“tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you”
“Jesus invitation to enter the kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything. Words are not enough; deeds are required. The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word? What use has he made of the talents he has received? Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to ‘know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.’ For those who stay ‘outside,’ everything remains enigmatic.” [1]
ACTIVITY – The Kingdom of God
Read the following verses: Matthew 13:44-45 – Buried Treasure and Pearl of Great Price; Matthew 13:3-9 – Sower and the Seed; Matthew 25:14-30 – The Talents. What do these Gospels and today’s Gospel say about the Kingdom of God? What does God expect of those in His kingdom? First we remember that God calls all, everyone is welcome. Just because all are welcome does not mean that God lowers His standard or that God does not have expectations for those He calls. It is clear from the parables above and the Catechism that those called to the kingdom are expected to:
1. Be open (be good soil).
2. Give everything (sell all to purchase the treasure).
3. We follow not just with our words but also with our actions.
4. Be useful and productive.
We are first to be open to God’s Grace. We then give everything to God saying, “I am totally yours.” However, simply saying those words is not enough, they must be lived out through our actions. Our lives are to be useful and productive. We see in the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard that Our Lord will not tolerate idleness. Actions and usefulness are based on the “Work of God,” this work includes physical work, spiritual work and prayer, which Saint Benedict calls the work of God.
What is the Kingdom of God? Pope Benedict XVI in His book Jesus of Nazareth identifies the kingdom in three ways. “Jesus himself is the Kingdom; the Kingdom is not a thing, it is not a geographical dominion like worldly kingdoms. It is a person; it is he…he is God’s presence” [2] The Kingdom of God is also associated with the Church, the Church as the “actual presence of the Kingdom within history.” [3] The Kingdom of God is then Jesus himself, made presence within history by the Church. There is a third part of the Kingdom of God and that is its location.
Where is the Kingdom located? “There is a second way of looking at the significance of the ‘Kingdom of God,’ which we could call the idealistic or mystical interpretation. It sees man’s interiority as the essential location of the Kingdom of God.” [4] Jesus says to the chief priests and elders in the Gospel, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” [5] On the outside the chief priests and elders would appear to be living out God’s Kingdom, but the Kingdom of God is not located in the exterior but the interior. It is the tax collector and prostitute that heard Saint John the Baptist’s message of repentance and invited Jesus into their interior life. Jesus invites us and then we invite Him into the interior of our life. Saint John the Baptist said, “Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)
What is the evidence of our repentance? The evidence of our repentance is Jesus living within our hearts; this is what was evident in the life of the tax collectors and prostitutes who repented. “The ‘Kingdom of God’ is not to be found on any map. It is located in man’s inner being. It grows and radiates outward from that inner space.” [6]
Who does each son symbolize? “John the Baptist had shown the way of salvation, yet the Scribes and Pharisees, the people who were supposedly dedicated to God’s service, did not take the Precursor seriously. They are symbolized by the son who said, I go, sir, but did not go to the vineyard. As far as anyone could tell, these officials were very rigorous in their observance of the Law. Yet when the moment of truth arrived, that being the testimony of John the Baptist, these religious leaders showed their true colors. They were not docile to the divine Will and the fulfillment of the Law. On the other hand, a great number of tax collectors and sinners responded to the Baptist’s call for repentance. They are represented by the son who at first said I will not, but in the event went to work in the vineyard. He obeyed, and thereby pleased his father enormously.” [7]
Who are the tax collectors and prostitutes today? Who are the Scribes and Pharisees? We are we these people! Saint John the Baptist showed the way of salvation. Many times in our life we are showed the way of salvation. Many times we have a powerful experience in life, maybe at a retreat or events in our life. We come away from the experience saying to God, “Yes, sir, I will go.” But then we do not go, we do not accept the way of salvation we are given. This can also be the case in regards to the Sacraments. Each Sacrament is “a sensible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, by which invisible grace and inward sanctification are communicated to the soul.” [8] Many times we can prepare to receive a Sacrament and during the preparation and rite we say, “Yes, sir, I will go.” But after receiving the Sacrament we do not go to Work in the Vineyard, we go somewhere else and are never seen again. On the other hand many times we are at a retreat and seem to get nothing from it. We might also be in a Sacramental preparation class and seem to get nothing from it. We might walk away saying, “No, God I will not go,” but then we actually go away and live for God. We cannot judge our self or others by words or even an emotional response but rather judge based on the actions of our life.
What must we do if we want God to reign in us? The Kingdom has come in Jesus Christ and is made manifest to the world through the Church. The Kingdom (person of Jesus) comes into our heart by invitation only and all are invited. Only those with repentant hearts, who have welcomed Jesus into their interior life can truly pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” Origen says, “For in every holy man it is God who reigns [exercises dominion, is the Kingdom of God]…So if we want God to reign in us [his Kingdom to be in us], then sin must not be allowed in any way to reign in our mortal body (Rom. 6:12)…Then let God stroll at leisure in us as in a spiritual paradise (Gen 3:8) and rule in us alone with his Christ” [9] In the life of the elders and chief priest it was not God that reigned but rather those individuals that reigned or sin that reigned. In the life of the tax collectors and prostitutes we witness conversion. A life in which sin once reigned; sin has been kicked off the throne of the individuals’ heart and in its place God reigns. Those who once said “no” have done God’s will, while those who say “yes” on the exterior have remained closed and said “no” to God’s will reigning in their interior.
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church; 546
[2] Pope Benedict XVI; Jesus of Nazareth page 49
[3] Pope Benedict XVI; Jesus of Nazareth page 50
[4] Pope Benedict XVI; Jesus of Nazareth page 49
[5] Gospel in this Link to Liturgy packet
[6] Pope Benedict XVI; Jesus of Nazareth page 50
[7] Fr. Francis Fernandez; In Conversation with God; Vol.5
[8] Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Modern Catholic Dictionary; page 477
[9] Patrologia Graeca 11, page 495