Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
“Lord, you know St. Ignatius, right?”
“I know both of them—the guy from Antioch and the one from Loyola.”
“I mean St. Ignatius of Loyola. He talked about finding you in all things. But I’m confused. You told the Pharisees that your kingdom isn’t coming with things that can be observed. What gives?”
Jesus laughs. My questions usually give him a good chuckle. I think he finds my quest for holiness amusing, much as I am amused by watching my dog chase her tail.
“Maybe a better way of saying it,” Jesus says, “is to find God among all things.”
This simple change makes a big difference. Among implies an association—God is in the company of all things. I find God not in particular things, but in the relationship between the thing and its Creator.
And God loves what God created.
—Bob Burnham is a Secular Franciscan, spiritual director, and author of Little Lessons from the Saints: 52 Simple and Surprising Ways to See the Saint in You published by Loyola Press.
Lord, give me the grace to find you among all things and join in their songs of praise.
—Bob Burnham
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