Reading 1
Jl 1:13-15; 2:1-2
Gird yourselves and weep, O priests!
wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived
of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the elders,
all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God,
and cry to the LORD!
Alas, the day!
for near is the day of the LORD,
and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.
Blow the trumpet in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming;
Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom,
a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains,
a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old,
nor will it be after them,
even to the years of distant generations.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 9:2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9
R. (9) The Lord will judge the world with justice.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
Gospel
Lk 11:15-26
When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:
"By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
"I shall return to my home from which I came."
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first."
Meditation: Luke 11:15-26
The kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Luke 11:20)
Every individual in the crowd—as well as every reader of Luke’s Gospel—faces a decision. Has the kingdom of God come? It’s almost as if Jesus were exhorting the crowd: “Think!” Think about what you’re seeing. Think about what it means. This point is so important that Matthew, Mark, and Luke each recount some version of Jesus’ words here, while John tells us directly that Jesus “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).
You know the answer. Jesus did bring a new kingdom, a kingdom filled with new possibilities and a whole new way of living. In this new kingdom, we live under a new covenant. We enter into a new relationship of love between Creator and created, between the Father and his beloved children. Think about it! You are no longer tied to sin, because Jesus came and set you free. You are not doomed to sit in dungeons of pain and guilt, because Jesus has set captives free. He opens eyes that are blind and provides new light for those who can see.
Yes, the kingdom of God has come. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death. A new era has dawned, and we are children of that era. We live under the reign of a good and wise and loving King. God wants to surround you with his goodness and love. He wants you to wake up every day believing in it. He wants you to walk through your day rejoicing in it. And he wants to help you, in your weakness, to obtain it.
However much God is doing in your life right now, he can do even more! His love is limitless. His desire for your well-being knows no bounds. So put your hope in the Lord. Ask him to expand your vision and your expectations today. Healing, repentance, forgiveness, peace, compassion—they are marks of the kingdom of God. Hospitality, generosity, concern for others—they are all marks of citizens of this kingdom. Speaking truth, telling what God has done, praying for others— this is how we spread the kingdom.
“Jesus, I believe your kingdom has come. Open my eyes and my heart today to see it around me.”
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