THE KINGDOM IS AT HAND!

+

THE KINGDOM IS AT HAND!

"Jesus began to preach and say 'Repent! The kingdom of Heaven is at hand'" (Mt 4:17)! This verse came up in the Gospel reading of last Monday. There are a few things about it that are worthy of a closer look.

First, these are the exact same words that were used by John the Baptist in the previous chapter: "Repent! The kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Mt 3:2)!

Second, the verb translated as "is at hand" is in fact in the past tense in the original. The word engizo  has a variety of meanings centered around the idea of "to draw near," "to approach (geographically)."  In Luke, for instance, it's the verb used to describe Jesus and his disciples as "drawing near to" the town of Naim when they see the funeral procession of the widow's son coming toward them. So, you could say that they're already at Naim, but not exactly. Well, they're as good as there, just at the town gates. This is a great example of the ambiguous nature of engizo.

So, in our passage above, the verb is not in the present tense, "the Kingdom is drawing near" but in the past ("perfect") tense, which shows a completed action: "The Kingdom of Heaven has drawn near," or "the Kingdom has arrived."

Here's some food for reflection: When Jesus repeats the announcement of John, he means something radically different by his words than John does. Let me explain.

PERFORMATIVE LANGUAGE

Bear with me as I digress for a moment into the field of linguistic philosophy. People who make a living analyzing language talk about various kinds of "utterances:" Statements, commands, exclamations and questions are good examples. But there's a kind of utterance that doesn't get much attention; it's called a "performative utterance."

"STRIKE THREE!"

Say you and I are sitting on the sofa watching a baseball game on television. The pitcher winds up and delivers a pitch, and I shout "Strike three!" At the same moment the umpire calls "Strike three!" Is there a difference between my saying "Strike three!" and the umpire's saying "Strike three?" Obviously there's a big difference. When I call out "Strike three" nothing happens, nothing changes; but when the umpire calls "Strike three," his words cause the pitch to be a strike and not a ball, and the batter is out. The umpire's words are a "performative" utterance, while my call from the sofa is simply a declaration, with no effect on reality.

"THE KINGDOM HAS COME NEAR!" 

Now let's apply the notion of "performative utterance" to the words spoken by John the Baptist and by Jesus. When the Baptist says, "Repent! The kingdom of Heaven is at hand," we could say that he's issuing a warning, stating that the long-awaited kingdom is breaking in. Or, we might say he is stating what he considers to be a fact: The kingdom is about here. But when Jesus says "The kingdom of Heaven is at hand," he's doing something different: He is not merely announcing the Kingdom, he is saying that in His ministry the kingdom has in fact arrived, it has begun to be present. It's almost a performative utterance: by saying that the Kingdom has arrived, Jesus is bringing the kingdom into being then and there. He'll say in other places in the gospel, "I am the kingdom; you're looking at it."

OUR TURN

Think about this: When Jesus sends his apostles -- and us -- into the world to proclaim that the kingdom has come near, is he asking us to simply make a statement, a verbal declaration about the kingdom, or is he asking us to imitate him by making the kingdom present by our actions? Are we to content ourselves with being the guy watching the baseball game and shouting "Strike three!" or are we to be like the umpire whose performative utterance of "Strike three!" causes the pitch to be strike three? It's clear what Jesus is asking us to do: We are NOT to simply announce the kingdom, but rather we're called to bring it into existence.

If it's true that Jesus has inaugurated the kingdom already, then God's "reign," God's "power" is present in my life and all around me. What then, can possibly threaten or harm me? St. Paul seems to enjoy listing all the things that no longer scare him: Death, imprisonment, the sword. None of these has power over him any more because of Christ who strengthens him and gives him life. If we believe that in Jesus Christ "the kingdom has arrived," then we, like Paul, can live our lives free from fear and all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Not just waiting passively, however, but spending our time bringing the kingdom into existence more and more each day by the way we live.