What is the Kingdom of God?

Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension

The twelve apostles lived with Jesus for three years and listened to his words every day. They had given up everything to follow him. He was there all of their lives. If there was a single topic that Jesus spoke about most often, it was the “Kingdom of God.” One would certainly expect that they would grasp at least the central point of the central teaching of the central person in their lives.

However, when they had gathered with Jesus after the resurrection, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Put this question in context. They had lost Jesus to death, and then they got him back through the resurrection. The first reading tells us that after the Resurrection, Jesus spoke to them for 40 days about the kingdom of God. Yet, after three years and after 40 more days with the greatest teacher in history, you would think they could pass the world’s simplest one question multiple-choice test on this subject – namely, “What is the kingdom of God?” Well, they didn’t. They all flunked the test.

After all his teaching, they ask what might be the stupidest question in history. Through their question, they reveal that they have been with him for three years and are expecting him to become political, to kick the Romans out of Israel, to free them from the Roman occupation, to set things right politically, and to establish himself as the King of Israel. It seems that they have forgotten all that Jesus had taught them about sin and conversion, about salvation and eternity. They still expected Jesus to be a political Messiah.

Jesus doesn’t try to correct them then and there. He simply tells them that this is not something they need to know. Instead, he tells them that the Holy Spirit will descend upon them. Afterwards, they were to preach the Good News. They must have done fairly well. Peter’s first sermon got three thousand instant converts. So, despite their inability to look past their political goals, they were able to preach the message that Jesus himself had preached to them. Before the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were scatterbrained, ignorant, scared, and a shallow. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, they had been changed. Obviously, the Holy Spirit was responsible for their ability to preach about the kingdom of God.

In St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, we read: “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation…  May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to you through God’s call. May you understand what are the riches of glory that the holy ones will inherit, and what is the surpassing greatness of God’s power for us who believe.” These are some exalted ideas.

Consequently, we are left with this question. What is the relation of this divine, exalted, heavenly Christ with our lives here and now during our a few short years on this little planet? God has not so much altered Christ’s place in relation to our lives as he has altered our lives’ place in relation Christ. Because he has been exalted, we are exalted with him. The church as the Mystical Body of Christ is an extension of the incarnation. It was God’s purpose from the beginning. The Ascension was not the end but the beginning; it was the preparation for the beginning of the church at Pentecost.

The conclusion of St. Luke’s Gospel tells us that: Jesus “led them out as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them, he departed from them.” As we celebrate this feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to continue preaching the kingdom of God. By our lives, we are to show the world God’s purpose as creator, as Redeemer, and as the Spirit. It is now our task to extend that blessing to our world through lives lived by faith, with hope, and in love with our neighbor. The kingdom of God is about the two great commandments: love God, and love your neighbor.

Next week, our celebration of the Paschal mystery will come to an end for another year. Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist together, we celebrate that Paschal mystery and are sent to bring the Good News of the Kingdom of God to our world by the example of our lives. Jesus has ascended to the Father, but he has remained among us through the Eucharist. Through baptism we have received the Holy Spirit just as the apostles received the Holy Spirit, and that Holy Spirit led them to preach the Kingdom of God. Through baptism, the vocation of the apostles has been left for us to continue. Let us remember that, as St. Paul tells us, God has given us the wisdom and revelation to fulfill this role.