The Already And Not Yet

Rev. Marcel Divine Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Church of Nativity, Bloomington, MN

Sunday, June 13, 2021

To better understand today’s Gospel, it is important we look at the meaning of the literary genre called “parable.” The word parable is “a comparison” between two things, i.e. an analogy. A parable is also a fictional story derived from everyday life experiences which often has a surprising twist that causes the hearer to think deeper into its meaning. Although many biblical parables are presented without interpretation, but what comes before or after can help us know how to interpret them. 

In today’s Gospel (Mark 4:26-34), Jesus speaks once again in parables. He compares the Kingdom of God to seed that grows secretly and to the mustard seed that “when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants,” and its large branches provides dwelling shade for the birds of the sky. 

In the Gospel, Jesus does not attempt to define the Kingdom of God. But what is the Kingdom of God? From the Church’s standpoint, the Kingdom of God is Jesus himself. The great theologian, Origen of Alexandria said that Jesus is the “Autobasileia,” that is, “the Kingdom in person.” How is Jesus “the Kingdom in Person?” Check this out! The Kingdom of God is the coming together of divinity and humanity that was sundered by Origin Sin. And we know that Original Sin led to many other sundering, many other falling apart like hatred, violence, rivalry, imperialism, murder etc. The Kingdom of God is God and humanity uniting so that the eternal order, eternal law of God can become our law. Where do we see this? In Jesus! He himself is the Kingdom, and he is radiating out from himself this Kingdom which we call his mystical body, the Church. 

Additionally, the Kingdom of God is also the community of those who have been purchased by the Blood of Lamb, whose lives are so shaped by him, and who have made eternal law their law as well. This community is so Christo-centric that it becomes a place where divinity and humanity also meet. Now, is this Kingdom of God here already? Yes! Here in Church is the Kingdom of God. But has it perfectly come? Of course not! Because Jesus has not come back definitively and because the Church is not yet where it ought to be. That’s why during Advent we as a Church cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!” So, the Kingdom of God has two dimensions— the already and not yet as we say in theology. It is already here but  is also coming. But the fundamental reference is Jesus himself. He is the Kingdom. Your singular act of charity and kindness to someone, although small, can result in something much bigger and also makes the Kingdom of God present. Here in this world and among us, God is already establishing his reign and vanquishing evil and suffering through the kindness and generosity of many.