Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

✠ | TODAY'S READINGS

Throughout this year, I have become increasingly fascinated and, frankly, mesmerized by God’s kingdom. I have come to know it as the amazing reality of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness in which we can be firmly anchored so that we might not only withstand the difficult seasons of life but even continue growing and producing fruit despite any circumstances we face while living on earth. We can liken this kingdom to the most fertile soil which, in turn, makes our world the air and land above. When a seed is planted in God’s kingdom, it will be an unstoppable force of growth both down into the soil and up into the air – a striking correlation. As the roots stretch deeper and deeper into the rich unseen reality of God’s promises, wisdom, love, and faithfulness and dependently cling to this truth for its unique nutrients, the fruit that begins to fructify on the branches in the seen reality will be inexplicably delectable – “out of this world” perhaps.

My passion for God’s kingdom cannot be overstated. I totally love it! I want God’s kingdom to increase…but how does God’s kingdom increase?

During Advent, my focus has been drawn to this question, and I have found a good deal of insight in Isaiah 9:1-7. These verses foreshadow the coming of Jesus. In verse six, we read the famous proclamation, “For unto us a child is born,” prominently featured in Handel’s Messiah. Jesus is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. It is tremendously fun to sing! Anyway, our answer comes through parsing verse seven:

"Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this." (ASV)

We see that Jesus’ government – the government of God’s kingdom – and Jesus’ peace go hand in hand. His government increases forevermore through peace, the peace that only He can create between sinful people and a holy God. I would offer that this is a major reason why we call Jesus the Way; Jesus is the way to God’s kingdom, to be a part of it, to be planted in the soil, to be governed by it. Jesus is the Prince of Peace who was sent from God’s kingdom to this world in order to take on the wrath we deserve, conquer death, and make a way for us to be reconciled or brought to a state of peace with God. This way is to trust in Jesus, trusting that Jesus died in our place so that we can live eternally in His kingdom.

So, what was the question again? Oh yeah: how does God’s kingdom increase? It is through relaying this good news of Jesus so that more and more people can be brought to a state of peace with God. As commentators Keil and Delitzch note:

“Ever extending dominion and endless peace will be brought in by the sublime and lofty King's Son, when He sits upon the throne of David and rules over David's kingdom. He is a semper Augustus, i.e., a perpetual increaser of the kingdom; not by war, however, but with the spiritual weapons of peace.”

This is a great image. “The spiritual weapons of peace” – who might we look to for an example of these weapons of peace in action? Seems like St. Francis of Assisi would be appropriate. The well-known song “The Prayer of St. Francis” was not written by St. Francis, but it is no mystery why it became so strongly associated with him. This reflection is already a bit long-winded, so I will leave the full lyrics HERE. The very first line is “Make me a channel of your peace.” This is a beautiful line, but it should not be taken in an exclusively beautiful, gentle, sweet kind of way. Peace leads to beauty, but peacebuilding is gritty, difficult work. Jesus is the prime example of this, St. Paul is a profound example as well, and so is St. Francis. To a degree farther than many people in history, Francis was a bright example of how God’s peace is for all people. He reached out to the “other” to great and costly lengths, risking his health by ministering to the lepers in Assisi. He preached the peace of Christ to anyone who would listen, and those who wouldn’t – including animals. He also risked his life by going into the battlefield unarmed during the Crusades to share the gospel with the Sultan of Egypt, Malek al-Kamil.

Francis was radical, that is evident. I love that term because its roots are literally roots. To be radical is to be “of, relating to, or proceeding from a root.” And where was Francis rooted? Correct – in God’s kingdom. When one is rooted in God’s astounding kingdom with its astounding unseen reality of unfailing love, faithfulness, and promises, astounding things begin to bloom above ground in this world. Radical acts of peace and love become possible because the individuals have placed their trust in Jesus, and they will not be uprooted. Instead, they will take in the eternal nutrients from the soil which will make a reality transfer through these faithful individuals and turn into kingdom-increasing, peacebuilding fruit.

We hear that God told Francis: “Go, rebuild my church.” When I read that, I now see “Go, increase my kingdom,” and I see how Francis did it, how Jesus does it, and how we can do it, too: through radical peacebuilding - bearing fruit for the world, rooted in God's kingdom.

I hope you have a truly excellent final week of Advent, and I pray that you are filled with extravagant joy as Christmas comes and the celebration of the Prince of Peace begins!

Timothy Nagy

Assistant Director

Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue

St. Francis College

Kalpa Vriksh by Roopali Kambo

Each December 18th, we remember two of our past SFC Presidents: Frank J. Macchiarola and Brendan J. Dugan. This day marks the anniversary of the passing of both of these great men of faith, leadership, and friendship. May the peace of Christ be with their families in a special way today.