Saturday of Lent 2

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” — Revelation 11:15

For now, the kingdom of heaven remains hidden. It is God’s righteous being of faith in our hearts. This kingdom exists and grows under the cross and in lowly ways. By all appearance, the kingdoms of this world seem more powerful. The Church suffers, the world rejoices. And yet, what we know by faith now will one day be made known to all. The Lord is faithful to His promise both here in time and there in eternity.

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come” it is indeed a pray for God to rule in our hearts now in the righteousness that comes by faith. But it is also a prayer for Christ’s Second Coming. As He has promised to come again, and as we confess our faith in the promise in the Creed: “He shall come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead,” even so we pray for Him to come soon.

We pray that, even as He comes now and rescues us from our sins through the Gospel, so too that He would rescue us from this wicked world. We pray that the kingdom of the world might become His kingdom and that it might be forever. This is what He has promised. Even now He continues to strengthen us in our faith here in time as we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.