Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light

 

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

- Matthew 4:12-17

Yesterday we read that after His baptism by John the Baptist,  Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up,/Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Again,  the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."    Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  for it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,/By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: . . ."  My study bible tells us that Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region of Galilee.  As it had a mixed population, it wasn't considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  Many of the Jews there had been influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, and so they were generally considered to be second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,/And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death/Light has dawned."  Darkness in a Scriptural context means ungodliness.  Here it is representative of the Gentiles' unawareness of God, and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness, my study bible says, means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9:1-2.

 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Jesus' first word of preaching, just like that of John the Baptist, is "Repent" (see Matthew 3:1-2).  The kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand, because it is present wherever Christ is.

Here is the great good news:  The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  When Jesus sends out the disciples on their first apostolic mission, He will teach them to preach the same thing, telling them, "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 10:7).  We witness a kind of handing off, a passing down, of this message of the presence of the kingdom of heaven.  And so, we have to ask ourselves what this truly means.  To repent, as we noted in the earlier reading regarding the Baptist's preaching, is to do an about-face.  In Greek (μετανοια/metanoia) literally means to change one's mind, and it is a lifetime process of Christian movement in a spiritual journey.  Our own baptism simply begins the journey, and we move into the life of that kingdom with time, should we internally accept and cooperate with the work of the Spirit.  To be in the presence of that Kingdom is to live the life that Christ invites us into.  It is His presence, as my study bible says, that makes the kingdom of heaven at hand.  This is an understanding that required a type of repentance in its time which Jesus teaches to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well in John's Gospel:  "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).  Those who expected the kingdom of God to manifest as material kingdom, ruled by a worldly messiah, would have to "change their minds," to repent, to understand and accept the word of Christ, this knowledge that the kingdom of heaven was truly at hand -- but not in the way they expected it.   And here is the example of repentance:  it means to discard an old way of thinking for the life and the truth that God gives to us.  We make room, so to speak, through this change.  We grow and we discern.   This is the lifetime project of repentance, a kind of transition that happens as we are willing to adapt and discard the things that just don't fit in with the truth of that Kingdom.  Wherever Christ is present, there is that Kingdom.   Where One of the Holy Trinity is, so is the Trinity, and so to worship in spirit and in truth is to know that the presence of the gift of the Spirit is to be graced with the presence of the Kingdom as well.  It is Jesus who will teach the Pharisees, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (see Luke 17:20-21).  To accept His words would require of them a repentance, an about-face, a change of mind.  We have to open our own hearts and minds to this presence, to accept it, and to make all changes as accommodations to its teachings, its life and its truth in our lives.  So Repent is the first word.  We need to make room for this holy work, the presence of this kingdom of heaven in our lives, our hearts, our minds, our ways of thinking and being.  Where Christ is, so is this Kingdom.  Where we share the love of Christ, where we act in the name of Christ, so dwells this Kingdom as well (see Matthew 10:42).  We let the light into us, in order to dispel the darkness, and we share that light with others by living the life He teaches us to live -- by doing this work of metanoia, of change of mind, and allowing ourselves to be led by the Spirit (just as He did in going to the wilderness to face temptation; see yesterday's reading above).  Christ will teach that in bringing this Kingdom into the world, He brings division and even hardship and struggle for His disciples, those who would carry this Kingdom within themselves.  But our own struggle to discard ways of seeing and being that occlude our sight, our own darkness and ignorance, is no less a part of the work of faith and growth into the life of that Kingdom.  To see a great light is to sometimes be dazzled by it, even temporarily blinded.  To accommodate this Kingdom, the presence of Christ, is to live in His light, to make it a growing part of ourselves, and to allow it to cast out our own darkness.  Don't be surprised at the changes that might bring!