The kingdom of God is Jesus. Not a territory. Jesus is the kingdom.

 

Third Sunday in OT  B  2021

In today’s Gospel, the evangelist Mark summarizes Jesus' entire message in three short statements: "This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news."

"The reign of God is at hand." That was the essence of Jesus' message and activity. In his obedience and in what he offered humanity, Jesus inaugurated God's reign in history. Jesus was the fulfillment, the culmination of God's promises to the chosen people: the one sent to catch others up in the dynamic of his life.

"Repent" summarized the only appropriate response to getting caught up in Jesus' dynamic. Repentance, metanoia in Greek, is not merely a call to be sorry for sin.  Jesus preached metanoia as an invitation to believe that God was about something entirely new and wonderful — and everyone who so desired could participate in the good news.

 Metanoia is all about hope and a new vision of life. Metanoia springs from a vision of how God's future is breaking into the present. It is a faith-filled certainty that communion with God and all of creation is the ultimate storyline and meaning of history. Metanoia is the stuff of dreams that only God's spirit can inspire — and it is ongoing. Jesus' message is simply that. Each of Mark's three statements summarizes the newness, hope and promise that Jesus embodied

So, what is the meaning of “Repent and believe in the Good News”?  Repentance and belief are not two separate acts in our movement towards God, but one!  In fact, repentance could even be a consequence of our belief.

To understand what I am saying we need to ask a basic question: What is the Good News?  Is it the sum of all the dogmas declared by the church?  Is Good News the collection of the teachings of Jesus?  No, not at all.  Good News is the fact that God loves us in the person of Jesus. It is a person. Good News is JESUS Himself!  Yes, Jesus is the Good News.  The kingdom of God is here, in the person of Jesus.

So, belief in the Good News is our acceptance of the reality that we can experience God in the person of Jesus.  And when we do this, we repent.  We become our best selves.  We are motivated to love others not for any of our own motivations – that could become selfishness – but because we have experienced the love of God in Jesus. 

The kingdom of God is Jesus.  Not a territory.  Jesus is the kingdom.

As Mark continues to narrate in the gospel text of today, the apostles were able to leave their fishing nets, their family – things that they held dear.  This renunciation was their sign of repentance. And they were able to reach this decision because they encountered God in the person of Jesus.  They believed in the Good News!  Their belief was not just an intellectual assent, but a tangible experience of God in Jesus.

May we then surrender ourselves in front of this tremendous mystery – Jesus Christ, the Good News! Believe!   Recognize the Kingdom that is already here.  May this greater power enfold us and transform us.  May we become our best selves in the unconditional love of God!

Having announced that the kingdom is here and stated the conditions for belonging, Jesus begins the work of spreading the kingdom.  He begins to gather disciples.  In this liturgy, Jesus continues to call and gather his disciples -- you and I.  To follow Jesus is to not only listen and agree with his message, but to be willing to work with others he has called us to build up the kingdom.  Mark preached his gospel to help us know who we are as a people — those who have chosen to become one with Jesus in baptism; he did not imagine that he was writing down merely wise religious sayings.

For us as we respond to the call of God in our lives, our discipleship of the Lord Jesus involves responding to the call to be in community, to be Church.

As we celebrate Stewardship Commitment Sunday today, we invite you to consider how the first disciples responded to the call of God.   Their sense of stewardship is an example for us to making God first in our lives.  Stewardship is our response to the call of God in our lives – how we live as the disciples of Jesus.  We speak of a stewardship of time, of talent, and of treasure

Our stewardship of treasure is not the only way we are called to discipleship, but it is an important means of our willingness to turn ourselves over to the Lord.   If you are able to increase your giving, join me in making our commitment for our parish ministries to continue to grow.  If your commitment stays at the same level, thank you for that as well.  In all cases, we are grateful for your generosity.

I invite to watch this video to see how the ministries of our parish life are enlivened by your generous commitment to a stewardship of treasure in our parish life.