Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - 23.1.05 Is 8,23-9,3; 1 Cor 1,10-13.17; Mt 4,12-23 The Kingdom of heaven is close The
Year of Matthew. 2005
gives us an opportunity to reflect on Matthew’s Gospel, & notice the
impact it has made on the life of believers & unbelievers for over 2000
years. We’ve already had time to appreciate the first three chapters of this
Gospel, which contain what is known as Infancy Narratives.
With Chapter four, we’ve also picked up the story of Jesus, come thirty
tears later, with the ministry of the Baptist, and the Baptism of Jesus. In
today’s reading -from Chapter 4,12 onwards, Jesus’ story takes an abrupt
turn. We’re told how John the Baptist was arrested and in jail, the career of
a harsh preacher of doom came to an end: and so ended his baptism of many people
in the Jordan river and his stirring words to be ready for the awaited Messiah.
This tragic event makes us immediately aware that this Jesus’ period was a
time of political and religious discontent, when some people rose against the
might of the Roman Empire, turned into rebels and terrorists and escaped into
the cliffs and inaccessible caves around the Lake of Galilee. From the political
point of view these acts of rebellion and terrorism achieved next to nothing.
Still, they kept the Jewish dream alive that one day a great leader, (someone
‘anointed by the Lord’ = a Messiah = a Christ) would come and restore Israel
to its former glory. Sadly both John the Baptist and Jesus were caught into this
power game: both preached about a kingdom of God, where people submit to be
ruled by no one except God and both were executed. Today, we pin point that the
arrest of John the Baptist was the turning point in the life of Jesus: he moved
from his hometown Nazareth to Capernaum on the Lake of Galilee and there he
enlisted his first disciples (Peter and his brother Andrew), and began his
itinerant ministry: he went through Galilee and his fame extended to Syria
(north), Jerusalem (south), Mediterranean coast (west) and many cities beyond
the Jordan River (east). Kingdom of Heaven. ‘Kingdom’-(thy kingdom come!)- is central to Matthew’s Gospel: he talks about it on 29 occasions. He prefers to talk about ‘of heaven’ rather than ‘of God’ out of respect for the Jews in his community, who never pronounce the word ‘God =Yahweh’ (Ex 20,7); and to stress the point that Jesus’ Kingdom includes heaven and earth. More importantly, he warns us about the elusiveness of the words: ‘Kingdom at hand’: It’s not about establishing a political empire; but then what is it about? a new order of things both material & spiritual, local & universal, on earth & in heaven, now & in the future? or is it an ability in us to ‘rule’ (=regnum) our life in a Christ-like manner, in our family & society, even in the midst of conflicts & contradictions? It is sad but true that the elusiveness of ‘thy kingdom come’, has been read in context with the doom and gloom stories of the end of time (eschatological and apocalyptic literature) & has caused people across the centuries to claim for themselves the wildest interpretations which in turn has brought about the wildest confrontation & rejection from atheists. Matthew calls us to acknowledge with great humility the enormous damage that our own Christians, from all our denominations have brought on our Christian faith: no wonder, unbelievers have made mince-meat of our faith. Matthew’s ‘Kingdom’ call us to read, yet again and with humility, the signs of the time, internalizing and allegorizing and spiritualizing its nuances and applications. Origen (185-254) said: he who prays: ‘thy Kingdom come’ rightly prays that the kingdom be established, bear fruit & be perfected in himself. ______________________________________ |
