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The Kingdom of God is upon you
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
How dramatic. Jesus is doing miraculous things. The Pharisees are jealous. The actions of God are being done without their approval. The purpose of the Jewish Law was to provide fertile ground in the soul for a relationship with Jesus. It is not to slavishly follow rules and to control others. The kingdom of God is about freedom.
This was the great insight of Saint Paul. The Law, in and of itself, could only demonstrate sin. It could not save in the strictest sense, for the relationship with God is what salvation is. And only fidelity to the relationship with God, and to God so we can accept his grace is what salvation entails.
The problem with rules alone is that it has the tendency to make us proud on the one hand, and full of despair on the other. In everything Jesus does, he shows forth the Holy Spirit. He does the work of the Father. And fidelity to a relationship with Jesus allows us to see clearly where God is at work in the world.
But more importantly it allows us to see where God is active in our personal lives. It enables us to see that what Jesus says to the Pharisees in the gospel he says to us. “The Kingdom of God has come upon you.” What does this mean? It means that when we accept God’s grace, we find ourselves transformed. It so changes us that we too can do the things of God. We can feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and we can visit the prisoner or hospital patient.
We do not do this only because we choose to do so, but rather, because who so allow God’s grace to penetrate our hearts and souls that it becomes who we are. Others notice, and they want what we have. And so get on with it. There are a lot of people who need to know the Kingdom of God is upon them.
On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the readings of the day) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.
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