The King and His Kingdom

“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice…..On the contrary, this is what the prophet was saying: In the Last days – the Lord declares – I shall pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young people shall see visions, your old people dream dreams….” ( Acts 2: 14 – 21)
We see in the above scripture the prophecy and fulfillment of one of the most important prophecies in the Old Testament. I am currently reading The Teachings of the Church Fathers, by John Willis, SJ. I am surprised to see how the Church Fathers used prophecy and fulfillment in defending the person and work of Jesus Christ as Son of God and Son of Mary. God promised humanity the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in various passages in the Old Testament. He delivered on this promise in a mighty way on the day of Pentecost.
In the scriptures, the Spirit is known by many names: Spirit of power, Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, spirit of prophecy and so on. I like to refer to the Holy Spirit as Spirit of ministry. It is only through the Spirit that we can use our gifts in the service of God. Using our gifts in the service of God is exercising our ministry. Recently I witnessed the enlargement of my ministry. For a number of years, I exercised the ministry of lector and catechist. It pleased the Lord to enlarge my field by adding recently Sanctuary service to my ministry. Sanctuary service is a ministry I exercised before I was ten years old. At various times and places, I had been called upon to exercise Sanctuary service. That the call should come to me again at this point in my life is both mysterious and fulfilling. I can only thank God for His mercies.
The Spirit’s power in our live can be compared to electricity. We see the various effects of electricity but not electricity itself. Electricity is designed to be used not touched or seen. The Holy Spirit provides me with power to accomplish my ministry in the great program called the Kingdom of God. Kingdom (Basileia in Greek) means rule or authority. Where the King is, there is His kingdom. The King is Jesus Christ. When we pray to the Father “thy kingdom come,” we mean the establishment of the rule and authority of King Jesus at all times and everywhere. If this rule and authority of Jesus Christ is established fully in my heart and mind, then I can help through my ministry to bring it about in the hearts and minds of people whom the Lord places on my path.