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| Relic of St. Josaphat at St. Josaphat Catholic Church in Detroit, MI |
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.
But what about our circumstances? What about the Roman occupation? When will everything outside ourselves be fixed? But this isn't what the Kingdom is mostly about.
Instead, the Kingdom is mostly about wisdom who passes "into holy souls from age to age" making us friends of God and prophets.
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you (cf. Joh. 15:15).
This might seem like too little in the face of a broken world. But this wisdom that gives is friendship with God is enough to fill and transform the entire world.
Indeed, she reaches from end to end mightily
and governs all things well.
She governs, because this is the Kingdom. When we become friends of God we become priests, prophets, and, yes, kings. She makes present in the world the power of the one about whom it is said, "He has done all things well" (cf. 7:37).
This authority might not be political but it is nevertheless powerful:
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction (cf. Mat. 10:1).
After all, earthly governments are sometimes intelligent, sometimes beneficent and kindly, but seldom do they possess all of the attributes of wisdom. Absolute trust in such bodies is misplaced. Only wisdom deserves such trust.
For she is the refulgence of eternal light,
the spotless mirror of the power of God,
the image of his goodness.
She does not dwell in governments, only individuals. She wants to dwell in us. Let us welcome her. We welcome her be opening ourselves to God's word. We place ourselves in a position of receptivity, we quiet ourselves, and we listen.
Your word, O LORD, endures forever;
it is firm as the heavens.
Through all generations your truth endures;
you have established the earth, and it stands firm.
But though Wisdom is here now and pervasive in her presence the fullness of the Kingdom is still to come.
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.
Wisdom teaches us not to get so eager for that day that we run off after false hopes. She keeps us on track, centered, and vigilant for the day. She herself is our consolation while we wait in expectant hope.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
Let my soul live to praise you,
and may your ordinances help me.
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