Already but not yet. This paradox is quite intriguing in explanation of the Kingdom of God. I remember growing up as a child, listening to countless sermons all centered around the Kingdom. What was this place they were constantly referencing? Why was it so important to be making note of it every Sunday? Was it even truly a place?

Needless to say, it took me years to understand the Kingdom of God thus far and the growth continues to encourage my faith in the unknown. In Luke’s gospel, the Pharisees question Jesus as to the coming of the Kingdom. They want to know when its arrival is at hand, but Jesus says that no one will know its arrival because the kingdom of heaven is already in our midst. This becomes perplexing as Jesus talks continuously of a Kingdom to come, yet expresses that the Kingdom is present in the here and now. It seems as though we are striving for an entity already with us yet we yearn our whole lives to reach the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God is found in striving to attain full communion with Christ – a state so peaceful that only God could be the overarching creator of its marvelous nature. We are perfect without sin and can completely give ourselves to God in his kingdom. In the present, we can also experience the kingdom in different ways and in a different fashion than from that experienced after death. We live in a world plagued with sin, yet within the world’s thick veil, it can peer through holes which give humanity a glimpse of the true kingdom. Each person is made in the imago Dei or image of God. Thus, within each one of us, we possess a bit of the Divine implanted at the moment of our conception. Every moment we see another, we are peeking into the Kingdom of heaven. We see a person, made in the image of God, blessed with qualities mirroring the Divine if only they would be open to receiving those gifts. We must cherish each person because in doing so, we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven. We further see a glimpse of heaven while we peer into the eyes of Christ in the Eucharist. Each and every time we go to Mass or Eucharistic Adoration, we adore the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ who is everything to us. The Kingdom of Heaven is revealed in its most perfect form: Christ Jesus. As someone once said, “We are all blessed ones. Heaven […] is right here, all around us, everywhere; we must only open our eyes to see it."