The Kingdom of God draws near, is here, and is coming

Readings:
• Mal 3:19-20A
• Psa 98:5-6, 7-8, 9
• 2 These 3:7-12
• Lk 21:5-19

“The kingdom of God, beloved brothers and sisters, has drawn near,” wrote Saint Cyprian. “The reward of life, the joy of eternal salvation, the perpetual happiness and the possession of paradise once lost are now coming as the world passes away.” Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, was writing in the third century. Was he wrong in saying the kingdom of God is near? Or that the world is passing away? No, of course not, and today’s readings can help us more deeply appreciate his perspective.

Centuries prior, the prophet Malachi wrote of an approaching day of judgment and justice, a day “blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch…” Malachi was writing in the fifth century B.C., after the people had returned to Jerusalem from exile, and he proclaimed the need for deep spiritual and institutional reform, especially among the priesthood. Those who fear and follow God, he said, will see the “sun of justice” arising, a sun with “healing rays.”

The prophet, whose name meant “My messenger,” wrote of a future messenger—identified as Elijah, the prophet—who would arrive “before the day of the Lord comes, the great and terrible day” (Mal 3:23).

That messenger was John the Baptist, and the “sun of justice” was, of course, John’s cousin, Jesus of Nazareth. As John preached repentance, he also preached about a man mightier than himself. “I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire,” said John. “His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Mt 3:11-12). Everyone will be judged by the Son of justice, and this strong truth is found throughout the Gospels.

The difficulty, however, is this: while God’s judgment has begun and is ongoing, it will not be fully realized and revealed until the End. Likewise, the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated by Jesus Christ, but it also has not been fully realized and revealed, and will not be until the End.

We are understandably interested in “The End.” Jesus knew this well, for as he neared his Passion and crucifixion he spoke at length about the End and related events. Today’s Gospel is part of one of the “little apocalypses” (cf. Mk 13; Mt 24), which is equally fascinating and baffling. Keep in mind that Jesus spoke about three different events or realities: first, the persecution of Christians prior to the fall of the Temple in A.D. 70 (Lk 21:12-19); second, the time of the fall of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem at the hands of the Roman army (Lk 12:5-11, 20-24); third, the time of the Son of Man (Lk 21:25-38).

While a careful reading shows that Jesus distinguished between these three events, it also indicates they are closely related. For example, the divine judgment that fell upon the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 not only validated Jesus’ pronouncements about a new and everlasting covenant, it also served as a microcosm of the final judgment, when the “temple” of the world will be judged once and for all.

The prophet Malachi longed for a time when the faithful would be liberated from the hands of “the proud” and “the evildoers.” In a similar way, many first-century Jews were anxious for a liberation from Roman rule that would be political—and violent—in nature. But Jesus repeatedly taught and demonstrated that the kingdom of God liberates us from the worst and ultimate enemies: sin and death.

The King and the kingdom have drawn near, and we partake of them—truly, not metaphorically—in liturgy and reception of Eucharist. But, as the Apostle Paul indicates in today’s Epistle, there is much “toil and drudgery.” Yet the daily grind should not dull us to the fact that this world is passing away.

(This “Opening the Word” column originally appeared in the November 17, 2013 edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)