Education in Faith
This week’s gospel passage carries with it the expectation of the late 1st Century as the early Christians awaited the triumphant return of the Christ (sometimes called the Second Coming or the Parousia). This is a familiar theme through the gospels and, in fact, across the gospels we can see that the communities were beginning to face the realisation that the promised return was taking longer than they had expected.
An attitude of anticipation emerged … waiting for the Second Coming! Rather than waiting for the kingdom of God to be delivered, we must live our lives in such a way as to bring about the kingdom; to draw the kingdom into the present. Jesus often spoke of the kingdom as both near and not yet. If we all live the values of the kingdom, by our very actions we bring the kingdom into being. This gives an incredible significance to the way we choose to live our lives. If we ‘invest’ in the kingdom by living out the values of the kingdom and living in expectation of the Second Coming, then that ‘investment’ is its own reward.