A Radical Transformation

"...Thy kingdom come" we find in the middle of arguably the most recognizable prayer in history. "My Kingdom is not of this world" the same figure said towards the end of his life.
But do we really understand what Christ meant by His Kingdom? Augustine gives us a quite lengthy explanation in The City of God. Many theologians since Augustine, including Erasmus and Kierkegaard have also addressed the issue of being a member of this body politic.
The real question, though, is whether or not it should be a body politic. It is obvious in the way that Church was married to state pre-seventeenth century that Christians believed so. Even in the twentieth century thought, Catholicism was seen as needing political affiliation. In the most recent election the issue of abortion, an issue most Catholics see as tied to the Right to Life, was a more key issue to many Catholics voting than real politics.
However, to reiterate, Christ does not say that His Kingdom is of this world. It is NOT a political body. It is not a state nor is it fully realized in any form here. We would like to believe that the Church is the embodiment of Christ's Kingdom on earth. If this is the case, however, then why do we still pray, "Thy kingdom come" during Mass?
No, Christ's Kingdom is not here yet. It is an eschatological reality, not a contemporary one. We cannot expect to see Christ's Kingdom realized on earth yet while we live. However, as we pray for it to come, so we are obligated to work for its coming.
Thus, though His Kingdom is not yet realized, as disciples of Christ we are called to make it realized. In practical application, this means whatever things we imagine Christ's Kingdom as being, we ought to work for. If we are unsure of what this is, the Gospel gives us great insight to this.
Regarding those ostracized by society, do we not read that Jesus ate with the sinners and dwelt with the poor? Concerning distinctions and ranks among ourselves, does not Paul tell us that in Christ there is no longer "bond nor free, woman nor man, Jew nor Gentile but all one body in Christ?" Concerning our ethics does not Jesus present to us in the Beatitudes a basic recipe of Christian life? Blessed are the poor...the meek...the humble...the poor in spirit...the merciful...the peacemakers.
This then is our basic plan. Like any system which people utilize to better themselves, this program takes real application. Rather than simply blessing the poor, we ought to embrace poverty. Rather than defending our harmful distinctions, we ought to embrace our singularity in Christ. Rather than reviling the wicked (and this is often the hardest) we ought to reach out to them.
Verily, the truth of the Gospels is that if we seek to be Christlike we should find no surprise in being ourselves ostracized by those who we think to be our own kind. Christ was warmly accepted by the Samaritans, outcasts of even Judaean life, and Roman officials while hated by the Jewish elite, those whom we walked among and whom he identified himself with. If we follow the example of Christ, then, we should not be surprised to often find ourselves friends of the atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims sometimes before other Christians.
This is the critical distinction in Kierkegaard's mind in being a member of Christianity and Christendom. To be truly Christian, one must be ostracized as Christ was; must suffer and find himself abandoned by those from whom he expects support while members of Christendom often inherit privileges in state and society, a position that Christ Himself refused.
Thus, bringing about the Kingdom of God requires us to step out of our comfort zone. "To mourn with those who mourn" and "to be christs for one another" is the calling that St Paul teaches us the Christian is given. "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to eternal life." It is not an easy call, nor should it be. But this is what it is to be Christian, to be essentially human. We cannot ignore the cries of those who suffer around us simply so we can live in the lap of luxury.