The Kingdom of God is Here Already, Yet Not Yet Here

Christian Meditation with Anita Mathias

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The Kingdom of God (which is, partly, a mysterious, shimmering internal palace in which we experience righteousness, peace and joy) is, in lightning flashes, here already—we can leap into it—though not yet fully here. We sense the rainbowed presence of Christ in the joy which pulses through creation. Christ strolls into our rooms with his wisdom and guidance & things change. Prayers are answered, we are healed, our hearts are strangely warmed. Sometimes.

And yet, we also experience sin, deep within & all around us. Our own sin, which steals our peace and distorts the trajectory of our lives. And the sin of the world--its greed, dishonesty and environmental destruction.

But in this broken world, in which we have a spiritual adversary, we still experience the glory of creation; “coincidences” which accelerate once we start praying, and shalom which envelops us like sudden sunshine. Portals into this Kingdom include repentance, gratitude, meditative breathing, and absolute surrender.

Christ's Kingdom is “here already, yet not yet here.” Christ,

who rose from the dead, is now forever, vibrantly alive; he

stalks the earth. We sense him in the joy of all creation.

In lightning flashes , we glimpse his shimmering Kingdom

--great palaces of peace deep within us. On invitation, Christ

walks into our rooms with his clarity and wisdom, and things

change. We sometimes experience wave upon wave of the

love of God deep within and all around us. Our prayers are

answered. Sometimes. We are healed. Sometimes. We feel our hearts

strangely warmed with loving-kindness and warm-fuzzies. Sometimes.

But we also experience sin, deep within and all around us.

We are bruised by other people’s greed, stinginess, bossiness,

And then…there’s the sin of the world—the cruelty, pride,

unbridled greed and environmental destruction!

And yet, the Kingdom, God’s presence, is always available

--its peace, its guidance, its wisdom and its joy. We can

leap sideways into it, sometimes. Or it may take a hard

wrestling with our own traumas, grudges, habits, and neurology.

Repentance is one portal into the Kingdom. As is our slow

meditative breathing. As is gratitude. And absolute surrender.

Our eyes still perceive the glory of the coming of the Lord--

in surprising joy and shalom, well-being, which envelops us like

sudden sunshine; in glacially slow but unmistakeable personal

change; in the acceleration of coincidences and answers once we

start praying; in the glory of creation. And so, we,

with quivering voices, sing our broken hallelujahs as we observe

Christ’s kingdom inexorably, infinitesimally appear on earth, too.

My memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India UK USA

Blog: anitamathias.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anitamathiaswriter/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anita.mathias/
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My book of essays: Wandering Between Two Worlds (US) and UK

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1. The Kingdom of God is Here Already, Yet Not Yet Here (00:00:00)

2. Scripture meditation on Matthew 24:20 begins here (00:06:42)