Kindness · also expressed as ‘(God’s) loving-kindness’ is an expression of charity (love). Jesus does not ask us to be “nice”; He does ask us to be “kind”. This is more than semantics.
King James Bible [Translation] · was among the first published Bibles made available to the literate public in English (1611). For a long time it has been associated with its use in the Church of England and diaspora of the Anglican tradition; in turn, for a good time it was considered with scorn by association in Orthodox and Catholic circles. While not the first English translation of the Bible, the KJV was in circulation before any translations of the Bible to English were approved by the Catholic Church.
Current versions of the KJV differ from the original. The most obvious variations are seen in the updated modern English. However, not only have typographical errors been removed since the first edition but so also have the fourteen books of the ‘Apocrypha’.
Kingdome of God · is not a kingdom of this world. The authority of the kingdom comes from God the Father. It is helpful to remember that ‘kingdom’ and ‘reign’ can be understood as synonymous here.
Through the Old Testament, there was always an eschatological edge the kingdom. For a long time, the people God contrasted other surrounding nations by having no king (besides God); they relied on judges assuming temporary administration and command of the kingdom and armies when the need arose. Even when there was a king by popular demand (and divine authority) and the people of God lived together in a temporal kingdom, they always looked forward to its fulfillment. There were promises that the Lord would be the “king of kings” (Rev 17:24) in the new and eternal Jerusalem (c.f. Rev 21:2).
There are passages through the gospel accounts (including today’s) that begin “The kingdom of God is like…” or “The kingdom of God can be compared to…” The analogies or parables that then follow often illustrate some life-changing facet of God’s reign. The gospel of Matthew is often translated with the term ‘kingdom of heaven’.
Then, through the New Testament times, the ‘coming of the kingdom’ is something anticipated as immanent. As time passed, understanding shifted from some temporal reign (like the Romans of the time) to an internal transformation. The term then developed as a reference to Christ Himself rather than a regime; the ‘reign of God’ is then understood as ‘life in/with Christ’.
Kneeling · shows not only reverence but adoration. It is a posture or attitude for prayer. While standing is the traditional posture for public and combined prayer, the Church accepts kneeling as fitting for private prayers.
By decree of the First Council of Nicaea (325), kneeling is banned on Sundays as well as during the Easter season. This is still observed by ministers (e.g. the litany of saints at Easter or ordinations during the Easter season). Nevertheless, it is offered in the current missal as a posture for the faithful during (the core of) the Eucharistic prayer year ‘round. The alternative is technically standing, not sitting; we see this observed by some parishioners after Holy Communion.
Kneeling is the norm for during Confession. This is the only time it is also prescribed liturgically in the Eastern Tradition.
To genuflect — kneel briefly on one knee — honours the Blessed Sacrament.
Koine Greek [language] · looks almost identical to modern-day Greek. It is the original and archaic form of the same language and utilises the same characters. It developed and standardised after the unification of Greece under Alexander the Great. This was
a base languages for Latin. It is still deployed in many sciences and some English root words.
The New Testament was originally written in this form of Greek. An authoritative version of the Hebrew Scriptures (the ‘Old Testament’) was translated into Koine Greek some two hundred years before Christ, sealing the corpus as a canon; the text is known as the Septuagint (from the Latin ‘seventy’ and often written in shorthand using the Roman numerals LXX).
Many Orthodox and Eastern Catholic liturgies use this ancient form of Greek in their liturgies and as their sacred language. An understanding of modern Greek could assist in engaging in any of these but would not be comprehensive.
While early celebrations of Eucharist were conducted in Aramaic and (Koine) Greek, the Church of Rome (the Church under Peter and his descendants) quickly moved to Latin. Still, the Kyrie at the beginning of Mass and the Trisagion (“thrice holy”) on Good Friday have been retained in Greek; these two are the extent of the Greek in liturgical use by the Latin/Roman Church. They represent not only reliques and remnants but untranslatable perennial truths of our Catholic faith. In theology, like many hard sciences, we retain more terms (e.g. eucharistia/εὐχαριστία and Theotokos/ Θεοτόκος).
Kyrie Eleison [Greek] · might be loosely translated to “Lord, have mercy.” Certainly “kyrie” is equivalent to “Lord” (as “Christe” is to “Christ”). However, “eleison” is more correctly translated as the verb “anoint”. This is a wonderful example of why the original (and sacred) language ought to be preserved at times rather than lose some meaning in translation.
This has bearings in our prayer. What is often known as the ‘Penitential Rite’ at the beginning of Mass is not a mini absolution or even a rite of forgiveness. That is carried out by the reception of Holy Communion. When we sing “Kyrie/Christe eleison”, we are not asking for forgiveness per se but for a healing/soothing anointing from our merciful God. This is an act of trust and penitence rather than ritual forgiveness or absolution.