The kingdom of God is within you

 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!'  Do not go after them or follow them.  For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.  But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot:  They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.  In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed:  the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together:  the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field:  the one will be taken and the other left."  And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?"  So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

- Luke 17:20-37

Yesterday we read that as Jesus went to Jerusalem He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  And He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."

 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."   My study bible tells us that the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality that is present within both Christian believers and within the community of the Church.  It is essential for our understanding to know that within you here can also be translated as "among you" or "in your midst."  The various meanings reflect a true grasp of Christ's teaching.

Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!'  Do not go after them or follow them.  For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.  But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation."  Jesus' return will not be kept secret nor hidden; it will be immediately understood by all.  Used in various contexts, the term this generation does not necessarily mean only those living at the time of His Incarnation.  It may extend also to the full time of the present age.  The clear focus Jesus teaches here is on being mindful of one's own work for the Kingdom, following the commands He's left us.

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot:  They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so it will be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed."  My study bible suggests that this warning not to be preoccupied with worldly matters applies to both believers and parishes.

"In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed:  the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together:  the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field:  the one will be taken and the other left."    Christ describes a sudden revelation of judgment.  Some commentators suggest that to remember Lot's wife is speaking of material mindedness; she looked back at her possessions. 

And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?"  So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."  My study bible says that the body refers to Christ, while the eagles refer to angels and the saints.

Jesus says, "The kingdom of God is within you."  And in today's reading, this statement is tied to Judgment, the Second Coming.  Clement of Alexandria writes that Jesus "says only what is for the benefit of all people: that the kingdom of God does not come by watching. . . . He says, 'Do not ask about the times in which the season of the kingdom of heaven will again arise and come. Rather, be eager that you may be found worthy of it. It is within you. That is, it depends on your own wills and is in your own power, whether or not you receive it.'"  This is how the statement about the location of the kingdom of God is linked to Judgment.  Clement of Alexandria comments that the kingdom of God is within you "through the truth of grace and not through the slavery of guilt. Let those that would be free be servants in the Lord. As we share in service, we also share in the kingdom."  The gift, then, is within us.  It is also among us, in community.  The choice that is on offer to us is already present and awaiting our own opening up of its gifts and blessings, what it has to confer upon our lives and our communities and relationships with one another.  The preoccupation with "worldly" life to an exclusion of this Kingdom becomes such a great loss that it shapes Christ's warning about Judgment.  What is it we focus on?  What is it we exclude?  He tells His disciples to remember Lot's wife.  When it is time to take up the work of this Kingdom within us, there is no looking back -- it is the way of life that awaits, the true life that pervades all reality, all the things that make life a true treasure.  In the microcosm of our own lives, we may find a sudden revelation of a truth that was hidden, or what we thought was our reality may break apart and disappear.  It is at this crucial warning that Jesus tells us, "Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it."  Repentance is the act of constant change to adapt to the energies of God, the Kingdom within.   Everything is in the way we turn to the presence of the Kingdom at that time, a hidden reflection of His warning about what falls away.