The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little further from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did you come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

- Mark 1:14-28

Yesterday, we started to read Mark:  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:  "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You."  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."   My study bible tells us that Mark's written emphasis on John being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching reveals that a key purpose of the old covenant, which was to prepare the people for Christ, has been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).   Once Christ has come, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  To repent is to do a total "about-face," says my study bible.  This word, metanoia in the Greek, means literally to "change one's mind."  Repentance is thus a radical change of spirit, mind, thought, and heart -- "a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ," as a note tells us.  To understand faith in Christ is to know that this is a lifelong process, that such repentance in daily life is ongoing as a deepening and growing orientation toward Christ, a continual work of the heart and mind.  We should note that Jesus' first word of preaching, like that of John the Baptist, is "Repent."  The kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little further from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.   Here is another important aspect of preparation:  these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist and were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see John 1:35-42).  My study bible says that although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" called by Jesus will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did you come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  My study bible says that the word immediately occurs almost forty times in Mark's Gospel, nearly all of them before our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem.  The sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps make Mark's account not only the shortest but also the most direct of the four gospels.  Here we see Jesus' "immediate" effects:  the spirit world is aware of this incredible manifestation of the kingdom of God and the authority of Christ who has made Himself open to the world through public ministry.

In yesterday's reading and commentary, we noted the importance of preparation in the Gospels and also in our lives.  Today's reading teaches us about the fulfillment of the time, come about through preparation.  Time is very important in the consideration of the Gospels and the story of Christ.  Before His Passion, Jesus will frequently say, "My time [or my hour] has not yet come" (see for example John 7:6).  Time is important in all the Scriptures.  As the prophecy of Isaiah says, "In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You" (Isaiah 49:8).  With the important concept of metanoia, repentance, our sense of time becomes more shaped, given dimension and purpose.  What time is it right now?  What is the time for you?  What is the appropriate use of time?  The time of our lives on earth is relatively short, even for those of us who are the longest-lived.  What is its purpose?  Metanoia, this constant turning again to God and to the things of God, this orientation toward the kingdom of God brought into the world through Christ, becomes an important and essential use of time.  One might see the time we're given as opportunities for turning our sight to this kingdom and how it changes our perspective on life and the world.  Such, indeed, is the process of salvation.  In today's reading, the disciples know what time it is.  They respond immediately to Christ's call.  They will become fishers of men.  Their nets become images of the kingdom of God, a kind of spiritual network holding us in its fullness and expanse, something that runs through the threads and events of our own lives if we but allow it to do so.  The unclean spirit in the synagogue starts with a kind of rude awakening to this time, and perhaps speaking for all those like itself asks:  "What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did you come to destroy us?"  Jesus' very authority in His preaching becomes a startling awakening for the people.  Something new has come their way, not encountered before.  As Jesus teaches, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."  And the Kingdom is present with Christ.  This fullness of the kingdom, its presence, is always with us.  It is that which calls us toward itself, toward this "net" we may understand also as a communion of saints, of the worship that goes on in the world as it does in heaven.  This is what calls us to repentance; this kingdom of God that is at hand with Christ.  It's not just a sense of our wrongness or sinfulness. Rather it is a sense in which we ourselves remain unfulfilled outside of it, incomplete, imperfect, and without a true orientation toward the fullness and truth of even our own lives.  Let us consider what the time is, and where we need to look for its fullness.   Repentance is the very process of finding not only who we are, but all that life can hold if we allow ourselves to find it.