Luke 17:20-25 NRSVue
20Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed, 21nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
22Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go; do not set off in pursuit. 24For 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., 25But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation.
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Further reflection
What are the Pharisees waiting for before they are convinced that God is really with them?
Are there echoes of the same thing in my life? What am I waiting for before I will acknowledge the Kingdom of God around me?
What change in my circumstances, in my heart, in the affairs of those I love would cause me to trust life? Am I waiting for someone to say: "there it is!"?
Talk of the Second Coming excited the early Christians but leaves us cold. We have heard too many false prophets telling us the end is nigh. The prophets are dead and the end is still far off. But Jesus says: /The kingdom of God is among you/ - in the Now, not an indefinite future.
Are there echoes of the same thing in my life? What am I waiting for before I will acknowledge the Kingdom of God around me? What change in my circumstances, in my heart, in the affairs of those I love, would cause me to trust life? Am I waiting for someone to say: "there it is"?