Christ’s favourite topic was “the Kingdom of God.” His first public sermon began with, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” and he kept emphasising it throughout his teachings. If there is a Kingdom, there must also be a King, and if there is a King, there must be subjects. This is how Christ views the Church: as a Kingdom, not merely a club.
We can ask ourselves if we see the Church in the same way. When we pray, “Thy Kingdom come,” do we mean what Jesus meant when he taught us that prayer?
God’s Kingdom is where hearts obey Him out of faith and love, unlike the kingdom of this world, where hearts follow self-centredness and fear. If we truly want to help Christ redeem the world and transform it into the Kingdom of Christ, we must continually hearken to the King and carry out His commands, even when they challenge our selfish tendencies. Obeying someone else is almost always a challenge for us sinners.
Jesus knows this, so He doesn’t ask us for blind, mindless obedience. He uses parables to explain and promise that by following and obeying Him, our lives will be fruitful. The virtues that give true, lasting beauty to our lives, such as wisdom, courage, self-control, and Christ-like love, are like the seeds in the Lord’s parables. They are planted in our hearts at baptism, and as we follow and obey Christ in our daily lives, they grow and flourish. Being good citizens of Christ’s Kingdom is the sure path to an abundant spiritual harvest here on earth and forever in heaven.
Once we move beyond the inadequate idea of the Church as a religious club and begin to see it as God’s Kingdom, with a real King and a real mission of redeeming the world and rolling back evil, it makes a big difference, giving purpose and direction to all we do.
St. Polyeuctus is a great example. He was a rich, pagan officer in the Roman Legions in the third century, living a glamorous and self-indulgent life in Armenia when a new decree against Christians reached that outpost of the Roman Empire. A Christian friend felt a sudden urgency to convert him. The friend redoubled his efforts to convince Polyeuctus of Christ’s truth and love, and the grace of God won a full victory in Polyeuctus’s heart.
His transformation was so complete that he publicly shredded the Emperor’s decree of persecution and broke up a pagan religious procession by smashing the idols it was carrying. He was immediately arrested, imprisoned, and tortured to make him return to the official pagan religion, but his courage wouldn’t budge. The torturers tried arguing with him, even bringing his wife and children into the courtroom, hoping their suffering would convince him to return to the emperor’s fold. But Polyeuctus defended the true faith, explaining his newfound allegiance to a much worthier Emperor, Jesus Christ. Finally, he was condemned to death for treason. He received his sentence with such joy and admonished the crowds with such fervour that he left a wake of converts behind him as he made his way to the place of execution, where he was beheaded. St. Polyeuctus understood that Christ’s Kingdom wasn’t just another hobby; it was something worth living and dying for.
By making us citizens of His Kingdom and His messengers and representatives in this world, God gives each of us the opportunity to put our creativity at the service of that Kingdom. God is continuously inviting us to follow Him, to build our lives on the rock of His friendship by obeying His commandments and teachings. But the commandments are just the beginning of the spiritual life.
God doesn’t want us to be robots; He wants us to be companions, to be free citizens of heaven. He doesn’t program us like machines; He inspires us like soldiers or artists. He wants us to know His plan and freely contribute with our own creativity, intelligence, and imagination to building up His Kingdom in the world.
Think of all the saints in history who used their freedom to find better, more ingenious ways to love God and their neighbours, making everlasting contributions to Christ’s Kingdom. We all have that same freedom—it is a gift of God’s mercy! That’s what it means to be a Christian: to build our lives on the solid foundation of friendship with Christ and obedience to His Kingship, but to build energetically and creatively, as love always does.
Today, Christ will renew His commitment to us in this Mass. When He does, let’s thank Him for making His Church not just a religious club but His everlasting Kingdom.