17:20 – 21 When?

17:20 – 21 When?

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he 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."

For many months Jesus has been preaching about the coming of the Kingdom. People have greeted the news with awe, with fear, with joy, with apathy. The Pharisees want to know “when?” What are they to watch for? What are the signs, the evidence? Jesus replies that it is not a matter of “here” or “there”. Then he says something startling. “The kingdom of God is among you.” What does that mean? What exactly is the kingdom of God?

After thinking about this, I believe the Kingdom of God is in our relationships with God and others. Jesus has said over and over in many different ways: love God, love one another. John the Baptist was the one who foretold the coming of the Kingdom. He called people to repent and reform their lives. Then Jesus brings the message home. The Kingdom of God is at hand. It is in our hands, within our grasp. It is in our relationship with God and with others. All that it requires is that we love God and one another. Of course that is not always easy to do. It sounds like a big leap. We are more likely to be people of fear than people of trust. However, if we can do this – love God and others – through our words and deeds - we can live in a world, our world, oriented toward God. This is our part in the beginning of the coming of the Kingdom. Where it ends we do not know. It is still unfolding, unknown to anyone but God. We can choose to live in this Kingdom of love for God and for each other. That is our challenge and our choice. And our privilege. Amen.