Reflection
It is apparent that the new way of living Jesus had in mind was a “here-now” rather than a “here-after” vision. Far from being a theoretical idea or having a far off location, this was to be a present reality, rooted in earthly space-time. It had to do with real relationships with real people, an inclusivity that disregarded cultural and religious convention and embraced a new way of living in response to the incomprehrensible holy mystery Jesus called “Abba”.
Prayer
The kingdom of God is in your midst.
Luke 17:21
Action
How would we live if we believed the “here-now” rather than “here-after” idea of how we should live out Jesus’ message? What first steps can we take?
Suggested Reading
When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
Luke 17:20-21
He said, “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is near. Change the way you think and act, and believe the Good News.”
Mark1:15
The Kingdom of God is humble, like the seed: humble, but it becomes great by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is up to us to let it grow in us, without boasting about it: let the Spirit come, change our soul and carry us forward in silence, in peace, in tranquility, in closeness to God, to others, in worship of God, without spectacle.
Pope Francis
Take heart young people! Christ is calling you and the world awaits you! Remember the Kingdom of God needs your generous and complete dedication.
Pope John Paul II
When we see social relationships controlled everywhere by the principles which Jesus illustrated in life — trust, love, mercy, and altruism — then we shall know that the kingdom of God is here.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The kingdom of God, which Jesus came to inaugurate, is meant to create an alternate reality in this world, and ultimately to transform the kingdoms of this world.
Jim Wallis
The whole point of the kingdom of God is Jesus has come to bear witness to the true truth, which is nonviolent. When God wants to take charge of the world, he doesn’t send in the tanks. He sends in the poor and the meek.
N. T. Wright
The kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question is whether you are available to the kingdom.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The ‘kingdom of God’ is not something one waits for; it has no yesterday or tomorrow, it does not come ‘in a thousand years’ it is an experience within a heart; it is everywhere, it is nowhere.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Today, as it was 2,000 years ago, the Kingdom of God is within each of us. It is not within a church, a temple, a mosque or synagogue.
Mahatma Gandhi
The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.
Leo Tolstoy
Jesus made clear that the Kingdom of God is organic and not organizational. It grows like a seed and it works like leaven: secretly, invisibly, surprisingly, and irresistibly.
Os Guinness