[Pearls Ep 155: Preparing for Sunday.]
This Sunday starts the third week of Ordinary time. As we continue to follow Jesus at the start of his public ministry we’re back to working the basics. That’s the powerful wisdom of the liturgical cycle. Next year we’ll again start with Jesus at the beginning (but from the Gospel according to Mark). And the year after that (but from the Gospel according to Luke).
There’s a lot going on this Sunday. Jesus travels North to Capernaum with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
In this week’s Pearls (coming out tomorrow) episode we go deeper into the significance of Capernaum – why it was the perfect place for Jesus to begin proclaiming the Gospel to the public.
Just prior to this episode, Matthew recounts Jesus’ baptism and being tested in the desert. Recall in the desert satan guy tries to tempt Jesus to settle for being a political ruler – “all these kingdoms I shall give you…”.
After Jesus defeats old pointy-tail in the desert, He goes to Capernaum and what’s the first thing He preaches? “The kingdom of God is at hand.”
Ha! Take that! It’s as if He says to the red-faced twerp, “I don’t need your kingdoms (as if they were yours to give) – I AM the kingdom”
Our focus this week is responding Jesus’ invitation to the Kingdom of God.
The people of Israel were thinking the kingdom would be an actual physical kingdom – that Jesus would be a new King David and “make Jerusalem great again!”
But Jesus is talking about an interior kingdom, that we carry with us.
And whether a person accepts Jesus’ kingdom or not – we all have an interior kingdom.
For a worldly example, take the show “Entourage” (about celebrity groupies). We’ve never watched it, but we can imagine what it’s like to hang out with an A-list celebrity. Their world must be entirely different. Doors just open for them. They have experiences that are exclusive to a tiny fraction of the illuminati. If you were to follow them around, wouldn’t you be living in their kingdom? Does it not follow them wherever they go (at least so long as they stay on the A-list, that is…)?
For a Godly example, what about Mother Teresa and the Little Sister of the Poor. If you were one of the sick and suffering on the streets of Calcutta and they came to you, wouldn’t you sense them bringing their kingdom of physical care, emotional compassion and spiritual healing?
In the same way, we bring our kingdom with us. As the saying goes, “wherever you go, there you are.” In this week’s Pearls episode and follow-up messages we look deeper at what makes a kingdom, and practical ways to choose and remain in Jesus’ kingdom, rather than be trapped in our own.
Blessings on your journey with Christ –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: Matthew 4:12-17
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”