The Coming of the Kingdom

Nov. 14: Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

We have to live in society, but we can also build society into something better. Overturning the current social order can lead to chaos and misery. But through patience and moving forward in increments, we can increase justice, peace, and love in the world.

Reading 1

Phmn 7-20

Beloved: I have experienced much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the holy ones have been refreshed by you, brother. Therefore, although I have the full right in Christ to order you to do what is proper, I rather urge you out of love, being as I am, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus.

I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to both you and me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I should have liked to retain him for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the Gospel, but I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced but voluntary. Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord. So if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me. And if he has done you any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, write this in my own hand: I will pay. May I not tell you that you owe me your very self. Yes, brother, may I profit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Onesimus was a runaway slave, who met Paul in prison. Paul converted him to Christianity and, after paying for his bail, sent Onesimus back to his master. This sounds terrible today, but the truth is, Paul was in no position to abolish slavery from a prison cell somewhere.

But what he could do was remind Philemon that he and Onesimus were brothers in Christ. And would it really be right to treat a fellow Christian as a slave? This laid the groundwork for something better, even if it took centuries.

We, too, can build foundations for a Kingdom that we’ll never see.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

R. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
The LORD secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.

God helps the poor and the needy, often through the likes of us. We bring the Kingdom to reality every time we love our neighbor and perform one of these corporal acts of mercy.

Alleluia

Jn 15:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord:
whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

We can try to figure things out on our own, independently, or we can accept the wisdom that flows from the vine to the branches.

Gospel

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."

People sometimes confuse the Kingdom of God with Heaven. It’s not a place; it’s a state of mind. It’s when everyone is following God’s word, in wisdom and charity.

It’s nothing big and flashy, which is what many Jews were expecting from the Messiah. It’s a slow, gradual change in our hearts. Thankfully, God is eternally patient. The Kingdom was among them, easily seen by any who would look. It’s still around, so long as we continue to build it in Christ’s name today.