WEEK 3
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Since Labor Day, time has been moving along at a good clip, at least for me and for all the exciting initiatives here in our parish. This past weekend some parish leaders attended a Convocation on ways to reach out to younger generations! Some helpful suggestions we are already implementing include family catechesis, small groups, hospitality, creating a shared leadership culture, and inspiring a greater sense of purpose. It gave me joy to see how we are already working to serve and invite Millennials into Service (1981-1996) and even Generation Z (1997-2012).
Our culture has been shifting. It is valuable to recognize that many of our younger people may not have been raised in devout Catholic households like our Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Builders (1928-1945). Where do you find yourself? I belong to Generation X (1965-1980), which often falls into the gaps in these discussions.
Given that many of us may not have grown up deeply steeped in traditional Catholic prayers, we are taking these first weeks of the Fall Season to focus on that most basic and fundamental prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus handed over these sacred words to the disciples as a model for prayer but also as a framework for life. To learn to pray as Jesus prayed is to strive to put into practice the most fundamental aspects of Christian living.
Today we home in on the words “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” The parallelism helps us to relate the kingdom and God’s will. The kingdom is where God's will is followed, where His reign is sovereign. In a way, it is much more a verb than a place, a reality present rather than a realm.
The kingdom of God is a tricky thing. Over Jesus’ head on the cross, we read the inscription INRI (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews) and yet He told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world (Jn 18:36). Many times, Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God (or of Heaven) as a reality present but not yet fully here. For example the mustard seed and the leaven, which are both small and yet grow to have outsized influence (see Matthew 13). Our Lord sends the disciples out preaching “The Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Good News!”
What does it mean that it is “at hand” and yet “not here.” We could speak of the inbreaking of the Kingdom: present wherever we see evident the will of God lived out among us. How do we recognize evidence of the kingdom in our lives? And what aspects of life today confirm for us that the kingdom is not yet fully here?
At times, I have struggled to grasp the will of God. How can we know it, not to be absolutely certain but at least remotely confident? Alternatively, how do we align our will with the will of God? The best and most obvious way is to keep the commandments. Jesus teaches that following the will of God is first about keeping the ways of the Lord, and by doing so, we show what we love. And Jesus promises, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (Jn 14:23 - one of my favorite verses). So, the first step is walking in the ways of the Lord by aligning our whole lives with God’s commands. If there is a commandment that we are not keeping, then we can be certain that we are not walking in God’s will and so not helping the advance of the kingdom.
Yet sometimes, God’s will is less clear. Even Jesus experiences deep conflict and tension in accepting the will of the Father. He endures agony, pleading that the cup of suffering might pass from Him, just before He is betrayed and arrested (see Lk 22:39ff). For me, in this moment Jesus shows His disciples (and all of us) what it means to pray “Thy will be done” even when it is something hard and includes suffering. Sometimes on the journey, God asks us to do hard things, to endure difficulties, for the sake of greater growth. Like a good Father, He is trying to raise up believers who are mature in their faith. This week I would invite you to pray “Thy kingdom come!” and to do something to bring about that reality.
On the journey with you,
Fr. Wilson
