Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus 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."
The Pharisees were hoping for something that could be observed. They were hoping for a kingdom of this world that would throw off the oppression of Rome. We tend to have similar hopes. We wish that the kingdom would bring immediate change for difficult circumstances. But the central element of the kingdom is not the circumstances. The central element is the king. This is why the kingdom is among us. It is because Jesus is in our midst.
We need wisdom to appreciate this. Otherwise, oppression and injustice in the world make us doubt the kingdom, by making us doubt the king. Wisdom shows how we can exist in a tainted world without being tainted by it.
For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,
and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.
For she is an aura of the might of God
and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.
Simply changing external circumstances does nothing to give us wisdom. But if we receive the wisdom God offers us first than circumstances lose their power over us. In the end the Father will bring everything under the feet of Jesus. Creation itself will be redeemed. Justice and peace will meet upon the earth. But first wisdom is offered to those who will welcome her. Those who dwell in the presence of Jesus learn to experience the kingdom even now.
Compared to light, she takes precedence;
for that, indeed, night supplants,
but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom.
Let us pray for wisdom. Let us learn to see the kingdom in our midst. In turn, let us invite others to see it as well.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
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