Daily reflection _ God's kingdom is imminent


GOD'S KINGDOM IS IMMINENT  
What acts of goodness, generosity, and forgiveness can you or I offer today that will help make the kingdom visible and creatable, so to help others to live the kingdom?  
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
The core of the Gospel message is quite simple: the kingdom of God is imminent! What is this kingdom? It is that society of men and women who submit to God, and who honor Him as their Creator and God of all. We pray daily in the Lord's Prayer asking God to be in our lives and in our world when we say "May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus' words are just as relevant today as they were during His earthly ministry. The kingdom of heaven is at hand!
At this phase of the disciples' work, Jesus tells them not to go to the Gentiles, but to make a genuine effort at being heard by "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt 10:6). Lately in the Gospel readings, we have heard about the unfaithfulness of the Israelite leaders, but Jesus Christ only very slowly and reluctantly ceases His effort to be heard and received by them. God's covenant means being faithful and daily living in His Word. For us to truly measure this in our own lives, we must look at the relationships around us: Are they healthy or unhealthy relationships? Do they bring us and the other person joy, or is there pain and anger? We need to remember that once we are chosen and loved, we are always chosen and loved by God's standards. Can those people around us daily find in us the loyalty that God has gifted us with?
In the responsorial psalm we acclaimed, "Seek always the face of the Lord" (Ps 105). Jesus' message has profound implications for Christians and for the entire Church. We have a mission to the world: to make a difference for good, here and now. We can start small. What acts of goodness, generosity, and forgiveness can you or I offer today that will help make the kingdom visible and creatable, so to help others to live the kingdom?