One of the great shifts in our theology as Catholic
Christians that took place in the aftermath of the 2nd Vatican
Council was the emphasis on, The Kingdom of God. What the
council documents pointed out to us is that the Kingdom was at
the center of Christ's preaching and teaching. We see this
emphasis in the two constitutions of the council on the Church
and The Church in the ModernWorld
What this indicated to us is that at times in the past
our focus on the church and its well being was misplaced. The
church is meant to be the servant of the Kingdom and the Church
exists for this. That the Kingdom should be foremost for us, is
apparent in that Jesus uses word Kingdom 39 times in the Gospels
but the word Church only appears once.
The Kingdomis a situation where God's values are lived. It
is the world as God wants it to be and not as it is. It is that time
and place where God will is, done on earth as it is in heaven.
When that happens, even in small places, and at certain times, we
experience the Kingdom of God and God's values of truth, love,
justice and peace mark human relationships and the structures of
society. This Kingdomis a gift from God but our job as Church, is
to create the conditions that make this Kingdom possible. We do
that, by removing the obstacles in our hearts and society
structures that wall out the Kingdom.
Last Wednesday, in our church building, Brockton
Interfaith Community held an Action with the Mayor, James
Harrington and Police Chief, William Condon as our guests. Those
of us at that Action sawthe church exercising its vocation, - being
a servant of the Kingdom. The issues were public safety, rescuing
our children from violence and creating a pathway for
Brocktonians with lowwage jobs to move to jobs with a better
salary. No one meeting, no one action will produce the Kingdom.
Our job as Church is, to join with other people of good will to
prepare for the day when God's values will reign in Brockton and
beyond. On Wednesday evening, our parishioners who were
present joined with other Christians and our Jewish friends to take
yet another step toward the day when the city will become a place
that incarnates and shows us what this Kingdom really is.