The time to change society is now

Last week we looked at some implications of Jesus’ kingdom of God parables. These parables are not about “pie in the sky when we die.” They address our longing for something more.

Jesus is constantly telling us that the kingdom of God is within.

For example, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field.” The kingdom of heaven is buried in your heart and mine. It is buried in our churches; it is buried in our city, our nation, and our world. We cannot always see it because it is still buried.

What does Jesus’ kingdom look like?

It’s a place where everyone feels at home, everyone is treated with dignity and respect, where everyone is equal. No hatred, prejudice, violence, war or injustice exist. There are no divisions of rich and poor, friend and stranger, citizen and foreigner, legal and illegal immigrant. God always comes first and all religions live in harmony.

There is no hunger, no homelessness, no fear and no anxiety. Everyone feels truly loved, families live in peace, and people feel they can walk the street at night without fear. Is this the greatest treasure we could possibly possess?

I am sure some of you are saying, “Get real! That kind of utopia doesn’t exist.” I agree. Although we cannot have this treasure in its fullness on this earth, Jesus tells us we can have some measure of the kingdom right now. However, it is going to take much work because many people don’t know it’s there.

Jesus tells us where we can find it: “The kingdom of God is in your midst.” God has buried the kingdom in our hearts and in our world. Jesus wants his follower to dig up the treasure and bring the kingdom to light.

How do we do this? We start with our own hearts.

If the kingdom of God is within us, we have to spend time everyday reflecting on what is happening in our lives. We have to see the hand of God in all aspect of our lives. Our personal lives should manifest the kingdom of God within us. We should ask the Holy Spirit to transform us so that God’s kingdom is no longer buried within us but is revealed in the way we think, talk and act.

As we make progress toward personal transformation, we must be engaged in trying to transform the world into God’s kingdom.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said we have to do this one person at a time. She said, “We can love only one person at a time, we can feed only one person at a time, just one. The whole work is only a drop in the ocean but if we don’t put the drop in, the ocean would be one drop less. The same thing is true of your family, your church or your city. Just begin one, one, one.”

Jesus also told us that the kingdom of God is like yeast that someone kneads in dough. It is small but it makes the dough rise.

Christians make up about 20 percent of the world population. We have to be the yeast of our society to change the system, public policies and practices that keep people from reaching their potential. We have to promote and advocate policies and laws that would produce a more just society.

Like the person who found the treasure buried in the field, may we have the courage to sell everything (make this our top priority) so we can work for the transformation of our lives and our society. Then the kingdom of heaven will become more visible in our world and no longer be buried.