Signs
of the Kingdom
Fr.
George Smiga
May
27/28, 2006
Mark
15:26-27; 16:12 -15
Jesus
can sit down because he knows that we are still at work. On
this feast of the Ascension we celebrate the truth that Jesus
has ascended and entered into glory—or to use the words of
today's gospel, “Jesus was taken up to heaven and sat down
at God's right hand.” But just because Jesus has sat down,
does not mean that his work is finished. The Kingdom of God
is not yet fully established. There is still violence and
injustice in our world. Jesus will need to return at the end
of time to finally establish God's Kingdom in its fullness.
Until the time when Jesus returns, he expects us to be active.
Jesus
expects us to work for justice, to proclaim the good news
of God's love. This is what we are called to do. The gospel
makes it clear. Jesus says to the disciples, “Go out to all
the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole of creation.”
This is our mission. The gospel also makes it clear that our
mission cannot be successful unless it is accompanied by signs.
Signs make other people take notice. They set us apart and
validate the power and the truth of the message. Words are
not enough! Signs are necessary if the gospel is to be fully
confirmed and believed.
Now
the difficulty in today's gospel is that the signs that are
listed there are peculiar and dangerous. We are told that
we will cast out demons and handle snakes in our hands and
drink deadly poison. I don't recommend that you try any of
these things at home. It is true that if they work, you'll
be on the evening news. But if they do not, you'll be hospitalized.
We need signs to accompany our message. So if the signs enumerated
in the gospel are too extreme, we must find other signs to
replace them. Let me suggest a few.
What
if children not only obeyed their parents, and did so without
complaining. What if they did what they knew they had to do
even before they were asked? That would be different, wouldn't
it? That would cause people to notice. That action could be
a sign of the Kingdom.
What
if parents occasionally set aside their work, set aside their
household tasks and their multiple schedules and created a
space where the family could simply gather. What if they could
allow their families simply to be in one another's presence,
listening to one another's lives, celebrating life together?
That would be a change in the pattern of what's expected,
would it not? That choice could be a sign of the Kingdom.
What
if someone objected to having a co-worker or a fellow student
belittled or refused to laugh at a racist joke? What if someone
stood up to defend another who was being ignored? That would
set that person apart, wouldn't it? That could be a sign of
the Kingdom.
What
if someone decided to be patient with another person who annoyed
them, with someone who always got under their skin? What if
instead of discounting that person or saying offensive things
to them, a person would choose to listen and perhaps understand
where that person was coming from? That would cause people
to do a double take. That could be a sign of the Kingdom.
These
are just a few examples. You can add your own. Whatever causes
people to notice, sets us apart, goes against the grain—if
it is orientated towards justice and love—can be a sign of
the Kingdom of God. If we are going to fulfill our mission,
we need such signs. Words are not enough! If our lives and
actions are just like everyone else's, no one is going to
give much importance to the words we say. Then the proclamation
of the good news will go unheard.
Just
because Jesus has ascended, do not imagine that his work is
finished. He is calling upon us to act. He is counting on
us to proclaim the gospel. Jesus can sit down because he knows
that we are still working—working in such a way that our lives
can be signs of the Kingdom, working so that our lives might
give authority to the words that we say.
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