here it is!’ or ‘See, there it is!’ for the kingdom of God is within you.” And Jesus said to his disciples,
“The time is at hand, when you will long to see one of the glorious days of the Son of Man, but you
will not see it. Then people will tell you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go with them, do not follow
them. As lightning flashes from one end of the sky to the other, so will it be with the Son of Man;
but first he must suffer many things, and be rejected by this generation.

Reflect

“Serenity of our hearts.” We always encounter God. Sometimes we encounter him in great things.
But often, we encounter him in the quietness of our hearts. When we experience him in tranquility,
we can be at peace with ourselves. It is only then when we can have the serenity of heart and
become true instruments of peace, without being agitated and without the tendency to agitate
others toward violence. The kingdom of God is a kingdom not of violence but of peace. In
today’s Gospel passage, the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was to come.
Jesus answered them that the kingdom of God could not be observed externally. It can be
felt within. The kingdom of God is within us. Hence, we should not only be waiting for God’s
manifestation in glorious events of our life but also in the serenity of our hearts. This must have
been what Paul had experienced while in prison after all his zealous missionary activities. Not
only did he find God in his surroundings but also within him. Hence, we should not wonder why
Paul would be able to write a letter to Philemon without the slightest tone of agitation. Paul
was serene while reconciling Onesimus to Philemon.

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