A phrase often on Jesus’ lips: “The Kingdom of God” — or in another iteration, “the Reign of God, His Father.” And that’s because the heart of Jesus’ mission is to announce this, and also to build it. The Kingdom is God’s plan for this world, both in the here-and-now, and in the still-to-come.

In Matthew’s 25th chapter, Jesus proposes a parable about three servants who were consigned some of their Master’s riches. One of them buries his gift, but In contrast, the two others do creative and even risky things to increase its value — and so win the favor of the owner. The active ways this duo take up their task speaks about our own initiatives in advancing Jesus’ Kingdom, alerts us to the different ways we can use our God-given gifts to further the Father’s plan for the world.

The parable’s thrust is that the Master (God the Father) wants us to move things further along, to take up this cause that Jesus is both proclaiming and practicing. What might this include?

From both our reading of the gospels and our following behind Vincent, any number of things suggest themselves. There are our efforts to remain truthful, honest and faithful to our promises. Certainly included would be our various charitable activities — stepping in to help people in need, taking the side of those populations worldwide who are suffering oppression, and giving attention to those close by, especially the ones feeling left aside and rejected.

With this parable, Jesus is asking us to expand and develop what we’ve been given, to take on behaviors that would put the flesh of concrete action on his vision for the world. These are the myriad ways to move his agenda, our initiatives to return a “Kingdom dividend” on all he gives us.

But in addition to our actions, there’s the invitation held out to trust in God’s future. This means basking in its overflowing hope, in its aura of expectation that the fulness of God’s Kingdom is just ahead — that in the end “it shall overcome.”

Think of those two servants out there with the Master’s resources, not only doing very concrete things to bring on God’s Kingdom, but also living with an abiding confidence that no matter the obstacles, Jesus’ world will prevail. The same thing from another angle:  God’s Kingdom is already here and still on the way, both at the same time.

God’s domain, Jesus’ Kingdom, is breaking into the present in all the actions we disciples take to bring it about. At the same time, it remains out there as Promise, a pledge embodied in the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord. and grounded in the faithfulness of his dear Abba.