What Did Jesus Come to Establish?
Sometimes we think of the Kingdom of God as something far away.
Heaven.
A place we hope to reach someday if we live a good enough life.
But that is not how Jesus talks about the Kingdom.
From the beginning of His public ministry, He announces that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus did not come simply to teach a few lessons or perform a collection of miracles.
He came to establish a Kingdom.
And that Kingdom is not only something waiting for us after death.
Jesus says the Kingdom of God is already in our midst.
Wherever Christ is, His Kingdom is present.
Through Baptism, we have been joined to Christ. St. Paul tells us today that the Church is His Body and that Christ is its Head.
We belong to Him.
We are already citizens of His Kingdom.
Not the Kingdom They Expected
The disciples are still trying to understand this in the first reading.
Jesus has risen from the dead. He has spent forty days with them, teaching them about the Kingdom of God.
Then, just before His Ascension, they ask:
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
They are still imagining an earthly kingdom.
Israel restored to power.
Their nation finally triumphant.
Perhaps after watching Jesus conquer death itself, they think: Now surely this is the moment.
But Jesus has something much larger in mind.
His Kingdom will not belong to one nation or be limited by political or geographical borders.
Instead He tells them:
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.”
The Kingdom is about to spread everywhere.
Go and Make Disciples
The Gospel makes the mission unmistakable.
Jesus tells the apostles:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.”
Baptize them.
Teach them.
Bring them into the life Christ has given you.
The apostles are not chosen merely to admire the Kingdom.
They are entrusted with helping it grow.
Jesus had deliberately chosen twelve apostles, recalling the twelve tribes of Israel. He was establishing something real, visible, and ordered.
A Church.
A people.
A Kingdom.
And for two thousand years, the Church has continued carrying out the mission Christ gave her.
We still baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We still celebrate the Eucharist as He commanded at the Last Supper.
We still teach what He handed on to the apostles.
Across languages, countries, and cultures, Catholics can walk into Mass and recognize what is happening.
We belong to one Body.
One Church.
One Kingdom.
Is the Ascension Really Good News?
The Ascension raises an understandable question.
Wouldn't it have been better if Jesus had simply stayed?
The disciples had already lost Him once at the Cross.
Then came the Resurrection.
For forty days, Jesus was with them again.
They could see Him.
Hear Him.
Eat with Him.
Ask questions.
And now He ascends to the Father.
At first, that can feel like another departure.
But Jesus had already told them that His going would be good.
His earthly ministry had been concentrated in one particular place and among a particular people.
Now the mission would extend to the ends of the earth.
The apostles would go.
The Holy Spirit would come.
And the Church would carry Christ into every nation.
The Ascension is not Jesus abandoning His people.
It is the beginning of the Church being sent.
“I Am With You Always”
And Jesus leaves us with a promise:
“Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
That promise has already been fulfilled in countless ways, and we are invited to recognize it personally.
Jesus is present in His Church.
He is present in Scripture.
He is present in the Eucharist.
He is present through holy friendships.
He meets us in the poor and suffering.
And He is with us in the crosses we carry when we unite those sufferings to Him.
Jesus ascends to the Father, but He does not leave us alone.
His Kingdom remains.
His Church remains.
His mission remains.
And He remains with us.
For Moms
A kingdom can sound like something enormous and far removed from ordinary family life.
But this is where Christ's Kingdom is meant to take root.
In the way we speak to one another.
In forgiveness after someone loses patience.
In making Sunday Mass a priority.
In welcoming someone who feels left out.
In teaching our children to pray.
In serving someone who needs us.
Every time Christ is allowed to reign a little more fully in our homes, His Kingdom becomes more visible.
We pray it constantly:
“Thy Kingdom come.”
Those words are not only a prayer about the end of time.
They are also a prayer for today.
Lord, let Your Kingdom come here.
Into this family.
Into this decision.
Into this argument.
Into this worry.
Into me.
Questions to Sit With
- Do I think of the Kingdom of God mostly as a future destination, or do I recognize Christ’s Kingdom already present in my life?
- Where in my home or relationships am I being asked to let Jesus reign more fully?
- How am I participating in Christ’s command to “make disciples,” especially with the people God has placed closest to me?
Family Practice
When your family prays the Our Father this week, pause after:
“Thy Kingdom come.”
Let each person quietly think of one place where you especially need Jesus to be King: your home, school, a friendship, a worry, or a difficult situation.
Then finish the prayer together.
It is a simple way to remember that Christ’s Kingdom is not only somewhere we hope to go.
It begins here.