The Kingdom of God is at Hand"

Today's Mass Readings

John the Baptist, in today’s Gospel reading preached, “The Kingdom of God is at hand…” (Mt 3:1) The Kingdom of God is the heavens and the earth filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It’s the kind of life in which no one trains for war, the earth where there is no need for greed or hunger, the earth where the lion and lamb live together, the earth where the cobra and the child play; in short the kingdom where peace, love, contentment, security, justice, is at hand (Is 11:6-9). Where is the Kingdom? When is it coming? Those are wrong questions! The right question is, “Who is the Kingdom of God? Who is coming?” In the first reading the prophet Isaiah said of him who was coming,

"The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:
A spirit of wisdom and understanding,
A spirit of counsel and of strength,
A spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord" (is 11:2).

John the Baptist said of him:

"The one who is coming after me is mightier that I.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mt 3:11).

So the answer to our question is Jesus is the Kingdom of God! Jesus is coming! Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom of God. The power of love that he unleashed in the world, tugs our hearts even today. The desire for peace that he initiated rules our hearts even today. The demand for justice is heard even now. Yes the Kingdom is a possibility. There is a condition for this possibility to come true: repentance.

The coming of Jesus was no ordinary event. The birth of Jesus is no birth of just another child. The birth of Jesus is the most significant event in the history of the world. It is an earth changing event; Jesus changed the history of the world. Jesus, turned the values by which people live their lives upside down. Jesus brought salvation and meaning to human existence. All or dreams and wishes are wrapped up in the Christ event.. The prophecy of Isaiah, the dream of Lennon, your dreams and mine, the desire of the entire human race for peace and contentment, for love and security it is all wrapped up in him. The Kingdom of God is in him.

An advent preparation revolving around minless consumerism and materialism has the power to blunt the most significant event of history and turn it into a powerless, insignificant event. They can empty the birth of Jesus of its meaning and make it insipid. A light has to burn up inside us. A star has to appear in our hearts and lives. There has be an open room and a manger in our hearts. This is possible by repentance! The change of attitudes and behaviour has to be as radical as the lion eating hay. Our repentance has to be as radical as nations not training for war. That is what John the Baptist is calling for; a turning of our lives upside down.

- Fr. Satish Joseph