In the US, we're not used to talking about kingdoms. They are not a lot of them left, and mostly kings (or queens) are figureheads and the country is run by some other form of government. We're used to thinking about, and talking about, countries. But whatever term we use, we imagine a country or a kingdom as a geographic entity, with borders (and yes, we do talk about those a lot!) you can see when you're entering or leaving a country. There are signs, and often some government location where passports and visas need to be checked. Crossing into a new country can be a big deal. I'm sure that same situation applied in Jesus' time as well. Kingdoms existed on the ground, in a certain geography. You could see where they were, and battles got fought when some kingdom wanted to expand, and the neighboring kingdom disagreed. So when Jesus says today (Lk 17: 20-25) that the Kingdom of God can't be observed, but is in fact "among you," what's He saying? I'm sure it was a head-scratcher for His followers at the time, and to some extent it still is. That's because it is easier to talk about externals than internals. We can understand a kingdom as a geography, with borders and such, a whole lot more easily than we can understand a kingdom as something internal---- an attitude or orientation or state of mind. What would such an attitude look like? Are you part of a country if you love the national anthem or salute the flag? Do you have to subscribe to a certain set of principles or values? Is it enough to wear a flag pin in your lapel? That same problem happens in the Church. It is hard to deal with a reality that can't be observed. So we default to markers, to externals. Sometimes those markers turn into little culture war skirmishes. Are you a member of the Kingdom of God if you take communion in your hand, as opposed to on the tongue? Do you prefer Gregorian chant to guitars? What's your opinion of Latin Masses? Is it more "holy" for women to wear veils in church? Externals, externals, externals-- that's all those things are. God doesn't care about them, because God's Kingdom isn't in those things. That's why Jesus says it can't be observed. God's Kingdom is all about what is inside us, not what we wear, or how we speak, or what kind of music we prefer. God's Kingdom is among us, in the hearts and minds of Jesus' followers. Let's keep the focus on that, and not get caught up in attempts to use irrelevant externals to divide us.