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.”

Before I start my post for the day, I am asking that you hold up in prayer the following people who are very close to my heart.  My Uncle Jim had shoulder surgery yesterday.  He is man partially responsible for my sense of humor today.  One quick story.  My family got together once a month growing up to celebrate all the birthdays of the month.  We were just finishing dinner when the phone (rotary dial – on the wall) rang.  My dad answered it and then promptly handed it to me – it was a call from a girlfriend I was seeing at the time.  As I began to talk, my Uncle Jim got my attention and motioned that he would like to talk to her, so I gave him the phone.  He promptly stated that this was a family function and she would have to call me back and then hung up the phone.  We all sat in stunned silence for a brief second and then everyone of us busted out laughing.  I am still waiting for the return phone call!   Please pray for my niece Bre who had back surgery yesterday.  I am told everything went fine, but please keep her and my nephew in your prayers today.  Last of all, my wife got a call early evening yesterday and we had to rush her mother to the hospital.  My wife sat with her in the emergency room with her for a couple of hours and then her brother Paul came by and took over the watch.  When I went to bed last night I did not have an update as to what the cause of bleeding (from a place your not supposed to bleed from) was.  More to follow but please keep Mom in your prayers.

Yesterday’s theme was about offering God the worship He so richly deserves.  Today is about being ready for Jesus’ return.  Today’s Gospel begins with the Pharisee’s asking Jesus about when the kingdom of God would come.  I love Jesus’ reply.  He told them point blank that the kingdom of God was standing right in front of them but in a manner that went right over their heads…“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 behold the kingdom of God is among you.

As I reflect on this, how much more could the coming of Christ been foretold to the Pharisee’s.  How many prophets proclaimed the coming?  Did not the choir of angels sing GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND ON EARTH PEACE TO PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL and what is the song of the angels that is their everlasting hymn of praise?  HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.  LORD GOD OF HOSTS.  HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE FULL OF YOUR GLORY.  HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST.  BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.  HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST.  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

So are we believers or are we like the Pharisee’s of today’s Gospel?  Show me a miracle and we will believe.  Will we?  Are we like Thomas?  Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.  I want to be the man Jesus talks about after Thomas exclaimed My Lord and my God, I want to be that man who has not seen but still believes.

So how is it that I can come to believe even if I haven’t seen?  Look back on yesterday’s post.  See how it is that people rightly worship God and develop a way, discipline themselves to worship God.  Once you allow yourself to offer that praise to God, your mind will be opened and elevated to see that God is truly all around you.  He will be in your thoughts, in your words, in all that you do.  Today’s Psalm is proof of that…

Responsorial PsalmPS 146:7, 8-9A, 9BC-10