Building God’s kingdom

WITH the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King

which marks the end of the liturgical year, we are reminded of our

duty to start building God’s kingdom here on earth. Yes, the

definitive state of God’s kingdom will be in heaven, but we have to

start building it here.

            His kingdom is actually already with us. That’s why at one

time, Christ said: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Lk

17,21) At the same time, it is still to be perfected in some other

time, place or, better said, state of life. Thus, he also said: “My

kingship is not of this world.” (Jn 18,36)

            The celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King

reminds us that Christ will again come a second time to reclaim and

present us as God’s children and people. We should develop a strong

sense of expectation for Christ’s second coming, adopting St. Paul’s

words, “Maranatha, Lord, come!” (1 Cor 16,22)

            Or we can repeat some pertinent words of a psalm, “Vultum

tuum, Domine, requiram.” That’s Latin for “I long to see your face,

Lord,” (27,8) that express the strongest desire we should have in our

life.

            And this duty of building God’s kingdom starts with each

one of us, making Christ our king, allowing him to reign in our mind

and heart, and in every part of our body and in every aspect of our

life. We need to submit ourselves completely to him who is the pattern

of our humanity, the redeemer of our damaged humanity, the way, the

truth and the life for us.

            We can do this, first of all, by making little conquests

in our spiritual life everyday. We need to understand that our life

will always involve some struggle. In fact, it is and should be a

daily affair. Failing in that struggle does not only mean getting

stuck at a certain point. It certainly means we have retrogressed. In

this business of struggle, if we don’t advance, we regress.

            We should therefore be reminded of our duty to hone up our

skills in spiritual warfare. Christ already hinted this much when he

said: “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of

heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12)

            We have to understand though that to be violent in this

sense does not mean to be destructive but rather to be constructive,

driven by love and the desire to be united with God and with the

others in a way proper to us as children of God and brothers and

sisters among ourselves.

            We also have to learn to relate everything in our life to

God through Christ in the Holy Spirit, no matter how mundane and

temporal they are. The things of this world are actually the materials

we need to use to relate ourselves to God and to show our belief and

love for him.

            And from each one of us, let us make God’s kingdom radiate

into our families, communities and societies, our nation and

ultimately the whole world. Thus, we have to sharpen our apostolic

zeal.

            It corresponds to Christ’s clear command, given first to

the apostles but also meant for all of us, to go out into the whole

world, preaching the gospel and baptizing them “in the name of the

Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

            Thus, we need to reach out to everyone. We have to develop

our social skills and make as many friends as possible, so that the

work of apostolate and evangelization can be facilitated. We have to

base this apostolic work on solid prayer and sacrifice.

            Of course, we have to study the doctrine of our faith

well, so that the task of evangelization can be carried out

effectively.