• Benny Nalkara, CMI

In the second “you” petition in the prayer, “Our Father,” we pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God. This petition has its parallel in the Jewish prayer, “May he establish his Kingdom during your life and during your days.” This petition looks to the perfect establishment of God’s rule in the world in the future, an act of God resulting in the eschatological order of the new age. The phrase “the Kingdom of God” is characteristic of the whole New Testament and a key concept in the teachings of Jesus. In the gospels, Jesus speaks frequently of God’s kingdom, but never defines the concept. This petition shows about Jesus’ claim to divinity, about Jesus’ claim to be one with the Father, Jesus himself was the presence of the divine Kingdom. There is a straight line, from what is central in the ministry of Jesus to the second petition in the prayer he shared with his disciples.
The first emergence of Jesus on the scene of history was when he came into Galilee preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:14). Jesus himself described the preaching of the kingdom as an obligation laid upon him: “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43; Mk 1:38). Matthew 4:23 and 9:35 also mention that Jesus went through Galilee preaching “the Gospel of the Kingdom.” In Luke 17:20-21, we are told that Jesus told the Pharisees, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” We find that Jesus spoke of the Kingdom in three different ways. He spoke of the Kingdom as existing in the past. He said that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets were in the Kingdom (Lk 13:28; Mt 8:11). He spoke of the Kingdom as present. “The Kingdom of God,” he said, “is in the midst of you” (Lk 17:21). The Kingdom of God is therefore a present reality here and now. He spoke of the Kingdom of God as future, for he taught men to pray for the coming of the Kingdom in this his own prayer. The verb elthetō – “let come” clearly points to the futuristic aspect of the Kingdom of God.
The Greek word, basileia, is used here in the text to denote kingdom and it means both kingdom and kingship (i.e., reign, dominion, governing, etc.). According to some scholars, the interpretation of basileia as kingship adds a psychological meaning to the petition. In the NT, the word basileia is used 71 times. The Hebrew word for Kingdom is malkuth and it refers first to a reign, dominion, or rule and only secondarily to the realm over which a reign is exercised. It almost always refers to his authority or to his rule as the heavenly King. In this sense the petition looks to the perfect establishment of God’s rule in the world in the future, an act of God resulting in the eschatological order of the new age. God will reveal himself as the father who wishes to save all people. In a number of parables, Jesus opens up a vision of how human beings should respond to God’s offer, accept the divine rule and pray with total sincerity, “may your kingdom come.”
But it is to be noted that the word Kingdom appears in the prayer “Our Father,” with a more familial nuance. Jesus taught us to see, know and love God as a loving father. The Lord’s Prayer does not teach us to pray My Father; it teaches us to pray Our Father. It is very significant that in the Lord’s Prayer the words I, me, and mine never occur; it is true to say that Jesus came to take these words out of life and to put in their place we, us, and ours. If God is Father, he is Father of all people. God is not any man’s exclusive possession. The very phrase Our Father involves the elimination of self. If we believe that God is Father, it settles our relationship to our fellow-human beings also. The fatherhood of God is the only possible basis of the brotherhood and sisterhood of humans.
The petition, “thy Kingdom come,” sets the tone of the prayer. It’s a prayer as well as an earnest wish for God, the father’s rule. Our desire should be for the establishment of God’s loving rule and its extension among us. This petition can be paraphrased as, “Loving Father, come and rule as king.”