God's Kingdom Is Near

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟏𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐒𝐚𝐦 𝟏:𝟏-𝟖

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟏𝟔:𝟏𝟐-𝟏𝟒, 𝟏𝟕-𝟏𝟗 “𝐓𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐤 𝟏:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟎

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) 

         Today marks the beginning of what we refer to as Ordinary Time, and we begin with this Gospel passage from Mark (𝐌𝐤 𝟏:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟎) and here we see Jesus beginning his ministry by proclaiming: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞.”          Mine and your initial reaction I’m sure would be to ask what the Kingdom of God that Jesus is talking about like and for us to fully comprehend what Our Lord meant we need to go back in time and look at salvation history from the Old Testament times to the time when Jesus was born.

         And it won’t end there because we need to understand why he was born in a lowly manger if he was supposed to be the King of the Jews. We also must reflect deeper on the reason why he was sent and the promises made by God who assures those who will follow Jesus Christ that: “𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.” (𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔)       

        Now he comes and proclaims: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) and we ask ourselves is this the Good News that Jesus Christ brings. Because it is not unusual to hear different interpretations of what the Good News is although the most common explanation that we hear from clerics, preachers and teachers is that Jesus Christ and what he did for us is the Good News or what we know as the Gospel.

         In other words, Jesus Christ is the Good News, and no one would dispute that. And the Catechism of the Catholic Church 422 explains: ‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘚𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥.” God has visited his people. He has fulfilled the promise he made to Abraham and his descendants. He acted far beyond all expectation - he has sent his own beloved Son.’

         In truth and in fact, Jesus Christ in very clear terms brings us right into the heart of the Good News and this we can see right at the beginning of the Gospel passage for today (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) when Jesus himself revealed for the first time what was at the core of his teaching: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞,” he said. “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬.”          

          There was a reason for Jesus to begin his ministry with these words because the people at the time were poor and have practically lost all hope after years and years of waiting for the long-awaited Messiah. What Jesus said must have been received as the good news that the people were waiting for and as we will see during his ministry that the good news actually revolved around the person of Jesus Christ, his teachings and the miracles that he performed that can only come from God.

          At the core of the truth of the Christian faith lies the fact that Jesus the only begotten Son of God was sent to ransom us all from the clutches of sin through his passion and death on the cross and we were given new life when the Holy Spirit was infused in us at the time of our baptism.

         Also, today we refer to the Holy Scriptures or the Bible as the good news and for good reason because it is in the Sacred Scriptures that come to know the good news in the person of Jesus Christ. The message that the Gospel of Christ proclaims is what makes it distinct from any other publications especially during these times when there is an economic disequilibrium in Europe and the United States, the Gospel or the Good News can be likened to a cool breeze that caresses your face parched by the noonday sun.

         And in this short Gospel passage, Mark was able to inject at least four very important messages, and the evangelist began by quoting Jesus as saying: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟓) But his proclamation of the coming of the Kingdom of God and his claim of being the Son of God was what got Jesus into trouble with the religious leaders of his time.

         What brought Jesus and the Jews into a collision course was the difference in the way the kingdom was perceived. The Scribes and Pharisees thought Jesus was going to establish a kingdom that would remove the privileges they enjoyed. But Jesus was not thinking of a physical kingdom (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟖:𝟑𝟔) but a kingdom that was spiritual (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟒:𝟏𝟕).        

        The kingdom that Jesus preached was a sovereignty that was without physical boundaries that was to be built in the hearts of men and this was the primary reason why this kingdom still stands today, the church that is populated by men in whose hearts Jesus continues to reign. And for this kingdom to last, we who are in it must likewise go into the world and “𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝.” (𝐋𝐤 𝟗:𝟔𝟎)

         Jesus is also telling us in this Gospel to repent which is a prerequisite to entering the Kingdom of God. Why? Because no one can be admitted to the Kingdom of God unless we have turned away from sin and have turned back to God, a process that is preceded by “𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟕:𝟏𝟎) and a transformed life in Christ (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟓:𝟏𝟕).

         Thus, repentance which literally means living a changed life is an integral part in the proclamation of the Gospel because any preaching that does not include an invitation to repent cannot be considered an authentic Gospel as Paul emphasizes in 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟐𝟎:𝟐𝟏, 𝟐𝟓.

         Following the gospel of repentance, Jesus urges us also to believe the good news (𝐯.𝟏𝟓). We need to believe because only then will our faith grow and because it is only in believing that we can be assured of the eternal life that God promised (𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟔)        .

         God made the supreme sacrifice of sending his Son to die on the cross to bring us back to a relationship of peace and friendship with Him and we need to believe that. He is our Father and he wants us to live as his sons and daughters, and we need to believe  that too. God loved us first and he invites us in love to surrender our lives to him. Why? Because it is only when we empty ourselves of sin that he can fill us with his graces.

         And finally, the underlying message in today’s gospel story is that we all need to step up in faith so we can take over from where Andrew, Simon, James and John and the rest of the Apostles left off so that there will be a continuing and endless proclamation of the Gospel especially at this time when the Church has issued a call for us to holy and to be sent forth as heroes.

         The Gospel of Christ would have no value at all if it were not proclaimed and Jesus is calling on us now to bring the gospel to everyone by being the good news ourselves. He is inviting us to share in the privilege previously enjoyed by the Apostles because God sees something in us that he could use.  

         But to become a disciple entails a lot of sacrifice as with Andrew, Simon, James and John who left their families to follow Christ. What would propel us to accept Christ’s invitation would be the thought that Jesus found us when we too were lost, and we are now obliged to also seek those who are lost for this is why Jesus came (𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟗:𝟏𝟎).

        When Jesus Christ found me sometime in 1989, I had to give up on the world that to me was the kingdom to which I was mired in. But when Jesus called me, I needed to give up my attachment to the world as this was no longer compatible with the life to which Our Lord was leading me into.

         At that moment when Jesus revealed himself to me, the light of Christ filled my entire being and I decided to walk in that light for the rest of my earthly life. It certainly wasn’t easy and I’m still struggling up to now, but I don’t think I will ever let go of that light now that I have had a taste of what it is to be in the light of Christ - the Kingdom who is at hand.

         As we continue to seek his Kingdom, we must bear in mind that we cannot keep the light of Christ for ourselves because others must also see this light through us “𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠” (𝟐 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟐:𝟏𝟓). (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘑𝘢𝘯. 12, 2026)