Opening Prayer The Our Father Part I: The Kingdom of God - - - PDF document

RCIA Presentation: The Kingdom of God Holy Family Parish, Galveston-Bolivar

• Rev. Jude Ekenedilichukwu Ezuma 9/24/2014

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Opening Prayer – The ‘Our Father’ Part I: The Kingdom of God - Excerpts From: CCC 541-544; 709; 763; 2816; 2819

• Conversation Starters: What is your understanding of “the Kingdom of God”?
• Romans 14:17 - For the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink, but of

righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Spirit; 18whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by others.

• Synonyms: kingdom of God/kingdom of heaven/heaven/God’s “complete” reign
• Jesus: ushers in, inaugurates God’s kingdom [Luke 4:16-21]

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom* into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet

• Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the

Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” CCC 541: "Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: 'the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.'" "To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth." Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share in his own divine life". He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdoms". CCC 542: Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the "family of God". By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him. But above all in the great Paschal mystery - his death

• n the cross and his Resurrection - he would accomplish the coming of his kingdom. "And I,

when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Into this union with Christ all men are called.

• Where is the kingdom of God? [Luke 17:20-21]

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”

• The kingdom of God as ‘already but not yet’

RCIA Presentation: The Kingdom of God Holy Family Parish, Galveston-Bolivar

• Rev. Jude Ekenedilichukwu Ezuma 9/24/2014

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• i. CCC 671: Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled

"with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God." That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Marana tha! "Our Lord, come!"

• CCC. 672: Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious

establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel which, according to the prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, love and peace. According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching. CCC 680: Christ the Lord already reigns through the Church, but all the things of this world are not yet subjected to him. The triumph of Christ's kingdom will not come about without one last assault by the powers of evil.

• ii. Also, from the “Our Father”
• From the 7 Petitions of the Our father
• The first 3 are centered on God [and God’s kingdom], for true love is centered

not on self but on the Beloved [ccc 2803-2806] CCC 2804: The first series of petitions carries us toward him, for his own sake: thy name, thy kingdom, thy will! It is characteristic of love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of the three petitions do we mention ourselves; the burning desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for his Father's glory seizes us: "hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done. . . .” These three supplications were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Christ, but they are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all CCC 2816: In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by "kingship" (abstract noun), "kingdom" (concrete noun) or "reign" (action noun). The Kingdom of God lies ahead of

• us. It is brought near in the Word incarnate, it is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and

it has come in Christ's death and Resurrection. The Kingdom of God has been coming since the Last Supper and, in the Eucharist, it is in our midst. The kingdom will come in glory when Christ hands it over to his Father:

RCIA Presentation: The Kingdom of God Holy Family Parish, Galveston-Bolivar

• Rev. Jude Ekenedilichukwu Ezuma 9/24/2014

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It may even be . . . that the Kingdom of God means Christ himself, whom we daily desire to come, and whose coming we wish to be manifested quickly to us. For as he is our resurrection, since in him we rise, so he can also be understood as the Kingdom of God, for in him we shall reign. CCC 2818: In the Lord's Prayer, "thy kingdom come" refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ's return. But, far from distracting the Church from her mission in this present world, this desire commits her to it all the more strongly. Since Pentecost, the coming of that Reign is the work of the Spirit of the Lord who "complete(s) his work on earth and brings us the fullness of grace

• What is the Kingdom like? - The “burden” of explanation for Jesus – Luke 13:18

Then he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? [Lk. 13:18; see also

• v. 20]
• The Kingdom of God and [the necessity of] parables: - a sampling: Matthew 13:1-9;

20:1-16; 22:1-14; 25; Mark 4:1-35; Luke 13:18-21; etc.

• The Necessity of Baptism to participate in the Kingdom of God: John 3:3 -5

Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born* from above.”4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” 5Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born

• f water and Spirit.
• All are Invited:
• The Great Commission Mt. 28:19

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and

• f the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
• you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.
• Sinners, too: The Parable of the Two Sons – Matthew 21:28-32

“What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, ‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ He said in reply, ‘I will not,’ but afterwards he changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.

RCIA Presentation: The Kingdom of God Holy Family Parish, Galveston-Bolivar

• Rev. Jude Ekenedilichukwu Ezuma 9/24/2014

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• The kingdom Belongs to Such as These:
• Children/i.e. childlike [not childish!]: Matthew 18:1-3; 19:13-15; Mark 10:13-

16; etc.

• Of the “Be-attitude” kind: Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:20-26
• Those who do the will of God – Matthew 7:21:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,* but only the

• ne who does the will of my Father in heaven.
• Therefore, Not all can enter the kingdom of God
• We should work very hard, cooperating with God’s grace, to make the kingdom of God

– Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the

• ne who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work
• And the work we must do is summed up in love:
• And the greatest is love: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
• Love covers a multitude of sin: 1 Peter 4:8; see also: Proverbs 10:12; James 5:20
• For when I was hungry you fed me: Matthew 25:31-46
• Suffering and Preparation for the Kingdom
• In the life of Jesus Christ:

CCC 554: From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Master "began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things . . . and be killed, and on the third day be raised." Peter scorns this prediction, nor do the others understand it any better than he. In this context the mysterious episode of Jesus' Transfiguration takes place on a high mountain, before three witnesses chosen by himself: Peter, James and John. Jesus' face and clothes become dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking "of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem".293 A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says: "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

• As for Christ, so also for us:

Acts 14:21-22 - After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.22They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Romans 8:18 - I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.

RCIA Presentation: The Kingdom of God Holy Family Parish, Galveston-Bolivar

• Rev. Jude Ekenedilichukwu Ezuma 9/24/2014

Page | 5

• The Church and her role in promoting the kingdom of God

CCC 553: Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom

• f heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
• n earth shall be loosed in heaven."287 The "power of the keys" designates authority to govern

the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: "Feed my sheep."288 The power to "bind and loose" connotes the authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the

• Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the Church through the ministry of the apostles289

and in particular through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted the keys of the kingdom. Matthew 28:19 - Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name

• f the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have

commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. CCC 763: It was the Son's task to accomplish the Father's plan of salvation in the fullness of

• time. Its accomplishment was the reason for his being sent. "The Lord Jesus inaugurated his

Church by preaching the Good News, that is, the coming of the Reign of God, promised over the ages in the scriptures." To fulfill the Father's will, Christ ushered in the Kingdom of heaven on

• earth. The Church "is the Reign of Christ already present in mystery."
• Summary