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

 

 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 

 

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,  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall 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: . . ."  The Gospel makes it very clear that the preparatory mission of John the Baptist has been completed, as Jesus waited until he heard that John had been put in prison to depart to Galilee.  According to my study Bible, Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in this region.  As it had a mixed population, it wasn't considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many of its Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  Because many of the Jews of Galilee had been influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, my study Bible adds, 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."   St. Matthew quotes here from Isaiah 9:1-2.  My study Bible explains that darkness means ungodliness.  Here, it says, "darkness" represents the Gentiles' unawareness of God and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  See also John 1:4-5.

 

 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  My study Bible notes that Christ's first word, similarly to that of John the Baptist, is "Repent."  The difference, however, is that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.  But nevertheless, Christ's mission is still to call us to repentance.  My study Bible explains that this is the necessary first step in the way of the Lord.  It is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism, and is to be followed by a life filled with fruits worthy of this change.  

 

As longtime readers of this blog will know, the term repentance is extremely important for us to understand.  In Greek, this word is μετανοια/metanoia, and it literally means "change of mind."   Repentance is not the same as simply feeling guilty, nor merely feeling sorry.  Repentance indicates change, a change that goes from one direction to another;  that is, from wherever we are and going toward Christ, where Christ would have us go.  Properly, our entire lives in Christ, and the whole of the religious and spiritual journey of our lives should be a constant renewal in this sense of repentance, personal transformation.  As we grow more deeply in this relationship with and participation in the life of Christ, so also we will change.  We will experience a kind of constant experience of conversion, metanoia, change of mind.  Of course, we have help on this journey.  We are not led simply by our own noses or our own opinions, but rather by all the things which are offered in the Church, and the things left to us by Christ.  Most notably there is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, and Christ's great Light within us.  St. Paul has explained that we are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in us (see Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16).   Additionally, we are left with sacraments and services, the practices and traditions of the Church, the Scriptures and prayers.  We have help in the saints and the angels who guide us and form the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us and worships with us (Hebrews 12:1).  All of these things are meant not only to shore up our faith, to help us to live that faith, but also to hold us in the embrace of the kingdom of heaven even as we live in this world, so that this active and ongoing work of repentance in us may bear the spiritual fruit that is possible for us, and follow Christ where we are led.  This is the action of the Light which continually leads us out of our own darkness, a constant illuminating process.  In fact, historically, Christian Holy Baptism has also been called "Illumination."  It is this sense in which Baptism begins our journey, which is ongoing and culminates only in the fullness of Christ's light, an eternal goal and not simply a temporal one.  As my study Bible notes, the kingdom of heaven is at hand for us, for where Christ is, so there is His Kingdom.  Where two or three are gathered in His name, He has promised us, so He is there also, and moreover, He is with us always.  He is the morning star that rises in our hearts, and the light shining in a dark place  (2 Peter 1:19-20).  For we are all disciples -- that is, learners -- and this is our road, Christ's "way."

 

 

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

 

 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 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 you shall 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.  Note that the Gospel gives us a sense of the "handing off" of ministry from John the Baptist, the last and greatest prophet of the Old Testament type prophets, to Jesus, who brings the New Covenant through His ministry.  John is titled the Forerunner, the one who prepared the people for Christ's ministry.

 

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 comments that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region of Galilee.  As Galilee had a mixed population, it was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  Because many of the Jews there had been influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, my study Bible says, 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, my study Bible explains, 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 means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light, it says, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."   This is Christ's first word of His ministry, echoing that of John the Baptist, "Repent" (see this reading).  The kingdom of heaven, my study Bible says, is present wherever Christ is.

 

 My study Bible comments that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.  At the moment when Christ first comes preaching this word, people have yet to see the unfolding of His ministry and His teachings, His miracles and His criticisms of the religious leadership.  The people who hear Christ in the beginning of His ministry don't yet know about what is to come in Holy Week, His Crucifixion, nor His Resurrection.  They don't know about Pentecost and the Church to come.  But when we listen and know and accept in the Church that "where Christ is, there is the kingdom of heaven" we need to think about all that this means.  For where Christ is, there is also the whole of Christ.  There is the Man who taught us that to follow Him is to take up our own crosses.  There is the One who was Crucified.  There is the One who died and resurrected and who ascended into heaven, even divinizing human flesh, so that we could follow Him there also.  So when we hear the command "Repent" used by Christ, let us hear all of its meaning for us.  For it does not come in a vacuum to us.  We are not the people of Galilee who first hear Him preach and have no familiarity with Him except perhaps as One from a town of not much reputation, Nazareth, a son of a carpenter.  To repent in our context, as those who must hear echoes of the fullness of Christ's mission and ministry in what He preaches here, we must understand that the command to repent is asking us to be conformed to Him in our love for Him, the same way that in a solid marriage of love, we find spouses conforming to one another out of love.  But He is our Bridegroom, the head of our family, the One who teaches us what we are all about, gives us His Creed, and encourages us in turn to bloom in that repentance, in following Him, as each one may do with whatever they have been given in life, created as a unique soul by God.  To repent, in the true meaning of the Greek term, is to "change one's mind."  But this is a special kind of changing of one's mind.  This is a change of mind that comes through the influence of Christ, of that kingdom of heaven that exists wherever He is.  And let us not forget that where He is, so also is the Father and the Holy Spirit, and the fullness of the kingdom of heaven in the great cloud of witnesses testified to by St. Paul.  We "repent" or change in terms of the influence and effect of our closeness to Christ in all of that fullness, just like the disciples will who follow Him in the stories of the Gospels.  Let us remember when we pray, when we turn to the Cross, in all our moments when we seek Christ, that there is the kingdom of heaven, and His mission and ministry meant for us to dwell there also, and to help to bring it into this world through our faith in following Him and bearing His light within us.

 

 

 

 

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 temped 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 you shall 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: . . . "  The quotation that begins here is from Isaiah 9:1-2.  My study Bible explains that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region.  Having a mixed population, it was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As many of the Jews there were influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, they were generally considered to be second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.   Let us note how the text tells us that Jesus deliberately began His ministry here; He departed to Galilee.  This is His journey.

 

 "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 is another term which means ungodliness.  Here it represents the Gentiles' unawareness of God, according to my study Bible, as well as the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness, my study Bible explains, means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."   Like that of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-2), the first word of Jesus as He inaugurates His public ministry, is "Repent."  My study Bible comments that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

 

 Jesus' first word of His preaching in His public ministry is, Repent.  In fact, what He says is identical to John the Baptist's preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  It's important that we notice Matthew takes time to remark that Jesus has waited to begin His public ministry until after John is put in prison.  With these first words reported in the Gospel, it's clear we're to understand there is no important break between John the Baptist and Jesus in terms of their service to God as part of the same plan of redemption.  Although John, importantly, was a part of the Old Covenant (and in fact, the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets), and Jesus Himself ushers in the New, they are nonetheless on the same continuity, each playing their role in the salvation plan of God.   Jesus will say to the disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11).  This illustrates the place of John the Baptist, and also the continuity between the doctrine of the Old and the New Covenants.  John has come preparing the people for the Messiah with a message and also a baptism of repentance.  But Jesus will usher in a different Holy Baptism.  As John has said in preparing the people, the Christ will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11).  John's baptism of repentance called people to do an "about-face" preparing for the Messiah, to "prepare the way of the LORD" and to "make His paths straight" (in the words of Isaiah 40:3), in order to receive the Christ.  But when Jesus commands repentance, it is He who is the One to turn to and to receive.  We are to prepare to follow Him, and have our own "change of mind" (the meaning of the Greek word for repentance) as He inaugurates us into the kingdom of heaven and we find our way forward.  Our faithfulness is what is asked for, for He takes us not to a set of propositions and laws, but rather onto a journey with Him -- for as my study Bible says, where He is, so is the kingdom of heaven.  Some two thousand years later, we are still on that journey, and it is a new one for each generation, for each person who receives Him and participates in His life and community of the Church and all the communion of saints.  May we continue to bear the fruits of repentance and of the Spirit, for it remains His light that guides us and shows us the way out of our own darkness.

 

 

 

 

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

 

 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, 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 you shall 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 comments here that the term Galilee of the Gentiles is an indication that many non-Jews lived in the region.  As it had a mixed population, Galilee was not considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  Since many of the Jews there had been influenced by Greek (Hellenistic) culture and customs, they were generally considered 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."  My study Bible explains here that darkness means ungodliness.  Here it is meant to represent the Gentiles' unawareness of God and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Like that of John the Baptist (see this reading), Christ's first word is to "Repent."   To call to "repent" is a call back to communion with God, a reorientation of one's life toward God, and a future which bears spiritual fruits worthy of such.  But in this case, the call comes from Christ, with whom the kingdom of heaven is always present, wherever He is.

Here is the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.   Each of our readings so far has included quotations from Old Testament Scripture, as if to make us surely understand how the New is the fulfillment of the Old.  Here the text begins Christ's ministry with a quotation from Isaiah 9:1-2.  And there is another important sense of "handing off" here that starts right from the beginning.  Jesus begins His ministry, according to Matthew, when He heard that John had been put in prison.  John is the last in line (and considered to be the greatest) of the Old Testament prophets, and Jesus begins His own public ministry when He knows that John has been put in prison by Herod Antipas.  Herod Antipas is the "king" or tetrarch of Galilee, and it is also here where Jesus has chosen to begin His ministry.  The sense of this place, called "Galilee of the Gentiles" by Isaiah, is important, as Jesus has grown up in Galilee, despite ancestral ties to Bethlehem of Judea.  Galilee is also the place where John the Baptist will meet his martyrdom (Matthew 14:1-12).  There is clearly an important tie here between old and new in the sense that while David the king came from Christ's ancestral home of Bethlehem (in which Jesus was born), now Christ, the "son of David," comes from "Galilee of the Gentiles" -- and the New Covenant will go out to the entire Greek-speaking world (the international language of its time), taking this lineage with it to all the world, even in fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (see Genesis 12:1-3).  St. Paul explains, "For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" (Romans 4:13).  So Christ's call to repentance is an echo of all the prophets that have always come throughout the history in the Scriptures, God's call from the beginning to wayward human beings.  But this call is also new, in the sense that it comes in a new fulfillment of what has come before, that it is a call to the righteousness of faith for all people, and will only be fulfilled as such.  Christ's call to repentance is an expansion and renewal of covenant for a new people in which, as St. Paul so memorably has written, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28), for "Christ is all and in all" (Colossians 3:11).  Today that call to repentance, the about-face in which we "remember God" and seek to do so at all times, that continually calls us to the righteousness of faith, is being sent into all the world in all kinds of ways, even through the new media available.  But we have to ask ourselves at the same time how different the world is from the time of Christ's birth.  We still have empires and wars and material might that grows greater and bigger still.  And yet, we still have small peoples -- and maybe in particular those of Christian faith, even descendants of those who were the first peoples in the world to embrace Christianity -- who are being targeted for their faith, even victims of genocidal policies who are set apart by that faith.  Today, despite worldwide attention in the previous century to problems of warfare and attacks upon civilians, the establishment of legal conventions against such violence and even formally against genocide, we have ongoing persecution and new martyrs of the Christian faith.  Even today, under cover of broader and greater wars, violence against the innocent rages and other interests take the stage before actual prevention.  Ultimately, it is our righteousness of faith upon which we must depend, Christ's words to us that call us to repentance, a constant turning to God, to reliance upon God, to facing our Lord -- for where He is, there is the kingdom of heaven.  So we turn to Him, and we heed His call, which is always new and renewing for all of us, for all of our lives, for at each moment we need what He has to give us.  The struggle which figured as great example for us in yesterday's reading (above) remains the same.  It's still a battle "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places," as St. Paul said (Ephesians 6:12).  Only the names and faces change, but so much remains the same.  Christ has warned us that our age would be one of wars and rumors of wars, of upheavals and shocking sights until His return, through which we must endure in our faith.  There is still the shadow of darkness and death, and there is still the light.  Let us always remember our struggle for faith, and that He calls us always to repentance, to Himself, today and always, for He is all and in all.

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 you shall 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: . . . "   Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9:1-2, a prophesy of the coming of Christ.  My study Bible comments that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region.  As Galilee had a mixed population, it says, it was not considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As much of the Jewish population there had been influenced by Greek culture and customs, they were generally looked upon as 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."  My study Bible explains that darkness means ungodliness.  Here it is a representation of the Gentiles' unawareness of God, and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we can see from Isaiah's prophecy, this darkness of spiritual ignorance has an association with death and evil.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Christ's first word in His preaching, like that of John the Baptist, is Repent."  My study Bible comments that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

In the use of Isaiah's prophecy, we see how Scripture is meant to work.  There are echoes of truths throughout the Old and New Testaments; things which are foreshadowed in the Old manifest themselves through Christ's ministry and Incarnation -- right through to Ascension -- in the New.  It is important to understand Scripture as its own kind of literature:  it's not a history textbook, it's not a how-to book, it's not like any other kind of literature.  One thing we can note here is its sense of timelessness, of being outside of time.  Or rather, time is something that is intersected by this place from which literature comes.  Where the kingdom of heaven is, there is no sense of boundaries by time; it is something always "present."  So when the Isaiah is given a prophecy about the great light that dawns in Galilee of the Gentiles, its root is from this place Christ calls the kingdom of heaven, as we know that Isaiah lived and gave his prophecies in approximately the 8th century BC, long before the Galilee of the Gentiles existed and before the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ.  But this is how prophecy works:  it comes out of an experience given to some of the kingdom of heaven, and the prophets in turn give that to us.  Time is immaterial in this sense that the kingdom is present to those who experience it and in turn present what they are given to us.  Of course, we don't know this Kingdom in its true fullness, but we are given glimpses; God visits us in these forms, and manifested as both divine and human in one Man, Jesus Christ.  This is the center of our faith.  Jesus teaches, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  In the context of what we have just reviewed of the prophecy of Isaiah and its meaning, what do we make of this?  We know that the prophets themselves, such as Isaiah, were frequently persecuted, out of sorts with the world, deliberately called out of the world to serve God -- especially at times of great corruption, to call people back to God and to God's message.  Here is Jesus, God made manifest as human being, fully God and fully human, who teaches us that this kingdom of heaven is present with Him, and He, like the prophets before Him (particularly in the word of John the Baptist from chapter 3), teaches us to repent in order to successfully meet that Kingdom, and to receive it.  The fact that today's reading tells us that Jesus begins His preaching when He knows John has been imprisoned further indicates that this present message is reflected through time.  When Jesus sends out the apostles on their first mission, He will teach them to say the same, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 10:7), that it has drawn near.  This is because, as those sent out by Christ, the apostles carry that Kingdom with them, and they go before Him announcing the "good news," the gospel of Christ -- the same way a messenger would be sent out to announce the gospel (εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion) or great message of Caesar or another earthly ruler.  And in that same sense that anything with Caesar's stamp or image on it indicated Caesar's presence and the presence of his realm, so the kingdom of heaven is present where there is an image or icon of Jesus Christ -- most especially where we seek to worship and to honor Him, and within ourselves as we learn that each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and to bear that image and likeness into the world.  If all of this sounds confusing, it is meant simply to mean this:  that God is with us (Matthew 1:23), the kingdom of heaven is present to us (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7), and that it is within us (Luke 17:21).  But we will not realize it without faith (the work of God), and the repentance which accompanies that faith, as we also grow in this image and participate in the Kingdom through worship, prayer, and the sacraments.  But let us consider how this great light dawns in our lives, to dispel our own darkness, to teach us in the love of God, revealed through the beautiful poetry of Isaiah and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We would do well to remember that this is an ongoing  process and continues today in our world and in us, at all times present and at hand in this way.

 

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, 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 you shall 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 comments that the term Galilee of the Gentiles is an indication that many non-Jews lived in the region.  It had a mixed population, and so was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As many of the Jews who lived in Galilee had been influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, they were generally considered 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, as in its use in John's Gospel (see John 1:4-5), means ungodliness.  Here, according to my study Bible, it represents the Gentiles' unawareness of God and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Christ's first word, my study Bible points out, is like that of John the Baptist:  "Repent."  This is a call to faith that involves an "about-face."  In Greek, the word for repentance means literally to change one's mind.  My study Bible comments that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  It is the necessary first step for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

What does repentance mean to you?  Often, in a modern world, we equate repentance with feelings of remorse or regret, of looking back on some action or choice and thinking the worse of it.  But repentance does not necessarily mean specifically this.  As my study Bible points out, in Greek it means "change of mind" (μετανοια in the Greek).  And so, repentance is really about "turning around" with emphasis much more on opening up one's mind to reconsideration, to a better way, a new way of seeing things and responding to things, a new outlook.  It also -- equally importantly -- conveys a willingness to go forward, to learn, to grow.  This is most important, because salvation is not a one-time declaration of a faith in Jesus Christ.  Salvation is a lifetime road, a learning curve.  We are meant to grow in spiritual fruits, and a continual process of μετανοια or change of mind.  All we have to do is look at the Gospels and the stories of the disciples throughout.  They are continually on a learning curve.  There are times when they display a great ignorance, times when they fail to understand Jesus at all, times when Jesus rebukes them.  We simply need to recall the words from Jesus even to His great faithful disciple Peter, who vigorously protested that Jesus should not go to the Cross and be killed.  There is none of us who cannot understand Peter's human feelings.  But Jesus replied to Peter:  "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23).  If even this great faithful disciple was on a learning curve, then think about the journey for your faith and for mine.  We all know, also, about Peter's denial of Christ before a servant girl, while Christ was on trial inside the home of the high priest, after he swore that he would die with Christ (see Luke 22:31-34, 54-62).  Repentance, or "change of mind," is also about our own growth in knowing ourselves better, hard experience teaching us about our strengths and especially our weaknesses, despite how we'd like to think of ourselves.  It is a long, long learning curve, one that occupies a lifetime on a journey of faith, and the Gospels clearly teach us so by giving us all of the examples, and even the failures, of the disciples themselves.   When we consider repentance, we must consider Christ's words, echoing those of John the Baptist in this reading.  The kingdom of heaven is always at hand, and our repentance is an ongoing process as we seek to live our lives more deeply and to grow within life in that Kingdom.  Let us remember that another word for Holy Baptism is "Illumination."  The process of repentance is one of growth in that light, allowing it to shine even in the places where our own darkness is hidden from us.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

 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, 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 you shall 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 explains that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in this region.  As it had a mixed population, Galilee was not considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many of its Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As many of the Jews there had been influenced by Greek culture and customs, they were generally looked upon as second-class citizens by 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 this context is an indication of ungodliness, my study bible says.  In this case, it's a representation of the unawareness of God by the Gentiles, and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be surrounded in spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.   The entire Scripture quotation is from Isaiah 9:1-2.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the  kingdom of heaven is at hand."  My study bible points out here that Christ's first word, just like that of John the Baptist, is "Repent."  The kingdom of heaven, it says, is present wherever Christ is.

I recently read an article about an institution called The Other Side Academy, an institution which takes in -- for a minimum two-and-a-half-year commitment -- people with the most-difficult seeming problems, stemming from childhoods of violence, poverty, crime, and abuse.  Its rigor begins with a refusal to discuss the past, and a system of conduct which emphasizes mutual correction. Each participant in The Other Side Academy program is bound to keep the rules enforced through vociferous correction of fellow participants, overlooking absolutely no infringement  Those who enter are all adults with troubling records of many convictions, incarcerations, addictions, violence, and patterns of destruction.  But this mutual correction is the gateway to eventually exploring -- and re-writing through deep honesty -- the past and the possibilities for change into the future.  It is a way to reset, to begin again, to turn around.  It is a reorientation to everything in one's life.  At its heart, it seems to me, is the entire concept of repentance (see the article here).   We may think of repentance as one thing and another, and in the context of our faith simply mourning the things we've done that we can name as sins, but repentance can take on a potent number of aspects, if we but allow it to do so.  Repentance, first of all, begins with a kind of responsibility, a willingness to understand the power of our own choices, and that we can choose differently.  It encompasses the action of a willingness to reconsider our own behavior and our own choices to think one way and another.  Most of all, repentance is a question -- in the spiritual context -- of turning back to God, and turning things over to God.  In the Greek, the word for repentance -- metanoia/μετανοια -- simply means "change of mind," and that is perhaps the best place to start when thinking about repentance.  Repentance, like the program discussed in the article about The Other Side Academy, is a process of changing one's mind, one that can work in the most profound ways for an entire reorientation toward life and toward our places in the world and in relation to God.  To "change one's mind" isn't merely to make a new decision regarding how we feel about one thing and another.  It is, in fact, to be transformed, to change ourselves, and therein is our orientation to our very existence changed.  So much depends upon what it is we look to in order to define the good, and herein comes the power of the ministry of Jesus.  For Christ does not ask us, completely on our own, to invent new ways of thinking or to correct ourselves without guidance.  Jesus calls us to Himself, in personal and intimate relationship, to participate in His very life, so that we can learn from Him.  In His words in today's reading, He invites us into His Kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, and tells us that our own orientation -- in the act of repentance -- must be toward that Kingdom and what it offers us.  As my study bible says, where Christ is, there is the Kingdom.  It is present wherever Christ is.  And so, in all forms of repentance, we turn to Him.  We might find our repentance taking the form of learning what abuse and self-destruction really is, and repenting of our old patterns in which we ignored such things or characterized them as that which we only deserved or were good for us.  In our repentance, we may find that behaviors we let "slide" are destructive not only to ourselves but also toxic or poisonous to other relationships as well.  In our repentance, we may find that what we thought was perfectly good and fine can stand some improvement, that there is a better "good" where Christ takes us than that with which we were previously satisfied.  Repentance can take on all sorts of forms, but always has as characteristic a drive toward what is truly better, and a need not simply to correct others but to accept correction ourselves first.  Repentance is an ongoing and constant process in our faith, as we move more and more toward Christ, cementing our dependence upon His guidance, and become willing to submit more of our lives to Christ's guidance.  Repentance is not moving simply from something "bad" to something "good."  Repentance is moving -- as the quotation from Isaiah indicates -- from a place of relative darkness and into the light that shows us what's better.  This applies to any and all circumstances, no matter how comfortable or known the darkness, no matter how uncomfortable the movement to the light.  In short, repentance is about claiming a life in Christ's light, and the constant turning again to Christ for the next place He wants us to go, the new thing He wants to shift within us, the new place or potential that lies before us in this journey of faith.  He tells us, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (11:29).  This process is the substance of our faith, the ongoing movement within us, where we always begin again.  Let us have the courage to take it up today, even now, and accept the place He leads us toward -- our reorientation and "change of mind."

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

 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 you shall 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: . . ."  John has been put into prison, and this is the spur for Jesus to go to Galilee.  The text quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the government of the promised Son (Isaiah 9:1-2).  My study bible explains here that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region.  As it had a mixed population, it wasn't considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  In addition, many of the Jews of the region had been influenced by Greek culture and 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 means ungodliness.  Here it is a term denoting the Gentiles' unawareness of God and also the Jews under the shadow of the Old Covenant, an incomplete revelation to be fulfilled by the Son.  To sit in darkness, my study bible explains, means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Jesus begins His open public ministry with the words of John the Baptist.  His first word is "Repent" (3:1-3). The kingdom of heaven, my study bible reminds us (as does the quotation from Isaiah's prophecy) is present wherever Christ is. 

What is the kingdom of heaven?  Why is it "at hand"?  When Jesus sends out His chosen twelve disciples, He will instruct them to do as He does, and as John did, to preach everywhere they go, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (10:5-7).  This passing off of a kind of baton from John of the Old Covenant, to Jesus who is the Christ, to the disciples who preach His gospel, the good message, makes us understand the centrality of Christ to this "awaited" spiritual event, the coming of the Kingdom.  As my study bible explains, the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.  It indicates a living reality, which dwells both within us and among us (Luke 17:20-21).   The words of Christ Himself  indicate that Christ's presence is an eternal one, intersecting time within us, and living among us through faith (18:20).  Jesus begins His ministry in today's reading, by going to Galilee.  But His kingdom is something that lives as a present reality.  Throughout the books of the Old Testament and Jewish spiritual history, the prophets have written of this Kingdom.  It is the purpose of the coming of the Messiah to manifest that Kingdom.  But our Messiah isn't merely a glorified or superhuman being.  He is also eternal, the Son, the Lord who was always with the people throughout the events of the Old Testament, sending help, guiding, and revealing spiritual reality.  Immanuel as revealed through Isaiah and reminded by Matthew (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23) is "God with us," the ever-present reality of this Kingdom.  It permeates our lives, dwells among the faithful both where they are gathered and where He makes His home in the heart (Revelation 3:20).  Where any Person of the Trinity is present, so are the others; this Kingdom lives as the presence of Father, Son, and Spirit -- and thereby all those gathered within their living presence, the communion of saints and the angels of uncountable rank and number who minister.  The connection is faith, the presence of this reality is truth.  The light of Christ is His connection and the Kingdom's presence and work in all of us.  Let us listen to His message if we truly have ears to hear it.

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!

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, 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, "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."  Than Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall 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: . . . "   John is put in prison, and it is a starting point for Jesus' ministry.  My study bible tells us that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates the many non-Jews who lived in the region.  Since Galilee had a mixed population, it wasn't considered to be genuinely Jewish as a territory, although many Galilean Gentiles had converted to Judaism in the relatively recent Maccabean period.  Since many Galilean Jews had been influenced by the Greek culture and customs, they were generally considered second-class citizens in the perspective of the Jews of Judea.  See Isaiah 9:1-2 for the source of the quotation.

"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 the context of these verses, means ungodliness, spiritual ignorance.  Here, says my study bible, it indicates the Gentiles' unawareness of God and also the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness is an indication of being overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Christ  (see John 1:5).

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Jesus takes up John's call, in a sign of continuity from Old to New, as John the Baptist is considered the greatest of the Old Testament-type prophets.  (See Matthew 3:2.)

We see the continuity in Jesus' words, as the Old Covenant makes way for the New, for the light that is the gospel of Christ -- and for Christ who will say of Himself that He is the light of the world.  Interesting that He begins in Galilee, and that many of His first disciples will be Galilean.  Many will also be former disciples of the Baptist, another indication of continuity.  But why Galilee?  Should not the Messiah, the Anointed One, begin in the center of Jewish religious life in Jerusalem?  We know He was born in Bethlehem, as prophesied.  But why Galilee?  He is a Galilean from Nazareth, but where He begins His ministry is in a more cosmopolitan environment, a place close to the intersection of trade, commerce, and travel.  In some sense, Jesus begins His ministry in a place with all the characteristics that make the Jews of Galilee looked down upon as impure.  It seemingly throws the door open to criticism and scorn.  But at the same time it begins a ministry that will go out to the entire world, available to all, and truly "for the life of the world."  If we don't really understand the "light shining in the darkness" then we are far from understanding Christ and the purpose of the Incarnation.  We go also into considerations of what it means to be "pure" and "impure" -- and an understanding of grace and how it works.  Every movement of this ministry teaches us something about God who is love.  The story of Jesus' ministry teaches us so much about God; all of it illuminates and writes a "bigger story" than the merely factual in worldly terms.  What does it mean that the light shines in places it wouldn't be expected?  What does this ministry teach us about grace and its capacities?  How about imperfection and weakness, or those thought of as unseemly, or "less than"?  Everything tells us a bigger story, but it's a story about light -- the light that shines in the darkness -- and how it is at work in the world, even in ways the world does not understand. 

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

 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 you shall 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: . . ."  Galilee of the Gentiles tells us that many non-Jews lived in this region.  Jesus is from Nazareth of Galilee, and many of the apostles are also Galileans.  Since Galilee had a mixed population, it wasn't considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many of the Gentile residents converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  Because many of the Jews there were influenced by Greek/Hellenistic culture and its customs, they were generally considered 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."  In the context of the Scripture, darkness means ungodliness.  My study bible says that here it represents the Gentiles' unawareness of God and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness is to be completely overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The quotation is from Isaiah 9:1-2.

 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  John is in prison, we read, and Jesus begins where John's preaching left off:  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  The difference is that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

Repentance, as we've learned in discussing John the Baptist's preaching, is an about-face.  John used it as a word to indicate a need to turn toward this new "light" that is coming, the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  That "One" is Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah.  Here, Jesus Himself preaches repentance.   He comes from Galilee of the Gentiles, and He brings a Kingdom with Him in His divine origin.  He will bring together Jew and Gentile in His Kingdom, and all must prepare via repentance.  His ministry begins in Galilee.  If we read about the Maccabean and Hasmonean periods leading up to this time, we understand that for several centuries, what was once a Hellenistic kingdom under Alexander (who had conquered most of the known world, across an entire continent) had broken up into other kingdoms at war, and fighting over this territory was the result.  Under the Maccabees there was Jewish rule, a restoration in Judea, and forced conversion for some in Galilee and elsewhere.   But with Christ, something new and different is happening.  This Kingdom is for "both Jew and Greek," or if we want to think about it a particular way that makes complete sense in the context of warring factions, "neither Jew nor Greek."  It is something new that is at hand.   It is preached first to the Jews ("for salvation is of the Jews," says Jesus), and as fulfillment of Jewish spiritual heritage.  That is why the words of the prophets are so necessary to our understanding of Christ, and fill the Gospels.   But the great light which begins here in Galilee of the Gentiles is for the whole world.  And this Kingdom "comes not with observation" and not by the sword.  It's a Kingdom of faith, one of the heart, a spiritual presence and reality that fills the earth and all things.  It is within us, among us.  It asks for our repentance, and the depth of who we are.  It is a Kingdom of love, and love doesn't work with compulsion.  Its obedience is of love, its service is of love, and its King comes of love.  It is not just about following the rules, observing the commands.  Our King comes because the Father seeks those who can worship in spirit and in truth, as told, poignantly in light of today's reading and commentary, to the Samaritan woman.  This Kingdom is filled with those who can return God's love.  Let us think about the context, the people whose land has been fought over and dominated, who will see yet more "wars and rumors of war."  The time and place remain in memory and experience of great rulers and warriors of history, Alexander and Caesar, and all those who rule kingdoms in their name.  And let us understand this Kingdom and its King, who preaches repentance, who has been baptized by John, and continues where John, the last of the Old Testament-type prophets, leaves off.  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," becomes a word for all of us.  It remains always true, everywhere.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

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 in the Jordan by John,  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 you shall 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.  My study bible tells us that Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee, for the common people on the edge of Jewish territory are more receptive to His teaching than the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem.

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: . . ."  A note reads, "The term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in this region, which became an Assyrian province in 734 B.C.  By Jesus' time it had a mixed population and was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, even though many non-Jewish residents had converted to Judaism in the Maccabean period.  Even the Jews who inhabited this area were influenced by Greek culture and were considered second-class 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."  My study bible tells us that "darkness means ungodliness.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance and death.  The great light shines on these people, anticipating the gospel being preached to all after the Resurrection."  John's Gospel will focus on themes of light and darkness, and Jesus will say, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). 

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  My study bible says, "Christ's first word, like that of John the Baptist, is repent, because repentance is necessary to enter and continue in His new way of life.  Repentance is man's turning from himself to God.  The kingdom of heaven is synonymous with 'the kingdom of God'; it is present in Christ."  (See Matthew 12:28.)

I think it's important to take a look at the word for "repent."  In the Greek, the word translated as "repent" (Gr. metanoia, μετάνοια) literally means to "change one's mind."  In the Greek, I think we get a more accurate sense of this word, as its basic meaning does not have all the full brunt of negative connotations that "repentance" may have in English.  The word for "sin" has in some sense a similar condition.  In the Greek, the word for sin is amartia/αμαρτία, which literally translates to mean "missing the mark" as in missing the bull's-eye in archery.  Neither of these words carry the weight of a flavor of condemnation in themselves; rather they are like signs pointing the way of Christ (John 14:6).  We want to be on the straight and narrow way, and not deviate from it.  But Christ's work is to help us to change, and our preparation therefore is to repent, to question our own long-held assumptions and ways of thinking, and especially to be prepared for change on His path, to follow Him in His way.   Metanoia, then, is the right preparation for entry into this Kingdom, for following His way.  We know what kinds of self-centered sinfulness we usually understand, such as arrogance and selfishness, unkindness and brutality.  But there are other ways we may be called upon to change in this way of Christ.  There are also sins of self-abuse, self-neglect, personal dignity, and a lack of proper respect even for oneself as a child of God.  These things also may be ground for change, a change of one's mind and way of thinking.  It is one thing to sacrifice for something worthy, especially for the love of God as we are called to do so, but deliberate self-harm for other purposes or reasons, especially as an ingrained habit that is internalized from abuse  in the first place (another kind of sinfulness), may fall into an entirely different category.  It remains a kind of self-centered behavior.  In Jesus' way, we may consider our growth in Him as a true form of therapy, designed to get us to the right path, on the true bull's-eye of the place He calls us toward -- and He is that way, that truth, that life.  So, when Jesus calls for repentance, He's asking us to be entirely prepared to have our entire world shaken up, and to accept His instead.  Everything within us is called into His light, and we may have to make many, many changes on this path of what is truly best for us.   And that is a lifetime process.  But are we prepared?  Are we ready for the first step on that road, every day?