Thy Kingdom Come

Good gardeners pick over their seeds before they plant them to discard any that are broken, withered, or moldy. If we consider God the Master Gardener, as it says in the song What Is the Kingdom We Await?, we “trust the One who plants the seed.” Our trust that God has planted good seed in us gives us the conviction that our dreams and gifts are worth nurturing.

The Word of God might be considered a “super seed.” As it says on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Web site, “[The] Word of God … possesses a special sacramental power to bring about in us what it proclaims … it not only tells us of God and God’s will for us, it also helps us to put that will of God into practice in our own lives.”

For many of us, the Word of God that we likely proclaim most often is the “Our Father” prayer that Jesus taught to his disciples. In fact, we pray it so often that it can become rote. However, praying “thy kingdom come” carries the power of God’s Word regardless of whether we are fully aware of what we are saying.

Therefore, we should not be surprised when we see signs of God’s kingdom unfolding around us: the arrogant of mind and heart dispersed, the lowly lifted up, the oppressed set free, the (spiritually) blind recovering their sight, the hungry being filled with good things. For example, the many long-oppressed people who are letting their God-given seeds of dignity and worth flower in peaceful protests are a direct sign that God’s kingdom has come, as we ourselves have so often asked! In God’s kingdom, all people are valued, respected, loved, heard, and nurtured, and nonviolent protests are a way to help bring that Word of God to fruition. Although it is a sometimes chaotic process (people in power generally don’t step aside without a struggle), we can rejoice that a fuller expression of God’s kingdom is unfolding in our midst.

The good seed of the Word of God is implanted in us when we hear and speak it. We need only trust in the wisdom and ways of the Master Gardener to be fruitful in God’s kingdom.