Reflection
Our gospel today fits nicely with the beginning of a new year. Coming in the fourth chapter of Matthew, up to this point we read of Jesus’s birth, the visitation of the Magi, and the preaching of John the Baptist. Then, halfway through chapter 4, Jesus begins his ministry. Hearing of the death of his cousin, John, he moves his center of operations north to Galilee. Apparently, this was the correct move because later in the chapter we are told, “His fame spread to all of Syria,” and, “Great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed Him.” This is all the more amazing when we look at the simple message that He preached: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Now, when I was growing up, it was a common trope in cartoons and comics to show a wild-haired man in a robe, wearing a sandwich board or carrying a sign with the single word, “REPENT!” It was something fire-and-brimstone preachers encouraged their followers to do. I wasn’t sure at that young age what was involved in repenting, but I did think it must be painful since so few people seem to want to do it. So, what exactly did Jesus mean when He preached, “Repent?” The Greek word that is translated as repent is Metanoia. Although I’ve always thought of repentance as something that involves a certain level of guilt and sorrow,
Metanoia is better translated as consider your actions, think about what you’re doing, look at things from a new perspective.
What Jesus is asking us to do is to completely change our way of thinking. And why is this? He tells us in the next sentence: the kingdom of God is at hand.
There are many things that I desire to have “at hand.” My keys, my wallet, certainly my phone. Before leaving the house, I make sure I’m carrying enough cash for any errands I have planned. But do I ever stop to consider that Jesus taught us that the kingdom of God is at hand? When I repent, experience Metanoia, do I find that I am truly living my life as if the kingdom of heaven is here, now, present in my life? My New Year’s resolution (if it isn’t too late to make one) is that I learn to live my life in the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.
