Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time, November 12, 2026, Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr.
Our meditation today has the theme: The Kingdom of God Is Among You. We have just heard these words in the Gospel today that says: "For behold, the kingdom of God is among you", said Jesus Christ to the Pharisees. In the land of Israel today, there are no more Pharisees. However, the lifestyle of the Pharisees still exists today.
In the past when Jesus was still alive, they always pressed on Him to see a sign that signified the coming of the Kingdom of God, because for them it should be in the form of a physical place with its political system that was powerful. Jesus was so much against this way of thinking. Today, the pharisees' attitudes can be found in those who are known as the miracle seekers or those who are only after some great and wonderful things that happen. In fact, they are blind to their own lives from waking up in the morning to the time for bed at night which in itself is a wonderful miracle.
Many people like to say and do the hyperbole, which is to make things bigger or to show an exaggeration according to their own will. They purposely add the quantity of people or things, or they can also exaggerate the quality of persons or things to be more capable or superior than what actually they are. In the same manner, they also want to value persons and things first of all with money, otherwise they don't go to work, do sacrifices, serve neighbors and even to pray and praise the Lord.
This list of pharisaic lifestyles can be very long, and all of them have one characteristic in common, namely blindness and deafness both physically and spiritually to the presence of God in the midst of His people. The presence of God is actually in our consciences, or it is known in the wisdom that is so subtle that penetrates our deepest minds and hearts. His presence and His word whispered cannot be grasped and seen, yet it is strong as a spirit that comforts, encourages and strengthens us.
That presence is actually a wise and gentle spirit, just as Saint Paul wanted to be present himself to encourage the growth of faith in every Church or Christian community he had built, and also in the encouragement or counsels he gave to Philemon. In short, this presence of the Almighty Lord truly incarnates in the forms of commandments, inspirations, values, wisdom, morality and virtues. All these constitute the profile of the Kingdom of God which is entirely spiritual that has power to penetrate all the faces of the world and our human life.
The Lord Jesus had taught us His own prayer that highlights the coming of the kingdom of God. In the strict sense, this is the kingdom that rules our lives and frees us from evil influences of this world. And in the deeper sense, this kingdom is the existence of eternal life for each one of us that we will achieve after our own deaths in this world.
Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord Jesus, make us always open to the presence and the coming of Your kingdom, and grant us the grace to eagerly welcome You. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ... In the name of the Father ...
