DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Luke 17:20-25 (11/21-12/4) Monday of the
Twenty-seventh Week after Pentecost
The Kingdom Within: Saint Luke 17:20-25, especially vss.
20-21: “Now when [Jesus] was
asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and
said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they
say, “See here!” or “See there!” For
indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Archimandrite Vasileios declares that “the Kingdom of God is not a
Talmud, nor is it a mechanical collection of scriptural or patristic quotations
outside our being and our lives.
The Kingdom of God is within us, like a dynamic leaven which
fundamentally changes man’s whole life, his spirit and his
body.” His clear stance
counters the contemporary translators who choose to render the three words,
‘entos umon estin,’ of the original otherwise than “...is
within you” (vs. 21). This
true translation discloses a truth by which Orthodox Christians live, being
guided by unbroken patristic teaching.
Do the modernist translators reject Holy Tradition because
the Lord Jesus replied to His enemies the Pharisees that the kingdom of God
“...is within you?”
Yes, for on the surface, His answer does not respond precisely to the
question the Pharisees asked. They
sought His opinion as to “...when the kingdom of God would
come...” (vs. 20), but His speaks of where the kingdom is. The common meaning of the adverb,
‘entos,’ is ‘within,’ not
‘among’ nor ‘amidst.’ To translate this rare adverb otherwise
bypasses its New Testament usage.
But what Blessed Theophylact says of the
Pharisees also applies to the modernists: “...the Lord shows that they
are ignorant of that which is within them, although those who so desire may
easily understand it.”
The Lord Jesus follows His reply to the Pharisees with a
word directed to His disciples (vss. 22-25). And remember, He speaks to us as well as
to those who first heard Him. Isaac
of Syria joins in reminding us that “...the kingdom of the heavens is
within you.” Do not look for
it in a place. “It does not
come in observation, according to the word of Christ.” Thus, our Savior guards us against the
false idea that we can locate the kingdom of God here or there. No!
Christ tells us, it “...is within you” (vs. 21). It is in the depths of the heart,
implanted in the center of our being, in the human fabric of us all. Thus, until the Lord returns to earth
and His kingdom is revealed like “...lightning that flashes out of one
part under heaven shines to the other part...” (vs. 24), do not look
anywhere else, expect anything else, or go to a specific place or location. The truth our Lord reveals lies within
every one of us. Listen to Him.
Be assured by what Saint Cyril of Alexandria says,
“...the kingdom of God is within you. For ask not, He says, about the times in
which the season of the kingdom of heaven shall again arise and come; but
rather be in earnest that ye may be found worthy of it, for it is within you,
that is, it depends upon your own wills, and is in your own power, whether or
not you receive it.” Saint
Cyril’s point is clear. The
kingdom is not far from any man, not even the deluded Pharisees nor from anyone
who will look where Christ directs. We do not need to wait for the day of
our Lord’s return to see it, taste its life-giving fruits, or be
transformed by God’s visible reign.
We need only to dig into ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit as
the Holy Fathers teach.
How may we reach the kingdom in our hearts? Will it not be done by striving together
with the Holy Spirit?! Saint
Gregory of Sinai says, “...the activity of the virtues is a foretaste of
the kingdom of heaven. We must
realize that the commandments are activities producing effects....” God’s commandments are not burdens
to enslave, but, as Saint Ambrose teaches, “...the truth of Grace, not
through the servitude of guilt.
Therefore, let him who would be free be a servant in the Lord, for
inasmuch as we partake of servitude, we partake also the Kingdom.”
Enlighten the eyes of my heart by Thy grace, unto
fulfillment of Thy commandments.
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