Second Thursday of Advent - December 13, 2018

Violence and the Kingdom of God

Isaiah 41:13-20
Matthew 11:11-15


In the Gospel text today, Jesus introduces John the Baptist. We, the Gospel readers, have met John already. Now Jesus speaks to who he is.

John played a critical role in the unfolding project of God, but John's understanding of Jesus was incomplete. He imagined God's Messiah would come with fire, as an ax ready to chop down trees.

So Jesus claims that those who truly give themselves to a God-oriented life (kingdom of God) as modeled by Jesus, would have greater understanding and do more to shape the world than John . . . a wild and extreme claim.

Then, in a verse which is subject to a variety of interpretations, Jesus points out that people have been violently trying to live the kingdom-of-God-life (God-centered life) since the time of John. Perhaps the violence itself was influenced by John's fiery rhetoric, his ax-chopping-down-the-trees metaphors.

From the time of John the Baptist until now, violent people have been trying to take over the kingdom of heaven by force. (Matt. 11:12, CEV)

For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God's Kingdom. (Matt 11:12, The Message)

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. (Matt. 11:12, NIV)


In his life's work and in his life's words, Jesus is clear that violence has no place in the kingdom of God. The God-centered life is not forced upon anyone and is not achieved by violence done to persons. It is not accomplished by powerfully forcing on people a set of beliefs or standards. There is no coercion in the kingdom of God.

And yet Christians all through the centuries continue to get this wrong. When Emperors Constantine and Licinius in 313 issued the Edict of Milan, they ushered in an age when the interests of the Church and the state were intricately woven together. With Christianity the favored religion, citizens of the empire were expected to be baptized, sometimes by force. The marriage of the Church to the state created an unhealthy union propelled by coercion.

Our own times are no stranger to that kind of compulsion. A friend -- and "research assistant" -- shared a blog with me Monday, the 50th anniversary of Thomas Merton's death, which remembered Merton warning that the marriage of religious fundamentalism and American nationalism would produce "the greatest orgy of idolatry the world has ever seen." (http://www.matthewfox.org/blog/on-the-50th-anniversary-of-thomas-mertons-death#)

Advent reminds us that God's ways are radically different from the ways of the world (and even the Church). The kingdom of God among us does not come in force and violence, but as a vulnerable child born to parents who were outside society's power structure.


For Reflection:

Have you ever used violence, excessive power or force, or compulsion to accomplish what you thought were noble ends?

Reflect on your experience in light of this Advent text.