A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (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.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that no one will be able to announce when the Kingdom of God comes and at the same time that “the Kingdom of God is among you.” He says to the disciples: “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.” The coming of the kingdom is already here and is still to come; it is both. Because Jesus perfectly fulfilled the will of the Father in his passion, death, and resurrection, he is one with him in being beyond space and time.
Father in heaven, you are present now, always have been, and always will be—present eternally. You reign over heaven and earth now and in the Second Coming in the return of Christ. By allowing your kingdom to come in my words and actions, help me today prepare for eternal life. Jesus said to the 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.” Give me the grace, Lord, to long for your Son in my desires and in choices I make. Help me see him today and, having prepared for his return, when he comes again.
From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord: whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” Your word is forever, Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.