Kingdom of Jesus

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Today’s Gospel Text:  Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21 nor will they say, 'Lo, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."

22 And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, 'Lo, there!' or 'Lo, here!' Do not go, do not follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Luke 17:20-25

Reflection: There is something called the Kingdom of God and which Jesus came to reveal about.

Christ came to establish the kingdom of God in our midst and he is the King, whom all must pay their obeisance. 

If Jesus says that the kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed then how does it come and will we be able to recognize it?

When Jesus says that, he perhaps means that the Kingdom of God cannot be comprehended by our intellectual ability to observe and analyze.

His presence as the kingdom was to be a proof and them not recognizing the presence of the kingdom in their midst was indicting of them.

How could they not recognize the kingdom in their midst? And yet the fact remains that we by our intellectual ability, even after seeing the many signs will not be able to see the kingdom unless we allow God to open our eyes to see the wonder of his presence in our midst.

Many have gone astray in search of the kingdom without the humility and without seeking the Lord’s help with an honest and sincere heart.

Some reading this scripture think that it is they who should now build a kingdom, which mission ends up in them seeking to build their own kingdom; a kingdom of justice, peace and brotherhood.

Their outreach is to the marginalized and oppressed and the poor and you may say in belief; is it not what Christ came for?

A close look at their agenda spells it all. When they refer to the marginalized and the oppressed, they look into the externals which are irrelevant and materialistic in outlook and hence the emancipation thereof is also materialistic with Christ Jesus the king absent from it.

Prayer:  Lord I acknowledge you as the kingdom and I cannot be your instrument to establish your kingdom unless I have you as my King.

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