It's been a while since I've posted, but I wanted to share some great info I was blessed enough to listen in on. At church we have a men's meeting on the first Wednesday evening of every month and a few months ago our "guest speaker" was Jim McCullough. Jim shared some amazing insight into what he had been studying, concerning Christ our king and His kingdom. He shares with us what our Church fathers understood about the many parables on the kingdom, resourcing sermons by Msgr. Ronald Knox as well as other sources.
Jesus used the phrase "The kingdom of God" (of heaven, in Matthew) all the time, particularly in many of His parables, but references to it get scarce after the Gospels. The kingdom is referred to around 140 times in the Gospels, but only 33 times in the whole rest of the New Testament.
When we first look at the parables we must remember that Jesus was announcing this kingdom while engaging with Pharisees, lawyers, & scribes. These stories must relate to these men even while proposing something different or new. Many were left puzzled...the Pharisees and the Jewish people in general had accepted ideas about the kingdom of God and Jim outlines what those understandings were, at the same time giving us Jesus' take on the kingdom and then showing how these parables can relate to us, the church. So, get your bibles out and get ready for some interesting stuff!
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Parable: The Sower - Matthew 13:1-9
Pharisee Understanding of the Messiah: The Messiah will be a victorious king
Jesus: Odd choice of a non-military figure as the protagonist of the parable. Rather He says that the Messiah is more like a planter of seeds, sowing indiscriminately everywhere, apparently uselessly, but confident of a good harvest.
Jesus then gives explanation of why He teaches in parables. In the Old testament we see that God brings the Israelites along gradually rather than overwhelming them.
So Jesus speaks in a way that invites thoughtful engagement. A parable, rather like a work of art, if approached with an open mind and good will, can gradually unfold into deeper meanings that bring new insights and a new way of seeing reality. Or, if approached with a closed mind and ill-will, they will begin the process of exposing both of those to open sight...Perhaps that will begin to wake them up!
Era of the Church: Jesus' explanation to the disciples of the four different responses to the Gospel teachings of the Church. 1. No faith at all, the Gospel rejected; 2. Shallow faith, unable to deal with opposition; 3. Faith choked by worldly concerns, never really maturing; 4. Faith that grows and matures and is fruitful in widely varying amounts.
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Parable: Mustard seed & Leaven worked into three measures of flour. - Matthew 13:31-33
Pharisee Understanding of the kingdom: The immense kingdom will be imposed, all at once, by the Lord's fiat.
Jesus: Odd choice of kind of seed and amount of flour. The kingdom will have a tiny beginning, but with much work will permeate a great mass and cause it to rise. It will be like a little seed and end up large enough for the 'birds of the air' (Gentile Nations-Daniel 4) to nest in it. It will have a pungent punch or strong flavor like mustard...
Era of the Church: In our personal spiritual journeys, small beginnings, over the years, will grow surprisingly large, and un-believers may flock to us and join us (or we provide shelter, a church home for them). A small religious practice with steady application (e.g. 15 minutes of bible study each day or daily morning and evening prayer time) will slowly permeate us with life and raise us up. Also, individually, we patiently work on evangelizing the world around us.
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Parable: The Fig Tree - Luke 13:6-9
Pharisee Understanding: There is a fixed time for the arrival of the kingdom.
Jesus: The "gardener" may intervene, fertilize the unproductive fig, and give it another chance to produce fruit. This is a mercy, because the arrival of the kingdom will not be good for the unproductive fig.
Era of the Church: "Delay" in bringing judgment, as we see it, God is trying to bring everyone to repentance and salvation. Therefore, we must be patient with God's plan and thankful for His mercies. We may need such a "delay" as do our loved ones and our enemies...pray constantly for those who need His mercy. We all need second chances, but our chances eventually "run out".
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Parable: Seed growing secretly by itself - Mark 4:26-28
Pharisee Understanding: The Lord will establish the kingdom openly, quickly, & completely.
Jesus: From sowing to harvest God rises and sleeps (appearing unconcerned) and the world appears to go on normally as the kingdom slowly matures. It's growth is mostly unseen and not understood by those watching it from the outside.
Era of the Church: Our lives go on in a very ordinary way. Despite our lack of understanding of how it all works, God is supplying our spiritual growth and bringing it into full maturity. Parallel to the Leaven: here the emphasis is upon (invisible) grace ('he knows not how') producing maturity; good intentions, followed by repentance, & then charitable works. Full of virtue, so ready for the harvest. - Gregory the great.
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Parable: Wicked Vineyard Workers - Luke 20:9-16
Pharisee Understanding: The Messiah will vindicate the Jews
Jesus: Just as you have previously rejected the prophets, you will reject and kill the son, and the vineyard will be given to those who will produce the fruit that God expects.
Era of the Church: With this example before us, (and with all the help Christ provides) we will have even less excuse not to do the works the Father expects. For the Father has now sent US the law, prophets, writings, and finally Christ - and if we reject these with hardened hearts, He will look to others to produce his fruit.
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Parable: Wheat & Weeds Together + The Dragnet - Matthew 13:25-30, Matthew 13:47-54
Pharisee Understanding: The kingdom will consist of only the righteous.
Jesus: The kingdom will grow over time consisting of good and bad mixed in, and will only be separated in the end. Or, alternatively, the kingdom will have both valuable and worthless fish, and only at the end will they be sorted out by angels.
Era of the Church: Don't be surprised in seeing evil men involved in the Church. The dragnet hauls in, not just fish, but every kind of thing (Greek) like trash, etc. It attracts sinners of all types, but they are in the place where they have the best chance at being changed by God and by the fruits we bare for Him. Some men are evil, but it is not our mission to weed them out and burn - God will not be fooled. Hence the Church's discipline tends to be mild and forgiving, and thus the Church has often had trouble with the human impulse to form groups of "only the perfect". On a personal level, we have too many planks in our own eyes to tend to the splinters we see in others. The weeds in our own spiritual lives, we repent of, and pray for others. It is important to note that these are a general statements, elsewhere Jesus gives specific instructions for dealing with manifest grave evil, and lays heavy responsibility on the Bishops in the Church...[their authority is very important.]
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Parable: Shepherd seeking the lost sheep + Woman seeking the lost coin - Luke 15:1-10
Pharisee Understanding: We work hard to bring worthy sorts of converts into the kingdom.
Jesus: You do travel long distances to do that, but do not skip over the lost and the little ones along the way. Heaven rejoices at one sinner doing penance and righting themselves with God. Another great point to note: Angels in Heaven rejoice at earthly obedience to God. Why would the saints in Heaven be any different in their concern for us?
Era of the Church: We need to have preferential optin for the least, the last, & the lost. Rejoice with Heaven when one is brought back into the fold. We, as a people of God, hurt together and we rejoice together.
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Parable: Treasure in the field + The pearl of great price - Matthew 13:44-45
Pharisee Understanding: The kingdom will be a brute fact, inclusive of all Jews and converts to Judaism and with sovereignty over everything.
Jesus: The question is not, what is the treasure, but who is the man seeking? The kingdom is a treasure that must be discovered and dug out, or as a pearl that must be sought out. This kingdom will cost me all...I give my life. I re-hide the treasure in the world, and only I know exactly where it is or is not. Jesus pays the price for the entire world, not only the treasure or those in the kingdom. Knox's interpretation or take on it...
Era of the Church: Our relationships with Christ and His Body the Church is the most precious thing that there is. When we find it (or it becomes alive for us) we rejoice! We will give up everything else for this! This pearl is one of the gates into the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven! The value of this may remain hidden or obscure to the rest of the world.
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Parable: The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32
Pharisee Understanding: We, the keepers of the Law, please the Lord and will inherit the kingdom.
Jesus: Pharisees trained by the Old Testament to see the younger brother as vindicated. Jesus says, "Alright older brother, let's say you do keep the law, but how about the lost, the Gentiles without hope? The Father loves them too. Will you?"
Era of the Church: In the Church there must be no resentment over returning sinners - are you envious that they 'got to sin' and you did not? Perhaps only those of us without sin at all should cast stones...
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Parable: Dives and Lazarus - Luke 16:19-31
Pharisee Understanding: Successful/wealthy law keepers have an edge toward being a part of the kingdom.
Jesus: ...names the poor man with a specific name. No, it is easier for a rope (Aramaic translation) to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom (even the apostles find this hard). Remember, I raised Lazarus and you Pharisees and chief priests still doubted. You just added him to the list of troublemakers that you wanted to kill. [John 12]
Era of the Church: Earthly riches in our lives make it hard for us to focus on God and our mission for him. Not to say that blessings are bad, but if our blessings aren't being used to benefit the kingdom, they are hendering our relationship with God. A rope through the eye of a needle really puts it into perspective...even Christ raising a man from the dead couldn't convince some of His teachings.
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Parable: The Wedding Feast - Matthew 22:1-14
Pharisee Understanding: We are invited to the banquet, it is for us.
Jesus: This is true, you are invited, but will not accept the invitation when the time draws. Your rejection of me as your king will lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. Others will be invited and will come to the wedding banquet. They will be invited by a new set of servants, the Apostles. Note, the "one" without a wedding garment may be Judas. Jesus already knows his un-faithfullness.
Era of the Church: The gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. The Church will prevail against the pretensions, un-faithfullness, & falseness of those who only appear to do the will of the Father. The will of our Father includes prayer, fasting, almsgiving, & works of mercy.
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Pharisee Understanding: We will be ready for the kingdom
Jesus: On the contrary, my friends. Everyone will be caught sleeping when the Messiah comes. And when that happens, what you will need will be oil; oil for "illumination" (as baptism was sometimes called), oil for anointing, the oil that makes the Messiah a Christos or Anointed One. Look for it now - it will be too late then!
Era of the Church: Nor will we Christians know the day nor the hour, either of Christ's return or of our own going (generally speaking - some saints have been told the hour of their death). We must be sure to have our anointing with us, while alive, at all times. Watchfulness while we are awake is required in order for us to be prepared while sleeping. Origen said that our lamp is faith, oil is works. Those with only faith and no works or fruit will be excluded...that is having dead faith.
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Parable: The Good Samaritan - Luke 10:29-37
Pharisee Understanding: The kingdom will crown the work of the temple and priesthood, and the Messiah will be a great king in the likes of David.
Jesus: It's odd the choice of 'bad guys' when He is talking to the lawyer. Also in the choice of 'good guy'. Temple worship cannot help stripped and wounded humankind. The ironic chioce of a Samaritan as the rescuer should indicate you will suspect the Messiah's ancestry/birth, home place, and His religion. After all, you have called me a Samaritan and said I was possessed by demons. [John 8:48] Yet, I will rescue wounded mankind and I will use earthly things to care for the wounded as well...inns, innkeepers, oil, donkeys, etc...
Era of the Church: No matter what misapprehensions others may have about your ancestry, ethnicity or religious beliefs, be a neighbor and assist in doing God's will for others when you are called. Bring the wounded and the robbed and the beaten and stripped to the Church, intercede for them, donate to the innkeeper for them.
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The Pharisees teaching and understanding of the kingdom was so ingrained into the people that even the Apostles, as the Ascension is ready to take place, say: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He tells them that the time for the full implementation of the kingdom is not for them to know. After this they 'retreat' and prepare for 9 days, and then begin to preach the kingdom. Note that some uses of the phrase imply that we are currently in the kingdom of God and some imply that it is still to be inherited.
The basic idea is this: with Jesus' resurrection and the events of Pentecost, the Kingdom of God had arrived already, now on earth, in power. But, the kingdom in its complete fullness awaits Jesus' return in glory, the resurrection of our bodies and the re-creation of a new heaven and earth.
The victory has been won, so we can go forward in confidence. Yet we will have many tribulations because in this interim period - our path to resurrected glory is the same one Jesus took-through the cross-until He comes again.
Christians did just that-despite the hard road and heavy crosses, they evangelized and lived with confidence, already experiencing and living the life of the kingdom of God. But how was this interim period described? Is it the same thing as living in what Jesus called 'My Church'? Is the Church the same thing as the kingdom? But to simply call the Church the kingdom implies a fullness that is not yet apparent.
Here is how the Catholic Catechism describes the relationship between the Kingdom of God and the Church: The kingdom of heaven was inaugurated on earth by Christ. "This kingdom shone out before men in the word, in the works and in the presence of Christ" (LG 5). The Church is the seed and beginning of this kingdom. Her keys are entrusted to Peter. CCC567
So how did this seed get started? It fell on good ground, died and was buried, then rose to new life. And the fruitfullness of that seed is the Church. What do we call the Church? The Body of Christ. So where Jesus proclaimed the kingdom, the Apostles proclaimed Jesus, the beginning and continuing source of life and the final fullfillment of the kingdom.
So what about the parables?
The Catholic Catechism says this about the parables: "Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to 'know the secrets' of the kingdom of heaven." CCC546
To live in the kingdom is to live in Christ Jesus. "In Christ" or "In Him" occurs 120 times over the rest of the New Testament, along with implications such as John's 'He is the vine and we are the branches' comparison, etc...
Thanks alot to you who actually read this and thanks to Jim McCullough for sharing his talk!
Footnotes:
1. Knox was the son of an Anglican bishop and converted to Catholicism after becoming an Anglican priest. He was a brilliant student at Oxford, a writer of mysteries, translator of the Bible into modern English. A large collection of his sermons has been put together by Ignatius Press: Pastoral and Occasional Sermons.
2. These are rough figures, quickly taken from using the fine search engine for the Revised Standard Version you can find here: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/
3. "In the era of the Church" means, in the time between the resurrection and the 2nd Coming, where those who are living "in Christ" are already living in the Kingdom of God, insofar as they are living members of His Body.
4. The Knights of Columbus sponsor the best search engine I have found for the Catechism: http://www.kofc.org/publications/cis/catechism/index.cfm
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