Luke 17:20-25

Philemon 7-20

Psalm 146:7, 8-9a, 9bc-10

Luke 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I long to see your face. By sending your Son, you have revealed your face and the depths of your merciful love. I pray in earnest for the glorious return of your Son to bring all things to fulfillment.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Kingdom of God is Among You: From the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus has proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43). Naturally, the Pharisees are curious about the timing of when the Kingdom would come. Jesus uses their question to teach them that the Kingdom is not something natural or merely physical. When the Kingdom of God comes, they are not going to see a king sitting on a physical throne in Jerusalem surrounded by earthly wealth and legions of soldiers and warhorses. Rather, the Kingdom of God is a mysterious human and divine reality. Jesus teaches the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is present among the people or even within people. They haven’t realized that the Kingdom of God is in their midst. The Kingdom is a mysterious reality realized principally in Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, and is also a mysterious reality growing in the world and in the members of Jesus’ Body, the Church. When we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come!” (Luke 11:2), we are asking God to reign more fully in and through us and for the Kingdom to be definitively established: “Though the kingdom is already at hand with Jesus (Luke 11:20; 17:21), one must also fervently pray for its future coming in power (Luke 12:31; 23:42, 51). The petition implicitly asks that God’s kingdom, rather than Satan’s kingdom rule in one’s own life (see Luke 11:18-20)” (Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 219).

2. The Suffering and Glorification of the Son of Man: Jesus turns from the question of the Pharisees about the Kingdom to teach his disciples about the mystery of the Son of Man. Jesus is the Son of Man will one day appear in glory. Some of his disciples got a glimpse of this glory at the Transfiguration. But Jesus reminds his disciples that before they see the Son of Man in glory, the Son of Man must suffer greatly in Jerusalem. As Daniel prophesied, the Son of Man is the one who will bring about the establishment of the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:13-14). This will be accomplished through the Anointed one’s passion, death, and resurrection. The Kingdom is present. It is here now among us. But it is also not yet. Only at the end of time, with the glorious coming of the Son of Man, will the Kingdom be brought to its perfection.

3. From Slave to Brother in Christ: Paul’s Letter to Philemon asks Philemon to welcome back his slave, Onesimus, as a brother in Christ. We can only speculate about whether Onesimus was a runaway with no intention of returning or was a truant who left intending to return one day. In any case, Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon and tells him that Onesimus has become a Christian. Paul pleads for Philemon to welcome Onesimus back not as a slave but as a brother. Paul expects Philemon to receive Onesimus as he would Paul. Paul even promises to pay whatever Onesimus owes him and reminds Philemon that he himself owes Paul his very life! “These appeals essentially turn the tables and place Paul over Philemon in the chain of power. Philemon is the paterfamilias with legal power over this slave who owes him, but in God’s household – the church – Philemon is the beggar who owes Paul his salvation and the servant who must obey the Lord” (Prothro, The Apostle Paul and His Letters, 267). Philemon and Onesimus are now brothers in Christ!

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, help me understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. Teach me to welcome the reign of God with humility, to work in the Kingdom of God with love, and to work to extend it in my family and community.

Living the Word of God: How do I treat the members of my parish? Do I truly see and treat each one of them as a brother and a sister? Do I need to get to know them better, attend parish events more frequently, or be more hospitable?