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Jan 24, 2021

Today’s reading follows immediately after the short accounts of Jesus’ baptism and temptations in the desert that Mark gives. It is the beginning of his public ministry. The reading consists of two main parts – a summary of Jesus’ teaching and the first response to it.
As the passage opens we are told that John has been arrested. So Jesus begins his ministry by proclaiming the Gospel, the Good News, of God. It is summed up in the words: “The time (kairos) has come and the Kingdom is close at hand. Repent and believe in the Good News.” It is so simple a statement but is rich in meaning. One can say that the whole of the Gospel message is contained in those two sentences.
We may comment on the following words: kairos, kingdom, repent
believe in.
The time of fulfilment: this is a translation of the Greek word kairos (kairos). Kairos refers to a moment when something is ripe to happen, it is the lucky moment. And that exactly describes the appearance of Jesus, an appearance which the whole of the Old Covenant has been preparing and waiting for and leading up to.
The Kingdom of God is at hand: The whole of Jesus’ message centres round the idea of the ‘Kingdom of God’. It was the coming of that Kingdom which he proclaimed; it was the core of his teaching. Kingdom here does not refer to a place. It points to the ruling power of God, a power based above all on love. Wherever the love of God prevails in our world we can say that the Kingdom is there. Love essentially involves other people so the Kingdom is not a place or an action but harmonious and interacting relationships. Jesus came to call every single person to belong to such a world. It is the reign of God.
Repent…: Here we have the basic steps needed to become fully a Kingdom person. First, we need to repent. ‘Repent’ means for most people being sorry for something done in the past. That is not excluded here but it really means a radical change in one’s thinking, in this case, about the meaning and purpose of life and how that life is to be lived. Jesus is calling for a radical conversion and to embrace his vision of life.
…and believe in the Gospel: And how is this radical change to be achieved? By believing in the Gospel. For many Christians, belief means the total acceptance of the teachings of Christ as interpreted for us by the Church. But something more is asked of us here. We are asked not just to believe but to believe IN. It is one thing to believe something but it may not affect our lives very much. But to believe IN the message that the Gospel brings, we are asked for a total investment, immersion of ourselves and not just in accepting as doctrines. We are called to live our lives and pattern it after the model of Jesus himself.
The second part of the reading gives us a dramatic example of some people who did just what Jesus was asking for. The calling of his first disciples. Jesus said to them: “Come after me and I will make you fishers of people.” There and then, they dropped their nets, their whole means of livelihood and went after Jesus. The emphasis here is the total commitment to the Way and vision of Jesus which is symbolised by the total abandoning of the boats and family members. Here we have that radical change of life, taking place. They follow Jesus with total trust. As they go off, they have no idea where they are going or what it will entail. They believe IN Jesus, put all their trust in him. They were to meet many trials and tribulations on the way but they never regretted the step they took. Only by following their example will we too have the same experience. The only guarantee we have is that those who did take Jesus’ call seriously and lived it out to the full know that they made the right choice.
To be a true follower of Jesus I need the radical change in me and it has to occur constantly. Lord help me to follow you everyday believing IN your words that only it has the power to grant me eternal life. Amen.