Commemoration: Cyril of Jerusalem
Strengthen, O Lord, the bishops of your Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, so that they, like your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct your people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Millennial views are like bad days. Everybody has one. But no one particular view--be it premillennial, postmillennial, or amillennial--is truly adequate to explain the multi-dimensional nature of the coming eschatological kingdom of God. Jesus declared to his disciples, "there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power." This statement becomes very problematic for those who are wound up in arguments over millennial views. If "the kingdom of God" is synonymous with "the Son of Man" coming "in the glory of his Father with the holy angels," why have believers been waiting some 2,000 years to see something Jesus promised would be seen by his earliest followers?
If all that is meant by "the kingdom of God" is the return of Christ in glory at the end of history, then we might have a problem here. But "the kingdom of God" is a much larger project than just its final consummation. It is connected not only with Jesus' glory, but also with his suffering. Likewise, it is seen not only in the final triumph of righteousness, but also in the ordeal of righteous suffering at the hands of the fallen world. Jesus connects his glory with his suffering and commands "anyone" who "would come after" him to "deny himself and take up his cross and follow" him. The glory of the Son of Man is inextricably connected with the suffering of the Son of Man. The kingdom of God is inextricably linked with the cross of Jesus Christ.
Jesus' first disciples would "see the kingdom of God" in their lifetime by seeing Jesus "suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again." Jesus' resurrection was the inaugural event of the kingdom of God. Jesus, after his ordeal of suffering and death, was raised up in glory, vindicated as the true Christ of God, the victorious Son of Man "in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."
But the resurrection was only the beginning. Jesus called his disciples to deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow him. They were to continue the work he began. They were to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom of God to all the nations, never being ashamed even to give their lives for their Lord. In Jesus, crucified and risen, they could "see the kingdom of God." Their mission was, and our mission is, to make others see that kingdom in lives that become an authentic imitation of the crucified and risen Savior.
Lift High the Cross
Refrain
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.
Led on their way by this triumphant sign,
The hosts of God in conquering ranks combine.
Refrain
Each newborn servant of the Crucified
Bears on the brow the seal of Him Who died.
Refrain
O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
As Thou hast promised, draw the world to Thee.
Refrain
So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory.
Refrain
- George W. Kitchin
0 comments:
Post a Comment