The Gospel of Luke quotes Jesus, in the “sermon on the plain” as saying “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”[1] Matthew, in the “sermon on the mount” has it “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.”[2] And, a few verses later, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”[3]

Last time in this place, we talked about the concept of two kingdoms: a kingdom of man and a kingdom of God, and how the Law of Nations, and the idea of fundamental human rights, are tied to a sort of dual citizenship in both kingdoms. But what is the kingdom of God? Scholars point out that, unlike English, Greek and Aramaic use the same word for the geopolitical concept of kingdom as an area of jurisdiction, and the constitutional concept of kingship as executive, legislative and judicial authority all rolled into one. (The Greek word is basileia.) In other words, Jesus can quite legitimately be read to say that not only will the poor and persecuted inherit the “kingdom of God” in an ownership sense but that they will have royal authority over it and its inhabitants.

The idea of their being government in heaven is not the least bit unusual. Aquinas thought, for a number of reasons, that there would be a need for laws in heaven. Well if there is a need for laws, then there will be a need for administration. And one has to take a very cribbed reading of the Gospels to conclude that there won’t be some sort of judgment.

But think about who will be overseeing those laws and passing those judgments. Let’s imagine a heavenly joint session of congress with the executive and judiciary all in attendance: a “state of the Kingdom of God” address, as it were. The Governor or President will be the oddly-dressed woman that always sits by herself, in church or at the coffee shop or in the town hall meeting, ignored by everyone. The Chief Justice will be the ghetto resident who pled guilty to a crime he didn’t commit, in order to get five years in prison instead of fifty. The director of HUD will be that homeless guy with a McDonald’s cup tapping on windows at the stop light. The treasury secretary will be the widow in the grocery line that has a coupon for every item in her cart, keeps a huge ball of rubber bands in her kitchen drawer, and gets scammed by pseudo-charity telemarketers but never complains about it. The secretary of education will be the single dad who was the school janitor until he got fired for falling asleep on the job one day. The Speaker of the House will have a speech impediment. None of them will be the person that ran for office and lost. They will be the person that never ran because no one, including themselves, deemed them worthy to hold office. By the standards of this world, they were right.

Which helps us understand the “rewards” teachings in Matthew 6. Pray, give alms, or fast publicly and prominently, and you will have an earthly reward. Do those things in secret, and you will have a heavenly reward. This is not simply Jesus saying that it’s someone else’s turn to be the homecoming queen. Rather, the attitude behind performing prominent acts of piety disqualifies you from holding the kingship of heaven. It’s an eligibility to hold office, not a term limit.

So where is the good news in this, if you are a First World successful mover and shaker, or honored benefactor, or even, dare we say, a bishop? Well, it’s in a couple of places. First, Jesus doesn’t say that the prominent can’t get into the wedding feast. He just says that they will have the lowest seat.[4] (Cf. Luke 14:8-10.) Second, as Albert Nolan points out, when the poor and persecuted get into power, they won’t judge by the same standards used to judge them on earth.[5] He quotes Mark:

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[6]

That, friends, is very good news. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

[1] Luke 6:20. All Scripture quotes are from NRSV.

[2] Matthew 5:3.

[3] Matthew 5:10.

[4] Luke 14:8-10.

[5] Nolan, Jesus Before Christianity.

[6] Mark 10: 42-45 (NRSV)