The Luminous Mysteries each have a distinct way of pointing to Christ as the Messiah. Declaration at Jesus’ baptism, transformation at the Cana wedding feast, proclamation at all of Jesus’ discourses, transfiguration on the mount and transubstantiation at the institution of the Eucharist, each reveal, in varying ways, that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. Perhaps the most direct approach taken in these mysteries is found in the proclamation of the kingdom. It is Jesus himself that teaches us about the kingdom, not by actions as in the other mysteries but by explanation; by His words. Yet, as direct as this method is, Jesus chooses parables, metaphors and similes to get His message across. The reason for using parables Jesus explained is that “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you [the twelve disciples]; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.” (Luke 8:10) While this certainly reinforces the teaching authority of the Church, since those who do not understand must look to the disciples for instruction, there is something even deeper to be grasped. In these discourses Jesus is describing first hand what the kingdom is like. Since the kingdom is Jesus, He is describing Himself to us; He is explaining in human terms what His divine nature is like.
Can man understand the deep things of God? Can man know what heaven is like while on earth? Jesus seems to think we can get an idea of it and he describes His kingdom by appealing to our emotions rather than our senses, the way we experience the rest of reality. We can’t know what heaven looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes or what it is like to touch but we can get a sense of what the Kingdom of God feels like in an emotional sense. Jesus does not seem interested in giving us pieces of a puzzle that we have to assemble in order to get a bigger picture. If we tried that we would have a very surreal looking image that would probably be far from accurate. Take for instance the images from the Old Testament and prophets; a six winged cherubim flying God around and covering His face and feet, creatures covered with eyes having wheels on the ground and having four faces; lion, ox, eagle and man (Ezekiel 1:4-28). From Revelation there are images of a slain lamb, scrolls and seals, bowls, incense, lamp stands, a dragon, a woman giving birth, beasts from land and sea etc. If one is being honest in visualizing these things they are quite freaky and don’t seem to fit with a utopian landscape. In fact if we were to attempt to collage or composite these images we might find the conglomeration to be as mistaken as the reports from the blind men experiencing an elephant for the first time – from John Godfrey Saxe’s famous poem:
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation Might satisfy his mind.The First approach’d the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant Is very like a wall!”The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried,
-“Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!”The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a snake!”The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he,
“‘Tis clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!”The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!”The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a rope!”And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong!So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant Not one of them has seen!
(Incidentally, it never made much sense why the blind men in the poem only report their experience of the elephant in terms of touch. Did none of them smell it, or hear it?)
So what is the kingdom of heaven like if it is not entirely accurate to say that it is like all these images which the Bible describes? Jesus says it is like innocence (Matthew 19:13-15), justice (Matthew 20:1-16), perfection (Matthew 5:44-45), joy (Luke 15:4-6), mercy and forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35). It may be that Jesus describes the kingdom this way so He will instill in us a longing for the kingdom of heaven. If we truly desire His kingdom and act upon that desire then He will make saints of us in the long run. By desiring Christ’s Kingdom we desire Him. Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father are the fitting end to our hearts desire. It is the reason why we have free will; so that we can freely choose to Love God. In this sense the kingdom discourses are wooing. They are passionate love stories that draw man closer to God.