Gospel: Luke 19: 11-28
Jesus and the disciples are approaching Jerusalem. The disciples are convinced that this is the moment Jesus takes power, restores the monarchy of old, makes Israel great again, and installs them into positions of power. Jesus is aware of their thoughts and expectations, so he tells them a parable that they think confirms everything they believe, but in fact it does just the opposite.
The only temple, the only kingdom God ever built is the human heart. It is there God wishes to dwell and have domain. When we decide, however, that this is not the kingdom we want - when we prefer an earthly kingdom with all the power and influence that Jesus rejected time and again - then the kingdom within us is taken away and it seeks another place in which to dwell. And like the Jerusalem of Jesus' day it falls to ruin, never to return to its former glory.
This parable is indeed a warning, but to those claiming to be disciples. The kingdom of God is not a worldly realm of power and influence. Jesus rejected all that in the desert at the very beginning of the Gospel. The kingdom of God is within each one of us, built by God for this very purpose. This interior kingdom cannot coexist with notions of a political one on earth. To choose the earthly one is to crucify Christ again; to choose the authentic one is to be crucified with him.
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