by Tim Dolan
In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God (or, less frequently, Heaven) on more than 50 occasions. I won't try to be definitive in this blog post, but at least to give food for thought and characterize it in a meaningful way.
In the first century, under the brutal Roman occupation, the Jews were obsessed with apocalypticism, a widespread fervor and belief that divine forces would intervene to end history. It was popular because it meant that people who had followed God honestly and in spirit could hope to be vindicated and taken up to heaven (the wicked would finally get justice).
Jesus was well aware of that fervor, but his teaching was confusing to those close to him. In terms of the righteousness that many thought would come down from the heavens he said it would not be coming down so stop craning your necks to the sky: that other country was already here! We are familiar with the dramatic assertion in Luke 17:21: “the kingdom of God is within you” and less known Luke 11:20, “the kingdom of God has come to you.” Lastly, in the Gospel of Thomas: “I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I'm guarding it until it blazes” (Thomas 10). Jesus isn't referring to a future time when he will cast the fire of his Father's kingdom down here. It's already ignited.
So I invite you to take a moment today to sit without distractions and open to the question, “If the kingdom of god is present within me and the world, how is it showing itself?”
The promise is of an experience of the divine life that is a direct participation. For this we might well shift our attention from abstract thoughts to a thinking centered in our hearts. The fire you sense may be a small flame for now. We can place our hands around it for warmth and also to protect it. Maybe we have some dried grass to add and gently blow to ignite and add to it's presence in our lives and the lives of others.
— Tim Dolan is chair of Pilgrim’s Spiritual Life Committee