Kingship Of Jesus

Today’s Gospel Text: Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 33 He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." 34 All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet. Matt 13:31-35

Reflection: "Who has seen heaven that you talk of eternal life?" Is the oft heard question, when you tell some one of the kingdom of heaven.

Yet to those who have seen,experienced even a glimpse of it and live in it, for them, it is a reality to worth live for and to be looked forward to.

Is it the same as earthly kingdoms and does it operate in the same way as any earthly kingdoms?

Jesus in explaining the kingdom of heaven by means of the many parables brings out the many facets of such an existence. The many parables bring out the richness of this kingdom.

One great reality that Jesus brings out, through the parables, is that the Kingdom of God is not just a distant reality, which can be attained after death but a reality that can be lived and experienced in this world too. It can be experienced by all of us through him who brings it to us primarily by his very presence, through our invitation of him.

Jesus is the reality of God’s kingdom present in our midst. Just as you cannot talk about a kingdom without a king in place, so also Jesus is the King of the Kingdom of God.

The fact of the Kingdom he came to establish; though having all the rights, yet with no kingship in the many hearts created by him.

In order to win this earthly kingdom, the hearts of the many on earth, he chose to conquer it, not with men and women employed to fight through blood shed and war, but by humbling himself, taking on the form of a slave, dying the most ignoble and miserable death of the cross. Thus he proved his love for us.

To those who surrender their hearts in order that he may reign, they also lift their hearts to the heavenly place, the heavenly values, which he has revealed though these various parables.

Prayer: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt 6:10

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