but our inner
attitudes must be in harmony with God’s ways, rather than those of covetous or
grasping human beings, who are “anxious and troubled about many things.” We hear Christ’s Apostle tell his disciples,
“Have no anxiety about anything,” but trust in God and give him thanks. “And then the peace of God, which surprises
all understanding,” will keep our hearts and minds in Christ—that is, centered
in God’s heart, in God’s Kingdom. The
peace that God gives is “the fruit of righteousness,” the inner reward to a
human being who does not just “believe,” but who puts into practice what the
LORD teaches us in word and by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Rightful action and the renunciation of evil
and selfish ways brings one into God’s peace.
And if anything looks and feels like
the Kingdom of God on earth, it is the heart and soul of a man or woman who
simply, quietly, energetically does the will of God—cooperates with the Spirit,
who “blows where he wills.” As Jesus
prayed before being tortured to death:
“Not my will, but your will be done.”
And consider the enormous, bountiful harvest of Christ’s righteous
deeds, even unto death. So it is in
those who live God’s Kingdom here and now.
