From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets captives free. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 17:20-25)
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.”
Jesus is asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God will come. He tells them that the kingdom of God cannot be announced and is not here or there but among them. Perhaps privately, Jesus then tells the disciples that they will long to see the days of the Son of Man as they had been even as they look for the coming of the kingdom in the fullness of time. Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus responds in kind to their question about the coming of the kingdom. To the disciples and warning them not to pursue what is false, he reveals that as the Son of Man, he brings down from heaven the kingdom to gather us as one to the eternal kingdom in heaven.
God, help me understand today’s readings. You remain outside of space and time. The words of Jesus your Son express the interconnectedness of time—what has been, what is, and what will be—so that no one hesitates to wait for you to appear. Although invisible and not be found in my surroundings, give me the grace to realize and respond to your gift of the kingdom that is already here in the present moment. As I move throughout the day, let me ask you to remind me of every opportunity you give me to remain in your kingdom even as I long to see it come. “I am the vine, you are the branches, says the Lord: whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.”
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.
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