In the Gospel today Jesus indicates that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand and tells his disciples to go out and do his good works. I’m sure these early Christians thought when Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven was “at hand” and that he was coming back, he meant soon, like within a few months or years or something. They thought he meant within their lifetime for sure. But here we are almost two thousand years later, wondering what “at hand” means. But are we really still waiting?
Perhaps he meant exactly that when he said the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Kingdom of heaven is here and now, and like the disciples, we need to go out now and do his good works. This advice is as good now as it was then. We should be helping people without thought of reward. We should be blessing the good and those in need and turning away from those who would keep us from the good we can do. Waiting for some future event to motivate us or save us is counterproductive.
Now is the time. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand. And we are disciples. Our job is to do his good works now. We can’t wait for a second coming. We can’t wait for the Kingdom of heaven. It’s here and now.
Tamora Whitney
I teach in the English department. I teach composition and literature and Critical Issues -- a class that has a component on Jesuit values.
I like writing these reflections because it makes me think more deeply about the scripture and think about how to integrate the ideas into my own life and how to share these ideas with others.
