20251113 JESUS IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN PERSON
13 November 2025, Thursday, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Wisdom 7:22-8:1 |
Wisdom is a breath of the power of God
Within Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
active, incisive, unsullied,
lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, sharp,
irresistible, beneficent, loving to man,
steadfast, dependable, unperturbed,
almighty, all-surveying,
penetrating all intelligent, pure
and most subtle spirits;
for Wisdom is quicker to move than any motion;
she is so pure, she pervades and permeates all things.
She is a breath of the power of God,
pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
hence nothing impure can find a way into her.
She is a reflection of the eternal light,
untarnished mirror of God’s active power,
image of his goodness.
Although alone, she can do all;
herself unchanging, she makes all things new.
In each generation she passes into holy souls,
she makes them friends of God and prophets;
for God loves only the man who lives with Wisdom.
She is indeed more splendid than the sun,
she outshines all the constellations;
compared with light, she takes first place,
for light must yield to night,
but over Wisdom evil can never triumph.
She deploys her strength from one end of the earth to the other,
ordering all things for good.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):89-91,130,135,175 |
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
Your word, O Lord, for ever
stands firm in the heavens:
your truth lasts from age to age,
like the earth you created.
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
Let your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees.
Give life to my soul that I may praise you.
Let your decrees give me help.
Your word, O Lord, stands for ever.
Gospel Acclamation | 1P1:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever:
What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn15:5 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 17:20-25 |
The kingdom of God is among you
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was to come, Jesus gave them this answer, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God does not admit of observation and there will be no one to say, “Look here! Look there!” For, you must know, the kingdom of God is among you.’
He said to the disciples, ‘A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, “Look there!” or, “Look here!” Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of Man when his day comes. But first he must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.’
JESUS IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN PERSON
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Wis 7:22 – 8:1; Ps 119:89-91,130,135,175; Lk 17:20-25]
For thousands of years, people have speculated about when the world would come to an end. This curiosity strangely diminished with the advent of science, technology, and a better quality of life. We have gone from one extreme to the other. Until the 19th century, the focus was on the Second Coming of Christ, the Day of the Lord, or simply the end of the world. Over the centuries, this question became more urgent, especially during times of pandemic, war, or natural disasters. In the face of the possibility of death and global destruction, one cannot help but ask whether the world would be annihilated. For this reason, the Day of the Lord was always associated with the prospective end of the world.
We can therefore appreciate the question of the Pharisees when they asked the Lord when the Kingdom of God was to come. Jesus gave them this answer: “The coming of the Kingdom of God does not admit of observation, and there will be no one to say, ‘Look here! Look there!’ For you must know, the Kingdom of God is among you.” For Jesus, the Kingdom of God is not so much a place where we are going, but a reality already present among us. People often think that the end of the world — which for most is synonymous with the coming of God’s Kingdom — will be accompanied by natural disasters and disorder caused by war and pestilence. For Jesus, if the Kingdom of God is to be located spatially, then it is within the person rather than in the cosmos.
Jesus advised the people, “They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashing from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will the Son of Man when his day comes.” Indeed, we must be alert to those false prophets who tell us to do this or that in order to be saved. They are the prophets who offer false visions and sensational revelations. Such deception can also come in the form of technological advancements and promises of worldly utopias.
Jesus was therefore not so much concerned about what will happen at the end of the world or how the end would be brought about, whether by disasters or wars. What is important is that we must allow God to rule our lives, whether we are here on earth or after death. St Paul, writing to the Romans, said, “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Rom 14:7-9)
For this to happen, we must recognise Jesus as our Lord. He is the sign of God’s presence and the one in whom God reigns fully. The life of Jesus is one of total obedience to God and His will. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to complete His work.” (Jn 4:34) “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing; and He will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.” (Jn 5:19f) For this reason, He said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does His works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:9-11)
This identification of Jesus with the Father is hinted at in the first reading, where the author presents Wisdom as a personification of God and yet not identical with Him. Wisdom has all the characteristics of God. She is described as “delighting in the children of men” and was present when God created the world: “I was beside Him, like a master worker.” (Prov 8:30) The Book of Wisdom also presents a series of adjectives describing her gifts and goodness: “Within Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, active, incisive, unsullied, lucid, invulnerable, benevolent, sharp, irresistible, beneficent, loving to man, steadfast, dependable, unperturbed, almighty, all-surveying, penetrating all intelligent, pure and most subtle spirits; for Wisdom is quicker to move than any motion; she is so pure, she pervades and permeates all things.” Yet, the author underscores that although she reflects God’s nature, she is also distinct from Him. She is the emanation of God’s glory and “a reflection of the eternal light, untarnished mirror of God’s active power, image of His goodness.” Like Jesus, she renews all things by influencing us to become “friends of God and prophets.” Indeed, Wisdom is often said to foreshadow the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, for Christ is the Wisdom of God, and the Spirit gives us wisdom. In the Old Testament, “Wisdom” is also a name for the Holy Spirit. St Paul declares that “Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor 1:24)
Hence, when Jesus said, “You must know, the Kingdom of God is among you,” He meant that He Himself is the Kingdom of God in person. In His teachings, His miracles, His works of compassion and mercy, and His outreach to sinners, the Kingdom of God is made present. In other words, when we recognise Jesus as God’s presence in our midst and accept Him into our lives, the Kingdom of God is within us. This is why the Kingdom of God is within our grasp. The question is whether we will open our hearts to welcome Him. This Kingdom is most deeply revealed when we contemplate His passion and resurrection. Jesus remarked, “So will it be with the Son of Man when His day comes. But first He must suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation.” It is His death that reveals the true nature of God’s Kingdom — a kingdom of unconditional love, mercy, and forgiveness. Only through His death and resurrection do we know for certain that Jesus is truly our Lord and Saviour. The signs of the Kingdom ultimately go beyond His miracles to His resurrection.
In this sense, the Kingdom of God is within our grasp and power. It depends on one’s willingness to repent of pride and sin. When Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is among you,” He meant that it is already present; we need not look beyond Jesus, for He stands before us. With His presence, Jesus is declaring that the time of fulfilment has come. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He has won for us the riches of His glory. In Christ, we are justified. With His resurrection, we are assured that we will one day possess in glory what we already share in faith.
It is now up to us to welcome the Kingdom and make it a reality in our lives. We are the children of His Kingdom. We place ourselves under His rule. In the meantime, we live in the tension of the now and the future, sustained by faith, walking not by sight. But our assurance is certain because of what Christ is now for us. Jesus is the goal of all creation, the source and goal of redemption. He is the heir of all things and our destiny. We too must enter the Kingdom of God the same way Christ did — through the door of suffering, persecution, and rejection. We must suffer with the Lord as our faith is tested. Faith in Christ is tried and proven through the trials of life. Through our suffering, we make the Kingdom of God ours, because we allow Christ to rule our lives, our choices, and our dreams.
In the final analysis, when the Kingdom of God comes, we will not miss it. The coming of the Kingdom will be like lightning that fills the entire sky — unmistakable and glorious. We will not need anyone to point it out, for when Christ comes, all will see His coming in glory. Therefore, in faith, let us open our eyes to God’s coming each day in our lives, so that when we are on our deathbed, we will not fear the future, for we know our future is in His hands. We will welcome death with open arms, for we know we are not entering darkness and the abyss, but the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment