Word to the Wise
Thursday, November 10, 2022 - Thursday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Phlm 7-20 and Luke 17:20-25]"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 Kingdom of God is among you." [Luke]
NOVEMBER 10 ST. LEO THE GREAT [pope and doctor of the church]
I once heard it said that we Christians live "between the tick and the tock" on a clock! We humans are gifted with the ability to ask "When?" But the early Christian community had to live with the diminishing hope that Jesus would "return" soon and set everything in order!! For some it was a more political expectation because of the word "kingdom." Some of the apostles,James and John (and their mama) in particular, seemed to have thought of it in that way. Those who sought to have Jesus crucified played on that idea to Pilate! But we have the words of Jesus in today's gospel scripture that say to us that the "Kingdom of God is among you."
Examples of the arrival of the Kingdom of God abound in everyday actions of love of neighbor! The dramatic parable of the Last Judgment in the Gospel According to Matthew (25:31-45), gives us a list. We can see Christ present among us in the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless millions on our planet, or even in our neighborhood. The Kingdom of God arrives when we reach out to them. The Kingdom of God arrives in undramatic form in simple acts of kindness that we can show to one another. Anytime we follow the teachings of Christ, we make him present.
The "real presence" of Christ is not confined to the altar or tabernacle. His "Kingdom" is not confined to church buildings. His Kingdom is within each of us. It is not an object or a political process so that we can say "There you have it!" and point. We need only look in the mirror! AMEN