Luke 17:20-25

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.

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 Kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples,
“The days will come when you will long to see
one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.
For just as lightning flashes
and lights up the sky from one side to the other,
so will the Son of Man be in his day.
But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

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.

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

So what does it mean for Jesus to say that the kingdom is among you? All of time is measured two great ages. Namely the time before Jesus was with us, and that time after. When Jesus was born he ended the previous age, and began the new one. This new age begins the kingdom of heaven and ever since then, it is among us. But just as all things proceed in God’s time, and even though it has been 2000 years since He was crucified, the kingdom is still at hand. And we are living on the cusp of something truly incredible.

But the cusp of what? The end times, the apocalypse? I suggest it will be those things but also, the most glorious and incredible fulfillment of all prophecy, and the fulfillment of all of Jesus’ teachings.

So does that mean that this time will be now (or in the near future)? We don’t know, but some mystics have claimed that, before the end, there will be a time of great peace, and that it will be called the reign of the immaculate heart, or the kingdom of the divine will. They say the world will be transformed, and it will resemble the garden of eden in many ways. And Jesus even confirms this probability in the lords prayer… “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When this time comes, the evil one will be restrained, there will be no sin, and we will all delight in the goodness truth and beauty of the lord.

But regardless of what the future holds, I do also believe that this message holds a lesson for us in the here and now as well. I believe that we are called to make the kingdom (as best we can), here and now. That we need to proclaim the gospel to all of the lost sheep, to the lost souls of the world, and to let them know that a time is coming soon where we will have to choose between themselves and the lord, and get their affairs in order before that time comes. I believe that this is our call, and that the time is now.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Help me discern further what it means to prepare for the kingdom of heaven, and to share that knowledge with all of the world around me.