THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

PRAYER MOMENT                          

Wednesday 9 July 2014

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN

Pause. Recall that you are in the presence of God.

Reading: “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” (Matt. 10:1-7)

Reflection. Chapter 10 of Matthew opens with a decisive choice: twelve men are named as the immediate helpers of Jesus in his mission. He sends them first to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” with the instruction that they are to proclaim that the kingdom of God, or heaven, is about to happen, or is “close at hand.” We can interpret this as something that will happen to us, like a storm breaking on us in the rainy season. But, perhaps better, we can see it as something that breaks through us in the sense of something we actually do or find ourselves having the courage to do, some boundary we cross, some moment we recognise in our life as a new beginning. We become deeply engaged as never before, we “set out” on something new, something unknown, something risky. All this is the kingdom “happening” in our lives.

Prayer. Lord Jesus, give us the courage to become engaged in ways which draw us out of our comfort and security into new and courageous paths. You had “nowhere to lay your head.” May we too risk our lives that your kingdom may come. Amen.

David Harold-Barry SJ