THE WORD
Wis 7: 22–8: 1 / Lk 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 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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
In one of his synoptic classes, the late Fr. Herman Mueller, SVD was explaining to us the reality of God’s kingdom. He said, “If by the click of his finger he can turn the stone into bread, the kingdom is here. Jesus is the Kingdom himself.” Our Lord makes his presence and his kingdom still known to us today.
Pope Francis, in his Nov. 14, 2014 homily, said: “God’s kingdom does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.” As Christians, our soul should live always in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit whose gifts we truly need in order to meet the challenging realities of life. This kingdom begins from within and should transform our hearts to be like God’s heart, building a kingdom of love, mercy and forgiveness. Truly, this is easily said than done.
One Saturday afternoon, I went to attend a Catechists’ meeting held in the mountains of Ecuador. Right after the meeting, one of the catechists started serving Naranja (orange juice) to all sixteen of us, but using only one empty sardine can as glass. Being the last one to be served, I was scared indeed that I might get sick. And so, before drinking, I did pray, “Lord, if I die of tetanus, if it is your will that I die, then I will surely die!” But the truth is, I never felt ill. Instead, I gained more weight until I left my mission there in 1991.
Indeed, his kingdom is all about love. But love can never be love if we are not willing to suffer for him, to sacrifice for him and to continue to struggle for him until we reach his Kingdom.
- Jun Pateño, SVD (New Jersey, USA)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
