At that time, 20 the Pharisees asked Jesus about the time when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation.

 

At that time, 20 the Pharisees asked Jesus about the time when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation. 21 Nor will it be said, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." 22 And Jesus said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one day of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 People will say to you, 'Here he is,' or 'Here he is.' You must not go or run after him. 24 For as the lightning flashes from one side of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation."

— Word of Salvation.

Reflection

1. Luke now enters into the eschatological discourse. The great question of the Pharisees concerns what was happening at the time when Luke wrote the third book of the Gospel. There was tremendous tension even for Christians, who were facing persecution from Rome. The Pharisees, in their expectation of the coming of the Kingdom, clung more deeply to the Law, and Christians, to the coming of Jesus Christ.

2. Jesus himself is the presence of the Kingdom in history. He himself is the Kingdom of God. We can say that the Kingdom is defined as the justice of God, the experience of love, truth, solidarity, the building of peace, among other things. In itself, it is Christ acting, through his Holy Spirit, for the salvation of all. Therefore, to truly believe in Jesus Christ, to follow his teachings and to live the way he lived is to fulfill the Kingdom of God in one's own life and not only that, but also to become, as it were, the Kingdom of God for others. The Kingdom is present in the Church and, at the same time, future, in the sense of its eschatological fullness.

3. In times of anguish, tremendous difficulties, lack of love and disorientation, many will follow any voice, any deceitful person, whose only goal is to further exploit the pain of others and profit from it. This happens in the most varied systems: capitalist, socialist and communist, as well as in the current religious phenomenon and in the struggle to establish any game of self-interest. Many take advantage of the Word of God to create their religious enterprises at the expense of the suffering of others; they deceive with false miracles and hysterical cries, condemn others and continue to unbearably brainwash the innocent, easy prey for false prophets, propagators of the kingdom of lies. The same is done by those who want at all costs to approve the madness of the flesh as law, justifying error as a right, trying to forge a message of love. All of this is false, it is not the kingdom of God.

4. The Kingdom of God is revealed in Kenosis, that is, in the emptying of oneself for the good of others. The Word became flesh, and as a man, He took on our misery, died on the cross, rejected, abandoned as an evildoer, excommunicated by God, as a disgrace. However, He was saving the world, freeing mankind, loving each one, even though He was hated; He, the saving Grace, was rejected as a disgrace; He, the truth, was rejected as a liar; He, the life, was rejected as the cause of death; He, the Way, was rejected as an obstacle to salvation. In other words, He, as the Kingdom of God present for the salvation of humanity, was rejected, excluded and thrown out of the "holy city". The Holy One, crucified OUTSIDE the "holy city".

5. The Christian, who always lives waiting for the parousia, already knows that the Kingdom of God, present throughout the life of Christ, is also present in his life. Today, each one must courageously assume his condition as a sign of the Kingdom and fight for the transformation of the world. In each disciple, Jesus Christ manifests his continuous presence, his love for humanity. The Church is a sign of the Kingdom throughout its existence, it is its instrument, it is the place where one finds what is necessary for the life of the kingdom, which will be complete when the Son gives everything to the Father.

A big and affectionate hug.