Homily of the day

June 3rd, 2008

2 Peter 3:12-18 / Mk 12:13-17

Are You Helping God’s Kingdom to Come?

This world of ours is an astonishing place, and the societies and institutions that have evolved on our planet are so complex that no one fully understands exactly how they work and how we can make them do our bidding. It’s all just a work in progress, with all sorts of things that need fixing. There’s no better evidence of this than the fact that so many of our conversations begin with words like, “Why don’t they…?” or “How come they didn’t…?” or “When are they going to…?”

We talk about “them” all the time. One wonders who the mysterious “they” are, who are supposed to fix things and make the world run right. It’s simple, “they” are us! And that’s St. Peter’s message to us in today’s epistle. “Look for the coming of the day of God,” he says. But don’t just sit around waiting for it to happen. Get serious and hasten its coming. Make it happen!
Taking God’s kingdom come is the business of every one of us. To each of us has been committed a unique array of gifts, a piece of the earth, and a limited span of time. What we’ve been given defines our vocation. It’s our homework assignment from God. And when our days at last are done, God’s big question to us will not be: Did you stay out of trouble and keep your hands clean? God’s question will be: Did you help my kingdom come in that little piece of the earth that I entrusted to you?
Are you pleased with the answer you could give if God asked the question of you today? I hope so, but if not, we’d better get busy!

by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.