The first is the kingdom of God as already present in those who believe in Christ and live according to His will in His Church in the power of the Holy Spirit. The second is the kingdom as a separate society (the Church) in the world, whose home and destiny is Christ’s eternal kingdom in the age to come ... (the third) is the eternal reign of Christ (Lk 1:33) that will be initiated with His second coming (Mt 25:31 - 46). P.18-19.

The Lord’s work as given in the Gospels is preluded with the call to ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ The Kingdom is drawn near and ‘Reconciliation, communion with God and salvation are accessible to mankind.’ There are conditions to be embraced before we are capable of kingdom living. The scope of the Lord’s salvific work is reflected in the Priest’s prayers set in the early part of the Liturgy:

First Antiphon: We hear of the Lord God’s great and immeasurable mercy and love for mankind.

Second Antiphon: The Priest prays that the Lord God will protect, sanctify and glorify His people by His divine power.

Third Antiphon: The Priest asks for knowledge of God’s truth in this world and in the world to come life everlasting for the Lord’s servants.

The Slavic text bears the refrain: “In your Kingdom remember us, O Lord, when you come in your Kingdom.”

After the Small Entrance, at which the Priest prays for the company of the Holy Angels, the Prayer of the Thrice Holy Hymn enlarges on the redemptive theme: We hear mention of Creation: in the image and likeness of God, together with a fullness of divine grace. We note that God has provided a way of salvation for the sinner through repentance. The Priest is enabled to stand at the Holy Altar and to offer due worship and praise. He prays that God will ‘sanctify our souls and bodies and grant that we may worship You in holiness all the days of our life.’

The Prayer before the Gospel continues the developing theme: Here the priest prays that God ‘will make the light of your divine knowledge shine in our hearts and open the eyes of our mind to understand the message of Your Gospel.’ As we obey the commandments and ‘trample down all earthly desires, we may change to a spiritual way of life, thinking and doing all things pleasing to You.’ For it is God who ‘gives light to our souls and bodies,’ for this we give Him glory.

This whole movement is summed up in the prayer of the faithful: the Priest asks that our loving God will indeed ‘cleanse our souls and bodies of all defilement of flesh and spirit,’ so that we may come to stand before God without ‘guilt or condemnation.’ He prays for the people that they may have ‘the grace of progress in right living, in faith and spiritual understanding,’ that they may ‘worship in fear and love and partake without guilt or condemnation in the Holy Mysteries’

so that they may be ‘counted worthy of Your heavenly Kingdom.’

The period of preparation having been set out and encompassed we are moving now into mention of sharing the life of the Kingdom of God.

The Cherubic Hymn exhorts us to ‘lay aside all earthly care,’ why because we are about to ‘receive the King of All, Who comes invisibly upborne by the angelic hosts.’ The King is entering bringing the Life of the Kingdom to the Faithful of the Kingdom. The prayer of the Cherubic hymn notes God’s great love for mankind. Does our love respond and do we actually leave aside all our concerns and pay attention to the Gift being offered? As the Great Entrance is enacted the Priest prays for the Orthodox Christians of the Church and its environs, for those with civil authority, for Hierarchs, for the living and the departed that ‘the Lord may remember them in His heavenly Kingdom.’

In the Prayer of Offering a little before the Creed, the Priest approaches God, the only Holy One, noting that He accepts the ‘sacrifice of praise from those who call upon You with all their heart’,

he asks for ‘acceptance of the prayer of us who are sinners’ ... Then a little later he prays for the gift of grace to be given: ‘Count us worthy to find grace in Your sight, that our sacrifice may be well pleasing to you an that the good Spirit of Your grace may rest on us and on these Gifts here set forth and on all Your people.’ The Gift of God’s Grace is given to each person at the time of Baptism. We receive the Grace of His Life in Holy Communion: the opportunity is there to recover from our sin and to move on from knowing about God to knowing God, alive in our hearts, as members of His Kingdom. (Ware in Art of Prayer 20).

Early in the Prayer of the Anaphora we find reference to God’s redemptive work which issues in Participation in the Kingdom. ‘We should praise God for His love for us and for this His salvific work. ‘It is right and fitting to hymn You’ ... It is God in Trinity who ‘brought us out of nothing into being, and when we had fallen raised us up again, and left nothing undone until He had brought us up to heaven and had granted us His Kingdom that is to come.’ Here already we share to some extent in that Kingdom living which we will know more fully hereafter. We begin to realise the inauguration of God’s Kingdom

... God in His holiness gave His only-begotten Son that we might not perish but have eternal life ... The grace of the Holy Spirit rests on those who worship and on the Holy Gifts ... The Priest prays that ‘those who partake of them may be given watchfulness of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion of Your Holy Spirit, fullness of the kingdom of Heaven, freedom to speak in your presence, to judgment or condemnation.’ Many of the phrases of this short prayer will resonate with those who seek God from their hearts. We need watchfulness of soul as we seek to guard our hearts from all intrusive thoughts and imaginations. We need forgiveness of sins so that we may be fully able to receive God’s Grace. We long for the fullness of the Kingdom of heaven: we who receive God’s Gift in Holy Communion, receive Christ who is King of the Kingdom ever more fully into our Hearts. We can recall the words of St Paul in which he challenges his Corinthian converts: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realise that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2Cor13:5).

Earlier St Paul had taught his flock about this indwelling: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you ... God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are” (1 Cor 3:16-17). “You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”

(1 Cor 6:19 - 20). It is indeed “the God who said , “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us” (2Cor 4:6). The gift of God’s life in Holy Communion feeds and nourishes, preserves and enables His life in us.

We offer praise also to the Holy Theotokos, Mother of Christ God, who has by her obedience made this whole salvific process possible for us.

The themes recur. Just before the Lord’ Prayer the Priest again prays, entrusting all our life and hope to God who loves mankind: ‘count us worthy to partake of Your heavenly and awesome Mysteries ... with a pure conscience, for forgiveness of sins and pardon of offences, for communion of the Holy Spirit, for inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven and for boldness before you and not for judgment or condemnation.’ Again we see that mention of the Kingdom - in the Lord’s Prayer which follows we pray: ‘Thy Kingdom come!’ through to the closing doxology with ‘For yours is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Directly before Holy Communion the Priest addresses this prayer to the Lord: ‘Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God, from your holy dwelling place and from the glorious throne of your Kingdom and come to sanctify us, You who are enthroned on high with the Father and invisibly present here with us. And with you mighty hand grant communion in Your most pure Body and precious Blood to us and through us to all the people.’ The people in their turn as they pray the Prayers before receiving Holy Communion ask: ‘Let not these Holy Mysteries be for my condemnation because of my unworthiness, but rather for the cleansing and sanctification of both soul and body, and as a pledge of the life and kingdom to come. It is good for me to cleave to God and to place in the Lord the hope of my salvation.’ And in another place they ask: ‘Remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom.’

Now, having cited the many references to the Kingdom in the Divine Liturgy, and, moreover , having seen that participation in the life of the Kingdom is central to our faith, let us pause for a few minutes and consider the deeper meaning of what is offered to us. Let us look at the import of the prayer we prayed: that the Holy Mysteries may be for us ‘a pledge of the life and kingdom to come.’ What is this pledge? The Greek word ‘arrabon’ pledge or earnest occurs just three times the New Testament. When we receive a pledge we receive a little piece of something which we greatly desire to serve to secure our confidence in the full reception of that gift when we are capable of receiving it at the right time for us. So with reference to Baptism at Eph 1:13-14 “In him you also who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the earnest(arrabon) of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.” The first Corinthian reference is also Baptismal in context: “It is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and has given us the earnest (arrabon) of His Spirit in our hearts.” The second Corinthian reference is to our passing through death to fuller life with God at the time of our earthly repose: God prepares us for this transition in which what is mortal is swallowed up by life giving us the token or earnest (arrabon) of His Spirit (2 Cor5:5). The pledge of the Spirit is important to us and should be recognisable by us. God gives Himself to us, He offers us security in His life, He shines in our hearts (2 Cor 4:6). Do we have the eyes to perceive His shining? Well may be we have to learn, and maybe God will help us, He will teach us if we are willing to follow in His way.

St Macarios of Egypt: Prayer Philokalia Vol.3 P.292

‘The kingdom of heaven is within you’ (Lk 17:21). And what does the kingdom of heaven being within mean except that the heavenly gladness of the Spirit is clearly stamped on the virtuous soul? For already in this life, through active communion in the Spirit, the soul receives a foretaste and a prelude of the delight, joy and spiritual gladness which the saints will enjoy in the eternal light of Christ’s kingdom.

Now how does all of this sit with us in reality. We may recognise that Jesus enabled His close disciples to witness the glory of the Kingdom come in power at His Transfiguration. We may agree that this same glory and power have been manifest in the lives of the great saints of the Church. St Seraphim of Sarov showed his friend the radiance of the Spirit who is present in His chosen ones. But we may well leave it at that and reckon that this style of Kingdom living is not actually for the common and ordinary likes of ourselves. So we deprive both ourselves and others of the real joy of a full and vibrant Christian life. We are quite content to be comfortable, complacent and ordinary. There are great saints who would challenge this position and would seek to shake us out of it - I will illustrate from the writings of St Symeon the New Theologian who lived about one thousand years ago. Symeon chides those who are tempted to give up the struggle for sanctity: Kingdom living is not just for the elite, rather it is for all who turn and seek the way of God. God ‘has given us power to become sons of God and so, if we desire, there is nothing to hinder us. It is for this that the whole economy and condescension of the Son of God has come to pass: in order that, through our faith in Him and by keeping His commandments, He might make us sharers in His divinity and participants of His Kingdom. Indeed, unless you believe that this will truly occur, you will certainly not seek them out and unless you ask, you will not receive it.’ (Third Ethical Discourse P.129 - 130).

Here are some lines from his hymns of Divine Love:

Do not say that it is impossible to receive the Divine Spirit. Do not say without Him you can be saved. Do not say, therefore, that one can possess Him without knowing it! Do not say that God does not manifest Himself to man. Do not say that men cannot perceive the divine light, or that this is impossible in these present times! Never is it found to be impossible, my friends, On the contrary it is entirely possible when one desires it, but only to those who lead a life purified of passions and have purified, spiritual eyes. Hymn 27

St Symeon is absolutely clear that the reign of God begins right here and now. We are to pay close attention to which kingdom it is which we ought to seek. This is definitely not just for the distant hereafter, rather it is for each one of us who would accept and follow Christ, so that He may be indeed our King, the One who reigns in our hearts. We are to seek first the Kingdom and glory of God. (Third Ethical Discourse 137 - 8).

Conditions for Kingdom living: ‘Watchfulness of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion with your Holy Spirit, for the fullness of the kingdom of heaven, for boldness before you not for judgment or condemnation.’ Watchfulness = Greek ‘nipsis,’ is a very significant term in Orthodox Christian spiritual life. Our Philokalia is the Philokalia of the Niptic Fathers - that is it is the philokalia of the Fathers who practised and inculcated the virtue of watchfulness. To be ‘watchful is the opposite of being in a state of drunken stupor; hence spiritual sobriety, alertness, vigilance. It signifies an attitude of attentiveness, whereby one keeps watch over one’s inward thoughts and fantasies, maintaining guard over the heart or nous (intellect). It is closely linked with purity of heart and stillness. (Glossary to the Philokalia Ware et al).

St Philotheos of Sinai Forty Texts on Watchfulness Phil Vol 3.

3. P.17 ‘Watchfulness may fittingly be called a path leading both to the kingdom within us and to that which is to be; while noetic work, which trains and purifies the intellect (nous) and changes it from an impassioned state to a state of dispassion, is like a window full of light through which God looks, revealing Himself to the intellect.

23 P.25 At every hour and moment let us guard the heart with all diligence from thoughts that obscure the soul’s mirror, for in that mirror Jesus Christ, the wisdom and power of God the Father (Cf 1 cor 1:24) is typified and luminously reflected. And let us unceasingly seek the kingdom of heaven inside our heart (cfLk17:21), the seed (cf Lk 13:19), the pearl (cf Matt13:45) and the leaven (cf Matt13:33). Indeed, if we cleanse the eye of the intellect we will find all things hidden within us. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ said that the kingdom of haven is within us, indicating that the divinity dwells in our hearts

St Silouan the Athonite by Archim Sophrony

P.133 the mind in prayerful attention stationed in the heart.

As a typical consequence, the virtue of this movement and installation of the mind within, the imagination is curtailed and the mind released from all the mental images that have invaded it. In this state the mind becomes all ears and eyes, an sees and hears every extrinsic thought approaching from without, before it can invade the heart. Praying the while, the mind not only refuses to admit extraneous thoughts into the heart but positively thrusts them aside and preserves itself from association with them, thereby at the very outset cutting short the action of every passion in its initial stage.

P.135 Shutting the doors of his heart, stationing his mind on guard like a sentinel, unfettered by imagination and cognition but armed with prayer in the Name of Jesus Christ, the ascetic striver embarks on the struggle against all external influence, all thoughts from without. This is the essence of mental vigilance. Its purpose is to contend against the passions. In a wider and all-comprehensive sense victory over the passions is achieved by keeping Christ’s commandments but now we are discussing an especial form of ascetic awareness which begins after the ascetic, having gone through the familiar stages of spiritual development abandons the prayer of imagination in its first form and then in its second(eg academic speculation), having found by experience its imperfection also.

P.137 The substance of the Staretz’ ascetic path can be expressed in a few words - preserving the heart form every outside, irrelevant thought by concentrating the inner attention, by eliminating every alien influence - to stand before God in pure prayer.

St Hesychios the Priest Philokalia Vol 1 P162-3 On Watchfulness and Holiness.

1Watchfulness is a spiritual method which, if sedulously practised over a long period, completely frees us with God’s help from impassioned thoughts, impassioned words and evil actions. It leads, in so far as this is possible, to a sure knowledge of the inapprehensible God, and helps us to penetrate the divine and hidden mysteries. It enables us to fulfil every divine commandment in the Old and New Testaments and bestows upon us every blessing of the age to come. It is, in the true sense, purity of heart, a state blessed by Christ when He says: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8) ...

5. Attentiveness is the heart's stillness, unbroken by any thought. In this stillness the heart breathes and invokes, endlessly and without ceasing, only Jesus Christ who is the Son of God and Himself God. it confesses Him who alone has power to forgive our sins, and with His aid it courageously faces its enemies. Through this invocation enfolded continually in Christ, who secretly divines all hearts, the soul does everything it can to keep its sweetness and its inner struggle hidden from men, so that the devil, coming upon it surreptitiously, does not lead it into evil and destroy its precious work.

6. Watchfulness is a continual fixing and halting of thought at the entrance to the heart.

The Fathers are teaching us how to guard our hearts so that we grow right here and now to recognise the Presence of God’s Grace, of His heavenly Kingdom, within. Our tool and weapon in the growth process is the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy! Jesus Christ is present in His Name, and we begin to recognise that presence.

The presence of eternal life in its fullness is expressed clearly in St Paul’s prayer:

Eph3:14 - 21 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

Elias the Presbyter Gnomic Anthology 2 P.45 Phil Vol 3.

102 The key to the kingdom of heaven is prayer. He who uses this key as he should sees what blessings the kingdom holds in store for those who love it. He who has no communion with the kingdom gives his attention merely to worldly matters.

St Macarios of Egypt: Prayer Phil Vol3 P.292

‘The kingdom of heaven is within you’ (Lk 17:21). And what does the kingdom of heaven being within mean except that the heavenly gladness of the Spirit is clearly stamped on the virtuous soul? For already in this life, through active communion in the Spirit, the soul receives a foretaste and a prelude of the delight, joy and spiritual gladness which the saints will enjoy in the eternal light of Christ’s kingdom.

Here we receive a token of the eternal life of God’s Kingdom in our hearts, as we, being members of His Church, participate in prayer and sacrament. Hereafter we hope to move on in the fullness of His heavenly Kingdom. For all this the Priest pays during the Divine Liturgy and we do well to grow in our appreciation all the wealth which is on offer for us. (The language of an inaugurated eschatology).

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