What is Jesus announcing when He announces the coming of the kingdom of God? It’s hard to come up with a concrete answer, an answer that keeps its feet on the ground.
Let me propose: The kingdom of God is a new pattern of giving and gratitude, of sharing and reciprocity, that at the same time fulfills the pattern of the Torah. The kingdom is what Milbank calls “purified gift exchange.”
So: We know the kingdom has come when:
-We give without demanding gratitude or reciprocity, trusting the Father to make it good.
-We live lives of constant gratitude to the Father, from whom comes every good and perfect gift.
-We display gratitude for the Spirit’s gifts by using them to edify one another and the community.
-Rivalry, ambition, competition for honor, and envy disappear because all look to a Benefactor of infinite graces.
-None owes anything to anyone, except to love.
-There are no poor among us.
-We rejoice in the gifts our Father gives to us and to others.
And so on.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
