In today’s Gospel Jesus commissions the Apostles to preach his message: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:6). This is the same message that both Jesus (4:17) and John the Baptist preached (3:2). The Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God is at hand when God’s will is done, when God is King. Already in the Old Testament God is proclaimed as King.
“Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. For God is king over all the earth; sing hymns of praise. God rules over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne.” (Psalm 47:7-9)
Our first reading from Hosea proclaims that God is a loving and merciful King:
“When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son.” (11:1)
“My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not a man, the Holy One present among you; I will not come in wrath.” (11:8-9)
Jesus incarnates that love and mercy of God as he proclaims the Kingdom or Reign or God. Jesus not only proclaims that the Kingdom of Heaven, that God is at hand, but he also shows it concretely in his actions. What is the Kingdom of Heaven (God)? Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel: “…make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at head,’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.” The Kingdom of God is both proclamation and action. The proclamation is that God is “at hand.” God’s merciful love is shone concretely in Jesus’ and the apostles’ action or ministry of welcoming, healings, and forgiveness.
We hear this message of the Kingdom of Heaven in today’s Eucharistic Prayer:
“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Father of mercies and faithful God.
For you have given us Jesus Christ, your Son,
as our Lord and Redeemer.
He always showed compassion
for children and for the poor,
for the sick and for sinners,
and he became a neighbor
to the oppressed and the afflicted.” (Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs IV).
Image: “great-commission” by ThiênLong is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.