Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Sister Madeleine Cornelio, SSpS
Thursday 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
“For behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21).
I recall a story told by Francis Dorff about a famous monastery that had fallen on very hard times. Formerly, its many buildings had been filled with young monks, and its great church had resounded with the singing of chants. But now the monastery was almost deserted. People no longer came there to be nourished by prayer. Only a handful of elderly monks remained, shuffling through the cloisters and praising God with heavy hearts.
At the edge of the monastery woods lived a renowned old rabbi in a little hut. People would go to him seeking wisdom. One day, the abbot decided to visit the rabbi and unburden his heart to him. The abbot poured out his sorrow.
The rabbi said, “You and your brothers are serving God with heavy hearts. You have come to ask a teaching from me. I will give you one, but you may repeat it only once. After that, no one must ever say it aloud again.”
The rabbi looked directly at the abbot and said, “The Messiah is among you. Now you must go.”
The next morning, the abbot called the monks together in the chapter room and told them that he had received a teaching from the rabbi, a teaching that was never to be spoken aloud again. Looking at each of his brothers, he said, “The rabbi told me that one of us is the Messiah.”
As time passed, the monks began to treat one another with a very special reverence.
In our daily lives, we can be like this community of monks, praying and asking God for favors while wondering, “Where is God? Why has he not yet answered our long-awaited prayers?” We look for extraordinary signs of God’s presence and sometimes fail to realize that we need not go far to find him.
Jesus himself tells us: “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” (Luke 17:20-21).
God is already in our midst: in the sacraments we receive, in the people around us, among our fellow workers, within our circle of friends, and in the beauty of creation. In the Eucharist, moreover, Christ gives himself to us, saying,“This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:19).
Do we recognize the presence of God among us? Do we believe that God hears our prayers and petitions, even when his answer comes according to his time and not ours?
Perhaps the lesson of the monastery is simple: when we recognize God’s presence among us, we begin to look at one another differently. We become more reverent, more attentive, and more aware that the Lord whom we seek may already be very close to us.
“For behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21).
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