So many times we have recited the following text: "Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." What does it mean? What is God's Reign, or Kingdom if you prefer? Incidentally, the evangelist Matthew often uses the term Kingdom of Heaven rather than Kingdom of God. Did Jesus intend to set up a theocracy? If he had intended that, he would have tried to overthrow the Roman rule of his homeland. When questioned about his kingship, Jesus told Pilate, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." - John 18:36.

One interpretation of the Reign of God is that it will occur when time is ended. There is definitely a sense that it will come to complete fruition at that time. However, that is not Jesus' emphasis. In the quote above from what we call the Lord's Prayer, Jesus says, "Thy will be done on earth," that is in the here and now. In his teachings and parables, he gives many examples of how it may be found. Let's look at just a few of these.

Jesus said, "I came that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly." What is the abundant life and how is it attained? The abundant life comes only when those who have plenty share it with those who have little or nothing. In Mark 10, Jesus meets the rich, young ruler, and after some discourse gives him the following suggestion: "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." The rich young man couldn't give up his wealth and went away sorrowing. After this event, Jesus said to his disciples, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." In Luke's version of the beatitudes, Jesus says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Why are the poor blessed in the Kingdom? Obviously, the kingdom is where the abundant life comes from sharing. We do that right here on earth.

Once when he was teaching the crowds, he said, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches." In other words, small things done in God's Reign will be multiplied in their effect to become great contributions. Each of us need only do what we can. God will multiply the results. The feeding of the five thousand by starting with 5 loaves and 2 fishes is an example of that. The sharing of those small gifts encouraged others to share what they had until there was enough to feed all and much was left over. That is the abundant life.

In the kingdoms of this world, enemies are dealt with by violence and killing. Not so in God's reign. Jesus said, "But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you." This is not the way of the world, but wouldn't you prefer living in that kind of kingdom than one that is violent?

I leave it to you to search the gospels to find more of what Jesus meant when he talked about the Reign of God. At its heart it means, loving others, including our enemies; sharing our wealth with those who have little; and doing what we can so that God may multiply our meager efforts into the fulfillment of his reign here on this earth.