My grandmother lived two doors down from The Handy Grocery. The name let everyone know that all they had to do was to pick out what they needed, put it in their shopping basket, and check out.
What does my grandmother’s grocery store have to do with the Kingdom of God? I think quite a bit. The Kingdom of God is “at hand” (“handy”) according to Jesus. He might have meant it was getting closer by the minute, but also that it was within arm’s reach.
If the Kingdom is so close that we can reach out and touch it, then when we look at what is right around us, perhaps we’ll see the Kingdom of God there.
It may take some time and effort to retrain our vision so we get better at seeing what (or who) is right around us. Just go to a public place like a mall and spend time just looking at what’s around you. It’s not difficult and it’s not a bad way to pray. If Jesus is right, we might catch a glimpse of God’s Kingdom there.
—Fr. Frank Majka, S.J., a Wisconsin Jesuit, is engaged in pastoral ministry at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee.