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The Kingdom of God

The Multiplication of the Loaves

Introduction

There are a lot of dramatic moments in the Orthodox Liturgy but none more surprising than the two opening ones. First the priest flings wide the Royal Doors and then proclaims in a sonorous voice "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit". Any stranger present could be excused for feeling surprised that there was no mention of the Holy Communion or of the Body and Blood of Jesus. Instead two great Christian mysteries are singled out – the Kingdom of God and the Holy Trinity.

The books tells us that the first drama – the opening of the Doors – is meant to remind us of the opening of the Heavens at the baptism of Jesus by the Forerunner, John, while the solemn pronouncement "Blessed is the Kingdom" fuses, brings together, God’s time which we call kairos, and our time which we measure by clocks, or chronos. Now, through the mystery of the Church, we are being transposed into God’s time; God’s life; God’s rule. And the congregation agrees to this by its ready response of "Amen" together with crossings and maybe a prostration, which signify our readiness to be joined up with the Kingdom being proclaimed.

We often hear about "the Kingdom" in our worship and it is easy to forget just what the word means. To put it briefly, the word "Kingdom" is shorthand for three dimensions.  Many of the parables and the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels state that the Kingdom of God is like – a grain of mustard seed; leaven; treasure hid in a field; a merchant seeking precious pearls etc. But the most important statement of Our Blessed Lord in all this is that the Kingdom of God is within each one of us (Luke17.21).

So, firstly the Kingdom is a reality -- it is like many things and it is "in us" but it only becomes real to us, secondly, because God has Himself entered our world and has set up a Society which is in the world but separate from it. That Society we call the Church and of it He is the Head / the Ruler / the King. "Fear not, little flock" Jesus said "it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the Kingdom"(Luke 12.32). This implies that Jesus set up His Kingdom on earth to reveal to his followers what the real world of God was like. Also, it seemed that He looked upon His followers and disciples as forming a Society that was distinct from the world. Jesus said to Pilate "My Kingdom is not of this world," and in His High-priestly prayer He prayed for "the ones Thou gavest Me out of the world….are not of the world" (John.17:6-16) even though, obviously, they were still living in the world.

First then, the Kingdom is already present in those who believe in Christ and try to live according to His will in His Church. And secondly, we see the Kingdom as a separate Society (the Church) in the world but not of it. The third aspect of this follows on because the final home and destiny of those in the Kingdom can only be in God’s eternal Kingdom in Heaven. The mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus and asked for a special place in for her children "in His Kingdom". Jesus pointed out that though they would suffer with Him in this life, He went on to tell her "to sit on My right hand and on My left is not for Me to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father (Matthew: 20.21-3). Again, the thief dying with Jesus in the Cross, pleaded "Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom" and Jesus said "today, thou shalt be with me in Paradise."

The Kingdom that Christ established is realized in the present but will be realized more fully in the world to come. "I appoint unto you a Kingdom" Jesus assured His disciples, "as my father hath appointed unto me: that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom"(Luke 22.29).  And here, at last is the connection with the Liturgy. Those who belong to Christ’s Kingdom on earth, the Church, eat and drink at his table in his Eucharist at the Liturgy which is an anticipation of the banquet in the age to come.

Later, St Paul made clear the difference between the "Kingdom of Christ" and the "Kingdom of God". In I Corinthians he says: " Then cometh the end, when He (Jesus) shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power,(5.24). Jesus’ work, then, as the God-Man is completed by the gathering together in His Kingdom of those from out of this world have followed Him, and He presents them to his Father as His final act as Priest and King. Then the Kingdom established by Christ will be identical with the Kingdom of God.

So it is that the start of our Liturgy connects us with God’s time; with His Sacred Society on Earth, the Kingdom of Christ our God who invites us to a banquet now in this Eucharist, which is in anticipation of the one in Eternity.  Christ was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and the Kingdom of heaven drew near.  Reconciliation, communion with God, and salvation become available to all, Heaven has come to earth, because the Son of God has become man, and lives among men and deals directly with them* Blessed indeed, is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

*quotation from "The Kingdom of God" by Bishop Dmitri Royster.

Fr. Deacon John-Mark Titterington

Resources

Scripture

The Kingdom has a personal and communal spiritual dimension: "the kingdom of God is within [or among] you."  Luke 17:21

The Kingdom entered through practical wisdom: "When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  Mark 12:34

The Kingdom is to be accepted like a child: "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  Mark 10:15

The Kingdom is to be entered through spiritual rebirth: "no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."  John 3:5

The Kingdom is to be entered through doing the will of God: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."  Matthew 7:21

The Kingdom is peopled by the righteous: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?"  1 Corinthians 6:9

The Kingdom contrasts the pretensions of Satan: "If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand."  Luke 11:18

Fathers and Saints

"The Way into the Kingdom of Heaven by St. Innocent of Alaska

"Thoughts about the Kingdom of God, or the Church" by Bishop Alexander Mileant

Articles

"Entering God's Kingdom" by Fr. Peter Gillquist

Exploration

Pascha Cycle - "Deliverance"

Pentecost Cycle - "Healing"

Holy Cross Cycle - "Teaching"

Nativity Cycle - "Prophecy"

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