The Kingdom Of God:
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. They were told that it was not possible to observe the signs of its coming; in fact, it was already present. Jesus then went on to teach his disciples about the signs of the coming of the Son of Man. It will happen suddenly like a flash of lightening:
The time will come when you long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, For like the lightening-flash that lights up the earth from end to end, will the Son of Man be when his day comes. But first he must endure much suffering and be repudiated by this generation.
Jesus went on to give two illustrations about the suddenness of this future event. At the time of Noah, life went on without thought of danger right up until the time of the great flood. The same happened in the wicked city of Sodom. Life went on right up to the day it was destroyed:
It will be like that on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
The next verse comes from the apocalyptic passage in chapter 21. In this Jesus is talking about the signs that will accompany the end of the world.
The meaning for today:
The idea of the Kingdom of God is still relevant to Christians even though the term is not widely used today. They still believe that the kingdom of God is something present in the lives of men and women.
Some say that to belong to the Kingdom of God is the same as belonging to the church.
Others claim that to belong to the Kingdom of God is not exactly the same as belonging to the church. Being a member of the Kingdom goes beyond simply belonging to any individual church. They believe that the kingdom of god is to do with the whole person. It is the declaration of the whole life to God.
The parables of the Kingdom, therefore, are still seen as relevant today by all Christians. They may be set in the everyday life of two thousand years ago and, therefore, seem somewhat remote from modern times, but the meaning of them is still true.
Good and Evil:
T he Sermon on the plain, reported by Luke, is given to the disciples and therefore, must be meant to apply to Christian discipleship. The Sermon is a collection of different teachings and was probably not delivered at the same time.
The word “beatitude” means “blessed”. It is a term of encouragement. Luke mentions four such encouragements.
How blest are those in need, the hungry, those who weep and those who are persecuted because of Jesus. Their reward will be a rich one in the Kingdom of heaven.
In contrast, alas for those who are rich, well-fed, happy and have a position of flattery among men. Their reward is found in those things alone.
Jesus is not condemning these kinds of people but pointing out that they are self-satisfied. Such an attitude is not for one for a disciple to adopt.
Jesus told his disciples that they must love their enemies, and went on to say what Christian love is. It is an active doing of good, even to those who are enemies; an attitude of blessing not cursing, coupled with prayer for their wellbeing. The example Jesus gives of how this love shows itself in action reach a climax with the stating of the simplest code, governing all Christian behaviour; the golden rule,
Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
It is easy to love and do good to those who behave in like manner but the disciple must go further and extend the same attitude to the enemy. He must copy God who is compassionate and who
Is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
The meaning for today:
The sermon of the plain still has relevance for the Christian disciples of today. It teaches what the Christian attitude should be towards other people.
- This attitude should have, at all times, a concern for the poor, hungry and sorrowful.
- It should be prepared to be rejected and even hated.
- It should take no pride in self sufficiency. It must be an attitude founded in the love of God.
- The Christian must love the enemy with a practical goodness.
- The golden rule is still to treat other people as you would wish to be treated.
- It is not the role of the disciple to act as a judge. He must not condemn others.
- The disciple must pay particular attention to his own standards of faith and behaviour and not attempt to correct others’ faults which may not be as great as his own.
- It is the duty of the disciple to hear the words of Jesus and act on them.
The “cost” of being a disciple:
Jesus gives a clear indication of the cost of discipleship just after the profession of faith by Peter and the first prediction of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must leave self behind; day after day he must take up his cross, and come with me (9:23).
In this passage is found the hardest saying of Jesus about discipleship.
Jesus gives two small parables about counting the cost of discipleship in chapter 14.
- The man who is building a tower is wise only if he estimates the cost first to see if he can afford it.
- The king who is going to war is wise only if he works out that his army is strong enough. Otherwise it would be wise to pursue peace.
It is the same with discipleship. It is necessary to calculate the cost of becoming a disciple.
The meaning for today:
Discipleship still involves suffering and death for many Christians in the world today. In the twentieth century, many Christians have suffered martyrdom for their faith. Hundreds of clergy and laity, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, lost their lives in the Germany of the third Reich. Many hundreds have been killed in the political struggles of south America, in the missionary work of the church in Africa and in the fight for religious freedom in many countries behind the iron curtain.
The twentieth century has its own Christian martyrs:
St Maximillian Kolbe, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Archibishop Romero, to name but three. for each one remembered there are many more whose names are little remembered but who suffered death because they were disciples of Christ.
Salvation:
Salvation is the freedom of one from sin and wrongdoing.
