Daily Gospel Reflection for November 15, 2018

Today's Gospel: Luke 17:20-25 The Kingdom of God and Son of Man quotes from Jesus are from the part of Luke’s Gospel where He shares memorable sayings of Christ. The two quotes each help complete the meaning of the other. Jesus, as Messiah, came to usher in the Kingdom of God, not the season of political victory anticipated by the Jews. Understandably, the Jews were confused after centuries of waiting for a messiah to deliver them from their bondage and political travails. Jesus is gently preparing his followers for a bigger Kingdom of God that unites earthly and heavenly realms, and then shockingly announces it has already arrived. He further emphasizes this by recasting the Old Testament phrase “son of man” (lowercase) to the New Testament phrase “Son of Man” (uppercase) as a frequent reference to Himself. The gift of God’s Kingdom is bigger and better — but different — than what the Jews expected. Jesus is not a political savior but is their spiritual Savior and Incarnate Son of God. God’s plan for our participation in His Kingdom is so much bigger and better but surely different than the plans of the Jews. Sometimes it is hard to see how much bigger and better God’s plans are for us than our own — especially when God does not deliver on our plan. The intersection between our best idea and His better ideas can indeed be empty. But if we truly believe that He is God and that He loved us enough to take on the yoke of our flesh and redeem us through His death and passion, then His way is best. Moreover, it is already here for us through the eyes of faith.

Ponder:

Do you believe that the Kingdom of God is already here and that it is possible for us to enter into while still on earth?

Pray:

Jesus, my Lord and God, thank you for humbling Yourself to become one of us in the unfathomable mystery of your Incarnation. Help me to enter into the Kingdom of God while I am still on earth through the expansion of my heart of through growth in the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

Copyright 2018 Meggie K. Daly Meggie K. Daly is the author of Bead by Bead: The Scriptural Rosary. She is the mother of six adult children and five grandchildren. She teaches mathematics part-time at a nearby university and is a retired research scientist. Meggie blogs at meggieKdaly.blogspot.com and is beginning to work on her second book. Receive CatholicMom.com newsletters in your inbox, including the Daily Gospel Reflection each morning! * indicates required