Gospel
Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
"Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand."
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
Reflection
What stood out to me in this Gospel was the line, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Jesus did not "just" say to repent, but that the “Kingdom of heaven is at hand”, marking an urgency and giving a reason as to why repent. When we repent and turn away from sin we grow closer to God and in a way closer to heaven. As our ultimate goal is heaven, in order to reach this the only path is one of repentance. We are sinners and we will always be sinners, but that is why Jesus says to repent and gives us a way to reach heaven, so despite our imperfections there is hope. I think this passage serves as a good reminder for us that the Kingdom of heaven is not some distant concept, it is near, and we must prepare our hearts for it.
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