Having decided to dwell on this
topic, it is my strong wish to borrow leaves from Hans Kung for a holistic
grasp of my intent. In discussing the Church as the Kingdom of God on earth,
this German theologian enumerated a five-finger significance of the Kingdom of
God on earth (the Church). These are:
1.
The
kingdom of God is eschatological; that is, the fully realised, final and
absolute reign of God at the end of time which as an event is now at hand (MK
1:15).
2.
The
kingdom of God is a powerful sovereign act of God himself, not something that
can be realised by the faithful adherence to the law. It is the Father that
exclusively invites. God alone can dispose.
3.
The
kingdom of God is a purely religious kingdom, not an earthly, natural and
religio-political theocracy. It is not situated in a place and time, but simply
God’s rule the reign of the king.
4.
The
kingdom of God is a saving event for sinners, not a judgement of vengeance on
sinners and godless men. God’s mercy and forgiveness are preached to all and
are made visible in Jesus’ actions: the
revelation of God’s love for sinners is a sign of the coming reign of God (Kung H., The Church (creative Print
and Design Wales, Ebbw Vale, GreatBritain 1968), p. 47-54).
The kingdom of God demands a radical
decision for God, not a demand for men to follow a new improved moral code. It
must be either God and his reign or the world and its reign, no two ways about
it. Repentance (metanoia) is involved which is made possible by faith. It is
the necessary and fundamental condition of entry into the reign of God – Repent
and believe in the Gospel (MK 1:15). The Church by virtue of her proclamation
of the message of Jesus as the Lord also preaches the messages of the kingdom
of God in a concentrated form. Hence, she must become the voice of Jesus
himself. The Church must take over the radical demands of Jesus, must preach
them and must practice them. The same divine demands which Jesus had preached
under the heading “the kingdom of God”, the Church now preaches under the
heading ‘Jesus the Lord,’ because this same Jesus fulfilled all the demands of
the kingdom of God and is the kingdom Himself (autobasileia). The Church
preaches the same as Jesus preached. The reign of the kingdom is the reign of
Christ. The kingdom of God fulfilled, realized and personified in Christ
remains the horizon of the Church and the focal point of its own life and which
she strives to bring to the world. For the Church to become a credible herald,
witness, demonstrator and messenger in the service of the kingdom of God, then
she must carefully and constantly repeat the message of Jesus not only to the
world or others, but also to her members. The Church’s credibility depends
totally on its remaining faithful to the message of Jesus. In other words, the
different perspectives of the preaching of the kingdom of God through Jesus
become ecclesiological imperatives.
In the first place, Jesus’ preaching of
the kingdom of God as a decisive, future, final event at the end of time has
some inevitable consequences. The Church should not make herself the focal
point of its preaching of the last days; its task is to point from the
fulfilled reign of God in Christ to the coming reign of God towards which she
looks as the crucial consummation of her mission. In doing this, she should not
pretend to be an end in itself or appear to claim the glory which rightly
belongs to God. It must not give the impression that man’s decision is for the
Church, rather than for God, or that man exists for the Church, rather than the
Church for mankind, and hence for the reign of God. If she fails to do this,
then she will grow tired and weak and will have no future. But if she does this
conscientiously, she can survive for it has not demanded too much from itself,
and will not be surprised when shaken by obstacles and doubts in her temporary
state.
In the second place, Jesus’ preaching of
the kingdom of God as an all-powerful act of God himself has again unavoidable
implications. The Church must not try to create the kingdom of God by herself;
for only God creates it for the Church. And the Church must put its whole trust
in God’s act, not her own. If she fails to do this, she is bound to failure and
destruction because of the lack of unselfish and trusting faith in God’s
decisive action. But if she adheres to this mission, she will be able to gather
together and build up, for strength will be given to its humility and
confidence. If the Church allows herself to receive the final victory which can
only come from above independent of human actions, then she can be confident
and faithful, and by so doing change the world.
In the third place, Jesus preaching of
the kingdom of God as a purely religious reign has some pertinent
repercussions. The Church should never, whatever the circumstance may be
present herself as a religio-political theocracy. Her role must be a spiritual diakonia. She must perform her ministry
in the guise of a servant, the service of God as a service to men, the service
of men as a service of God. She must know that she is called to the selfless
service of humanity, of its enemies and of the world. If she fails to do this, then she loses her
dignity and rank and the very justification of its existence. But if she does
this and is without pump and majesty, she will find in her significance her
true greatness, which is in the cross of Christ, for only in losing her life
can she gain it.
In the fourth place, Jesus’ preaching of
the kingdom as a saving event for sinners has some significant outcome. The
Church should never behave as if she is a menacing, intimidating institution
devoted to preaching doom and inculcating fear nor the declaration of war, but
should preach the message of salvation, the joyful good news, and the message of
peace. The Church exists for the sinners and the godless men, not for the
righteous, and hence must forgive, heal and save. Is she fails to recognise
that she is composed of sinful men and exists for sinful men, then she must
grow hardhearted, self-righteous and without compassion, deserving neither the
mercy of God nor the confidence of men. But if she recognizes and does this
duty, she will have the grace of holiness ad righteousness which she cannot
create for herself. The Church must then not look down self-righteously on
publicans and sinners, for he who humbles himself shall be exalted.
In the fifth place, Jesus’ preaching of
the kingdom of God as a radical decision for God has some undeniable effect.
The Church must never be distracted by anything from her radical decision for
God. She must turn away from worldly message and desires in metanoia and accept the coming reign of
God, so that it can turn next in love to the world and to men. She must not
shut herself off from the world in a spirit of asceticism, but must live in the
everyday world, inspired by the radical obedience of love towards God’s will.
If she tends to forget to whom her obedience is due, trying to play the master,
then she must end up enslaving and enchaining herself. But if she does all
expected of her in total obedience to God, she will totally become free; free
in imitating the service of Christ, the service of God by which she can truly serve men, and by the service of men by which she serves
God.
Ezekoka Peter
Onyekachi
