The kingdom is already among you
Jesus gives three answers to the question the Pharisees ask him, about when the kingdom of heaven will come. In the first place, the kingdom is not subject to observation. It is not something about which you can say: “look here! Or look there!”. That might have been disappointing to those Pharisees who were looking for concrete signs. It is disappointing to anyone who is curious, who will not believe unless there are empirical proofs of God. God is not subject to scientific experiments and for that reason, those who believe only in what science can prove reject him.
Secondly, Jesus tells them that “...for you must know, the kingdom of God is among you”. Eternal life is this: to know the Father and Jesus whom the Father has sent (cf. John 17:3). Jesus was among them, so was God’s kingdom. The Pharisees were unaware that that they were asking the King himself about His kingdom. They knew him: his appearance, his voice, his actions... but they did not know him for who he really is. Those who really know him begin to experience the kingdom of God. For them the kingdom of God has already started. They obey Jesus’ commandments; his joy is in them and their joy becomes complete (John 15:9-10). The Father and Jesus come to make their abode in them (cf. John 14:23). When we pray the Our Father, we invite God’s kingdom to come when his will is done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
For those who live by the rules of God’s kingdom life is transformed; even in the way they regard each other. Paul sees in Onesimus, not as the slave of Philemon, but as a beloved son, and he sends him back, reluctantly, so that Philemon may also accept him no longer as a slave but as a brother in Christ.
Thirdly, Jesus tells the Pharisees that when the kingdom of God is fully revealed, it will be clear to everyone: those who have accepted and those who have rejected it. It will be like lightening, lighting the whole sky. We shall all one day see the kingdom of God revealed. But we pray that this kingdom come already today as we strive to do God’s will, loving him and our neighbor.
