Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 10, 2016 - Thursday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phlm 7-20 and Luke 17:20-25]Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, "The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold the Kingom of God is among you." [Luke]
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2016 POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT
The Pharisees weren't alone in asking their question. By the time the Gospel of Luke was put into writing, the Christian community had waited for about 40 years for "the Kingdom." There were two problems with this view, which Luke corrects by quoting Jesus. The first is that the Kingdom of God is not an "event" that one can attend. It can be experienced but not quantified. The second is that the Kingdom of God is not a future reality but a present one. The Pharisees' question comes right after Jesus heals the ten lepers (17:11-19). An openness to the Kingdom would have shown them what was really happening there.
All baptized Christians are called to be the Kingdom of God wherever they are. The Kingdom comes when the hungry are fed, the thirsty given drink, the naked clothed, the sick and imprisoned visited and the stranger welcomed - all in the name of Christ. Dramatic notions of the Kingdom with pomp and circumstance are an illusion. We can make the Kingdom of God happen wherever we are. We just have to get started. AMEN