Sermon BCP 28-06-20 Luke 17:20-37

When I was a kid growing up in the east end of London when it was probably as rough as it can be today, I found that if you found yourself in a tight spot often a way out of it is to say something that’s a little in context but off the wall.

Make people go “what did he just say”?? and they lose their anger and you can talk to them, and more often than not get yourself out of it. They don’t compute for a second and your off and away 😊

Once I was confronted by a gang that were building up for trouble and I offered them all cigarettes 😊 They were so non plussed,said thank you and they sort of wandered off…

Jesus does just such a thing today

When an angry mob of Pharisee’s are trying to catch him out, saying COME On whats the date, so they can yell “heretic” and cart him off.

His reply was you cant see the kingdom?

The kingdom of god is within you  

its that phrase I want to examine

Within you

The worod used here for within is Entos

The Greek word  Entos is  disputed among translations

Entos  >> our KJV: of God is within you.

GRK: τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστίν
NAS: the kingdom of God is in your midst.
INT: of God in the midst of you is

Entos is used in once more in matthew 23:26 and everyone agrees its “inside”

New International Version
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Jesus used that word and it must have thrown them, did he mean, within, in our midst, etc.

I think he meant all three

Like the KJV within, connotations for in our midst, in the midst?

Paul tries to use that idea when he uses “Being “in Christ””

To do justice to the full spectrum of Paul’s thought and language, the terms union, participation, identification, incorporation

So when Christ says In the midst of or within he means truly in something even more fundamental than your dna, more fundamental than your atoms.

Fused like milk in your tea, irredeemably part of you.

Some shy away of this translation of Entos as “within” because he’s is speaking to the pharisees and how can he be inside those who hate him, or won’t follow him.

That’s a poor reason because he’s inside all of us sinners that’s for sure. He joined us physically, spiritually, experienced our condition in every way and left us the spirit.  Truly

In our midst, within, inside,

I think that’s where jesus wants all us sinners to look for the kingdom of God, in our midst, and inside, and within.

That’s where we find the kingdom of God

Maybe that adds a little tension to our most common prayer.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

That’s not a petition not to make something external happen, or maybe not just external.

Thy kingdom come has to happen in all of those ways, inside, within, in our midst and among us.

For me thats the take away from today

With his help, thy kingdom come is up to us.