(C) Thy Kingdom Come

[Thy Kingdom Come]. The kingdom is a recurrent theme in the gospels. It is a statement of people in the present, looking towards the future in hope, an eschatological outlook. The things of the present are nothing compared to the things that is to come. "More good days" say some. What is good? Nothing is 'good' if it is not accompanied by the presence of God. In the last days, doomsayers predict a gloom and doom ending. Prophecy in the Bible is interpreted with a pessimistic slant, mostly due to the contextual perception of events that is seen to be turning out for the worse. That is not the point in this prayer.

Instead, this is a prayer of anticipation. We look forward to the future because we know we have a heavenly father who loves us. Remember the first statement, Our Father? It is a recognition that a good loving Father will be with us through thick and thin. What excites believers is not whether good/bad things are going to happen. What keeps us watching out in faith and hope is the knowledge that the end comes with the presence of God, manifested by the coming of the Kingdom in all its glory. Heaven come down to earth. We will have a new heaven and new earth. It is a prayer of expectation, that the kingdom comes with angels and believers will be glad to present the church as a bridegroom in all its spiritual gifts exercised to be ready for Christ. It is a prayer of illumination, for we look to the future, not focused on the things we want, but a heart fully yielded to kingdom goals. Servants loyal to the Lord will be ready for the coming of the kingdom. We pray this prayer with that attitude of readiness that speaks, We are ready to serve and obey. We have done our best. It is what we ought to do. When we pray this prayer, we uproot ourselves from being too involved in worldly affairs, and to transplant our hearts and minds to kingdom values. Nothing earthly can ever match up to kingdom virtues. We pray for the coming of the kingdom in all that we do. We are essentially asking that the kingdom values be present in every part of our lives. We become willing vessels, ready conduits of grace and love to fly the flag of Christ in the castle of our hearts.

We must remember that it is not 'my' but 'thy' kingdom come. Beware of bringing in the church or bringing in the personal desires and goals. We must bring in the kingdom of God, and that is not to be confused with a worldly definition of kingdom. It is a kingdom that the world cannot understand, as long as it does not acknowledge Christ. On the other side, I think God the Father, is like the father figure in the parable of the prodigal son, wanting to run to us to give us a welcome hug, for us to return. The problem is not that God is not ready. We are too busy with trying to satisfy our own gratifications. God is granting us the grace of time to be ready. Hence we pray this line with an eye on one objective: TO BE READY. TO BE PREPARED. When we pray this, we are telling God that we are ready and prepared to do God's will.

ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου•