“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What does “the kingdom of God is at hand” mean? It refers to “God’s sovereign rule over all nations through Jesus. The kingdom of Christ is closely linked with the ancient kingdom of Israel that flourished under David and Solomon. Although David’s empire soon collapsed, for a brief time it foreshadowed the glory of Christ’s reign over the tribes of Israel (2 Sam 5:1-5; Mt. 19:28) and other Gentile nations (1 Kings 4:20-21; Mt 28:18-20). The international kingdom of old is now resurrected and transfigured in the Church, where Christ rules as David’s rightful heir (Mt 1:1; Lk 1:32-33) enthroned in heaven (Mk 16:19; Heb 8:1-2).” [1] “Now the time of promises and of waiting is over; the Messiah has come and is beginning his ministry. It is his presence which gives fullness to the times and makes them a vehicle of God’s mercy and the history of salvation. That is why ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand;’ so close at hand that the Son of God is among men to teach and open to them the way that leads to it.” [2]
 
Did Jesus want to build a kingdom? Yes, however it was built in a way that was not expected. Jesus is the king and sought not the princes and Sadducees but fishermen and tax collectors. His kingdom is so close and intimate that we are uniquely and intimately united in communion with Jesus. We associate this communion with Jesus as the Mystical Body of Christ. “The comparison of the Church with the body casts light on the intimate bond between Christ and his Church. Not only is she gathered around him; she is united in him, in his body. Three aspects of the Church as the Body of Christ are to be more specifically noted: the unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as head of the Body; and the Church as bride of Christ.” [3]
 
Search: Mystical Body of Christ
 
Did Jesus complete His kingdom? Yes and no. He completed His kingdom because He sits at the right hand of the Father, however He still seeks out and wants to gather everyone to Himself. “When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit. As a result communion with Jesus has become in a way more intense: ‘By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every nation.’” [4]
 
What does it mean to be in communion with Jesus? To be in communion with Jesus means to suffer in this world. It is something that we do not want to hear, but it is the truth. Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun said, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls”. “From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: ‘Abide in me, and I in you….I am the vine, and you are the branches.’ And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: ‘He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.’” [5]
 
How can we be in communion with Jesus? To be in communion with Christ means that we follow Him. “Henceforth time has only one purpose: to get man, individually and collectively, into step on his journey toward eternity.” [6] To be in communion with Jesus also means to convert away from our old way of life and be united with Jesus. “The first condition is conversion, the profound change in our life which requires, above all, a struggle against sin, the denial of everything that makes us deviate from the love and the law of God. This is a conversion like that which God had called for at Ninevah through Jonah and which the Ninevites had carried out for ‘they turned from their evil way’ (Jon 3:10). But abstaining from sin is only the first phase of the conversion preached by Jesus; a second condition is also required which is clearly expressed in Mark’s ‘believe in the Gospel.’ The Christian must adhere to the Gospel in a positive way with faith made alive by love which is not satisfied with accepting the Gospel only in theory, but translates it into life, and puts it into practice.” [7]

[1] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, pg. 66
[2] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy vol. I pg. 172
[3] CCC 789
[4] CCC788
[5] CCC 787
[6] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy vol. I pg. 172
[7] ibid.