12th November. Thursday of Week 32.

(Saint Josaphat, see below)

1st Reading: Wisdom 7:22-8:1

Wisdom reaches from end to end and governs all things well

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.

Wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. She is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.

Although she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.

She is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail. She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well.

Gospel: Luke 17:20-25

The reign of God is not “out there” but is already among us

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation.

Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr.

Josaphat (1580-1623) was born into a Catholic family in Lithuania and early promoted Christian unity in a country divided between Orthodox and Catholic. Becoming archbishop of Polotsk in 1614, he kept in unity with Rome, but opposed those Latins who wanted to suppress Byzantine traditions in the name of Catholic unity. A hotbed of trouble was Witebsk, where Josaphat went to seek a peaceful way forward. But when he tried to address the mob, he was struck in the head and his mangled body was thrown into the river, making him a martyr to the cause of Christian unity.

Finding wisdom

At the centre of life lies wisdom, which Christians might translated as “the reign of God”. This wisdom “penetrates and pervades all things.” We in turn are called to an integral life, and to form such a bond of solidarity and union with others that the kingdom of God can flourish among us.The Book of Wisdom sees human integrity as coming through wisdom, this virtue that is God’s supreme gift. It presents our God as compassionate and good — always and everywhere creatively at work in our world.

But we become impatient when things go awry in our world and like the questioners, we press Jesus to answer, “When will the reign of God come?” In reply, Jesus puts aside one part of the question, when. The kingdom of God is not to be identified with a point of time; this is a warning to those who try to predict the end of the world on such and such a day. He also refuses to locate the reign of God “here” or “there.” There is no particular, all-holy place where the kingdom dwells, as though one place is better than another. Jesus’ answer is baffling but also consoling: The reign of God is already in your midst.

Personally rooted within our hearts, the kingdom of God has already begun, through the presence of Jesus who dwells within us. Here we can already taste the sweetness of eternal life. Here we may imbibe the strength to be strong and loyal, for God’s wisdom lives in the human heart at its best.

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Right here among us

Sometimes we can miss something of great significance; it is right there before us but somehow we do not notice it. When the Pharisees ask Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, he tells them, “the kingdom of God is already among you.” They failed to see that the kingdom of God was present in and through the person of Jesus. They were not alert to the signs of God’s kingdom in his ministry of healing and teaching. The kingdom of God was there but in a less dramatic form than they expected it. The gospel reading reminds us that the Lord is present in our lives in more ways than we realize. His presence does not always admit of observation in the words of today’s gospel. It will often be un-dramatic, without fanfare. Yet the Lord is really present especially in the words and deeds of people that build up and heal and bring life. The Lord has assured us that we will never be without his presence. What we need are eyes to see and ears to hear, the eyes and ears of faith. Like the disciples earlier in Luke’s gospel we need to pray, “Increase our faith.” (Martin Hogan)