SUNDAY 3rd (A)
Mt 4,12-23
Matthew makes it clear that Jesus begins his activity far from the temple, from the religious authorities, detached from any connection with the institution. But he also makes it clear that Jesus’ preaching is a continuation of that of John: repent, the Kingdom is near.
Repent. The first meaning of the Greek “metanoeo” is not to repent or do penance, but to change your opinion, rectify, change your mindset. If you change your mindset, you will change your course. When translated as “repent,” we assume that the previous attitude was sinful. And then only the “sinner” has to convert.
We all have to be changing our mindset. Converting is rectifying the path I’ve been taking, when I’ve realized that the goal isn’t in that direction. Many times it’s not possible to discover that a path is wrong until we have traveled it. The greatest danger is being convinced that I have nothing to rectify.
The Kingdom is near. To see the difficulty, it’s enough to remember some evangelical text: it is not here nor is it there, it is within you; my Kingdom is not of this world. We shouldn’t translate it as ‘is’, the Kingdom is not a static reality but a dynamic one. The Vulgate translates it as “appropinquavit” which means to approach. The verb “hggizw” means to be near and to approach. The first Christians said: it is near, but not yet.
Kingdom of Heaven. The other evangelists (also sometimes Matthew) speak of “the Kingdom of God.” They said ‘of the heavens,’ to avoid the name ‘God.’ Outside the Gospels, in the NT, they speak of the Kingdom of Christ. A very dangerous expression because it leads us to think that Jesus is the owner, forgetting that Jesus never preached himself.
It is impossible to define what the Kingdom of God is because it is nothing concrete. In the Gospel, it is never defined, although it was the core of Jesus’ preaching. If love does not reign, God does not reign. Jesus was the most faithful manifestation of the Kingdom, which is God.
The Greek word “basileia” can refer to the power a king has (reign). It can mean the territory or it can mean the group of subjects (kingdom). Neither expresses what God is. Because there is no king, less almighty. Because God never makes or unmakes. Because God has no subjects to rule.
It is impossible to understand this expression if we do not leave behind the idea of a sovereign, almighty god, who from his throne in heaven governs the universe. God is Spirit. When we say: Peace reigns, darkness reigns, or love reigns, we do not think of beings that dominate a part of reality but of an area in which something unfolds.
God’s reign means that human beings develop what they have of the divine. It means that they have become aware of the divine present within them. It is the atmosphere in which the human relationship with oneself, with others, and with things unfolds in total harmony.
Entering the Kingdom is becoming aware of that reality of God in me and acting accordingly. Today this dynamic is clear. The Kingdom is manifested by the one who heals, not in the healed. It is Jesus who heals who makes God present, not the blind man when he is cured.
God’s reign means God’s radical faithfulness to humanity. The primary reality of this Kingdom is constituted by God, not by us. It is not a reality that refers to human beings, but to God. This is indeed good news, the best that could be given to us.
The man, to be faithful to God does not have to renounce himself, on the contrary, the only way to be himself is to discover what God is in him. As soon as he puts his goal outside of God, man fails miserably in his true being and there is no longer any possibility of being faithful to either God or himself. Only if I am faithful to myself can I be faithful to God.
**Fray Marcos**
English version translated with AI