Miracles of Jesus

Miracles of Jesus

Almost every modern treatment of the miracles of Jesus is prefaced with some discussion of the problem that the very notion of “miracle” poses for the contemporary mind. There are many that disbelieve in the supernatural. Some will always look for a natural explanation for some things that have no natural explanation. Others will attribute a supernatural explanation when there is none. Such is that which we refer to as a “miracle” – a suspension of the laws of nature whereby an effect cannot be explained sufficiently by its most reasonable cause.

However, very few of us have witnessed something that we can confidently call a miracle in the strictest sense. Thus, many modern believers who turn to the pages of the gospels have stirrings of skepticism over the reality of miracles. But a believer of the first century did not think of miracles in such terms. Instead, a miracle is understood as a manifestation of God’s control over the world, not as a suspension of natural laws but as wonderful signs of God’s active reign in our lives.

The gospel portrait of Jesus would not be accurate or complete if our image of him were that of a mere teacher or dispenser of religious truth. A major part of the gospel material concentrates not on what Jesus says but on what Jesus does – his miracles of healing, of exorcism, of power over the forces of nature.

From the beginning we find Jesus' ministry having miracles. From changing the water to wine for the celebration of a marriage to increasing the amount of food from the sparse amount his disciples already had. In fact, the four gospels record about thirty-five separate miracles Jesus performed. In a way, these were not the only ones he did, but the specific ones the writers picked out under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to represent his ministry.

To round out our gospel portrait of Jesus, we need to examine this substantial point of the gospels – the miracles – to discover what it might tell us about him. The New Testament, particularly the gospels, understands miracles under two broad classifications:

1. Deeds of might and power

• Root: dynamis (Greek), meaning “power”
• The Jews believe that God has control over His creation. He shapes human destiny and rules the awesome forces of nature (e.g. Creation story, deluge in Noah’s story, plagues and parting of the Red Sea in Exodus, etc.). Hence, anyone who manifests a deed that shows God’s control over the world/nature/creation must have received such authority from God Himself.
• Evident on the miracles highlighted in the synoptic gospels.
• Under this classification are further sub-groups of miracles:
• Cures and healings - The largest group of miracle stories mentioned in the New Testament is that which concerned disease and disability. In the Bible, the vast array of ills that tortured human beings (e.g. sin, sickness, chaos, and death) was labeled ultimately as the work of evil. There was also the belief that each manifestation of sickness and death could be traced to the responsibility of personal sin, either on the part of the one who suffered the affliction or on the part of that person’s family or friends. The Gospels give varying amounts of detail for each episode, sometimes Jesus cures simply by saying a few words, or laying on of hands, and at other times employs elaborate rituals using material (e.g. spit or mud). As what we learned in our discussion on the human portrait of Jesus, it was the compassion and deep sense of justice on the part of Jesus that fueled his healing ministry.
• Exorcisms - The biblical mind acknowledged that the power of evil had nudged its way into daily life. There were moments, however, where this mystery of evil transcended individual choice as it could stifle the innocent as well as the guilty in its grip. The gospels give special attention to Jesus’ exorcisms, those acts of healing whereby Jesus liberates the victim from an evil spirit. The exorcisms in the gospels are central to Jesus’ ministry as they are further signs of the unique authority and power of God’s son who reveals in what he says and does the compassionate love of God for us.
• Nature miracles - These acts of power demonstrate Jesus’ mastery over the forces of creation (e.g. stilling of the storm on the Lake of Galilee, walking on water, miraculous catch of fish, or his feeding of the multitudes with just five loaves and two fish.)
  

2. Signs of deeper realities

• Root: semeion (Greek), meaning “sign”
• Exclusive in the gospel of John and featured in seven miracles in this gospel

1. Turning wedding water into wine (John 2:1-12)
2. Healing the Nobleman's Son (John 4: 46-54)
3. Healing of the lame man to walk (John 5:1-17)
4. Feeding the Thousands with Bread and Fish (John 6:1-13)
5. Jesus calms the disciples during a storm (John 6:16-21)
6. Blind eyes opened (John 9:1-41)
7. Resurrection of Lazarus from death to life (John 11:1-45)

• Besides demonstrating the power of God breaking into human history through Jesus’ miracles, these miracles always point toward some deeper or greater reality:

1. Turning wedding water into wine: The New Christian is now clean and becomes filled with the Holy Spirit
2. Healing the Nobleman's Son: Our cured Life and Nobility in Jesus Christ
3. Healing of the lame man to walk: The Christian can now walk a Christian lifestyle
4. Feeding the Thousands with Bread and Fish: Fellowship of strengthening, building up, and nourishment in the faith among the believers
5. Jesus calms the disciples during a storm: Jesus calms our fears during the storms of life
6. Blind eyes opened: Apostles with their eyes opened to the hopeless plight of humanity are sent out to non-believers
7. Resurrection of Lazarus from death to life: Resurrection of the believer from physical death to eternal life

The gospels seldom, if ever, portray Jesus as taking the initiative in using his healing powers. He does not roam around curing everyone in sight. In fact, the sick and the poor come to him. This reflects the active role of those who are healed in the gospels: they sought to be healed in order to be part of the community once again. Yet more than this, the miracles point out to the main point behind his mission and message: the time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Good News!

To summarize the discussion, the following points can be said about miracles:

1. All the miracles of Jesus pointed to him as the Messiah. Jesus did not just heal the sick and raise the dead for the express purpose of taking suffering away, but to produce the credentials of his kingdom. Yet he did have compassion on the people and felt their suffering enough to relieve them by showing his concern through love. More than just being a man who shows God’s control over the world/nature/creation, he used such healing power within the bounds of his own mission and purpose of his ministry. His words and works point out his role as the Messiah – not a political leader who would bring Israel to victory against the Romans, but a suffering servant who fulfills the will of his Father.

2. All the miracles ultimately point to the Kingdom of God. The four evangelical gospels are unanimous on this point: that Jesus was a healer, a man whom God sent with miracles, wonders, and signs that ultimately point to His own Kingdom. For the gospel tradition, all these miracles have the same basic significance. All of these have crises that manifest the threat of evil, and in all of these, Jesus’ response point to the central message of his mission and message: the Kingdom of God actively reigning in our lives – yesterday, today, and forever!

3. Our response to miracles is that of faith. There is a consistent link between miracles and faith. What Jesus demands of those who come to him, either to learn or to be cured, is that they should totally trust him and his message and act on it. The response of those who were cured and healed were that of faith – of trusting obedience to Jesus, the son of God. Those who came with faith, totally willing to accept Jesus and his mission and to act on that faith, are healed by the power of his love. To all, Jesus’ message is basically the same: “Your faith has been your salvation.” (Luke 7:50)

As the song goes, “There can be miracles when you believe.” Our response to miracles is that of faith – Jesus presents to us these miracles in order to strengthen and deepen our faith in him, our response to his mission and message as a disciple. Though miracles in the world today occur rather rarely, such should not hinder us from “making our own miracles.” In our own little way, we can make miracles, because miracles are our own little acts done with faith in response to Jesus’ call to us as his disciples in the present times.

Jesus and the Call of Discipleship

Jesus and the Call of Discipleship

One of the most touching and revealing aspects of the gospel story is that of Jesus in the company of his disciples. They are an almost constant presence, gaping in awe and power. They are confidantes of his most important teaching, at his side as his mission drove him through the crowds of Galilee. In a way, we learn much about Jesus in considering his followers.

In order for us to understand the meaning of discipleship in the mind of Jesus as well as the implications of such discipleship to those whom he called to follow, let us examine several characteristics of Jesus’ relationships with his closest followers: the twelve.

1. Jesus gathers his disciples
Mark 1:16-20 (Call of the First Disciples)
All the gospels relate that one of the first things that Jesus did was to gather disciples. In the scripture passage that we read, Mark states that as soon as Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee, he recruited Simon, his brother Andrew, and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John. As Jesus’ ministry progressed, more would join him.

Discipleship is understood as a process of learning or “being-with” a master. Taking its root from the Latin word discere (to learn), a disciple is a “learner” whose goal is to learn from a master who serves as his source of knowledge and wisdom.

By gathering disciples, Jesus again showed that he was a man of his time. It was common practice among the rabbis (teachers) of Jesus’ day to attract followers or disciples. In the Old Testament, the relationship between a disciple and a master can be seen in various stories. Joshua, for example, served as a faithful lieutenant and eventually the successor of Moses, just as Elisha was a disciple of the great prophet Elijah.

2. Jesus transforms the meaning of the disciple-master relationship
Traditionally, the ideal of the disciple was to choose a master from who one could learn genuine wisdom. The disciple subordinated himself to the master, learning from him and serving him. Discipleship, however, was not a permanent status. The goal of learning was that the disciple himself would be trained to be master, no longer dependent on his rabbi once he had absorbed the teacher’s wisdom.

In this story, we can see that being a disciple of Jesus was a result of a personal invitation. Unlike the case of discipleship in Rabbinic Judaism, the disciple did not choose the master; rather, Jesus called and chose his disciples. The initiative always comes from Jesus himself.

This call draws those whom he called to take a radical response: “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” The response is instant, complete, and unhesitating: “They immediately abandoned their nets and became his followers… they immediately abandoned boat and father to follow him.”

Interestingly, Jesus’ disciples followed him not simply to listen to a body of doctrine or skills of interpretation from a master, and then they “graduate” and leave the master to find his own disciples. Rather, it is a call to a relationship of being a lifelong “learner.” They are called not simply to be with Jesus but to observe what he does, to learn from him, so that they may share in his work of the kingdom.

Finally, the presence of the disciples as witnesses to Jesus’ ministry signals that they too will share in this work. Unlike rabbinic disciples whose concern was to study what the master teaches, the disciples shared in the ministry of Jesus. In that sense, what Jesus does in his healing and teaching ministry, so must the disciples do From this moment on, they are to be Jesus’ closest and constant companions – as someone who will walk with him and share his life of love and service as Jesus loved and served his people.

3. Jesus’ choice of disciples is far short of ideal
However, a close and careful look at the portrait of Jesus’ disciples according to the gospels gives us a different perspective of the disciples: they do not come off as recruitment poster models – flawless, handsome, and bigger than life. In fact, the disciples of Jesus are far short of ideal. To understand this we look at what sort of people did Jesus choose to join in his mission.

• The gospels are unanimous in presenting them as people who did not came from a flawless background: most of them belong to the lower class of the society (fishermen), a public sinner (tax collector) even joined his movement, two of them are nicknamed Boanerges or “hot heads”, another one apparently is a member of the zealot party, and who would not forget Judas – the one “who would betray him.”
• They were often presented as followers who lacked attention and comprehension when listening to Jesus’ teachings. They were often baffled upon hearing the parables and Jesus himself even chided them for their lack of faith.
• We should never forget that the same disciples of Jesus abandoned him during his death (see Mark 14:50). We only hear of three disciples during the passion of Jesus: Judas, who betrays him for 30 pieces of silver and led the armed band to the garden; and Peter, the leader of the disciples who denies Jesus and his apostleship; and John, the only disciple who stood with the mother of Jesus near the cross as Jesus dies (see John 19:26).
  

The response of the disciples to Jesus’ call and mission was obviously flawed by fear and imperfection. In more ways than one, the disciples’ record was not good. They complained, they misunderstood, they quarreled, they deserted, they denied. But such does not warrant the loss of the relevance and value of the apostles in the mission and message of Jesus. In the face of the master they failed, but they detected the infinite compassion of God through their experiences of the Risen Christ (which we shall see this topic when we shall study the resurrection appearances later this quarter).

The March of the Unqualified
In one of our lessons in the Old Testament, we are reminded of how God makes a choice. In the stories of the Patriarchs, especially Abraham and Jacob, even in the lives of important people of the Old Testament like Moses, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, we can see that God most of the time calls people who seem to be unqualified to fulfill the task. Nonetheless, God’s plan is carried out, not because of who they are but because of what God has done; not because of what they have done, but because of who God is.

God chooses people despite their weaknesses and individual character flaws. He chooses them by virtue of his unconditional love: we may be unfaithful, but God always remains faithful to us! Most of the time, His choice defies logic and expectation. But what we are sure of is that He will form whoever He chooses and provide grace to respond to His call.

Parables of Jesus

Shalom!

To help you in your review for the quiz tomorrow, I am posting the powerpoint slides (in PDF format) from our class discussions on the Parables of Jesus. I only chose the slides that are useful and helpful in understanding the main points of our lesson.

Here are the links for downloading the files (hosted by Zendfile.com):
The Parables of Jesus
The Lost Parables
Study well and God bless!

I AS A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST: 2nd Mini-Reflection Paper of the 2nd Quarter

I AS A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST
2nd Mini-Reflection Paper of the 2nd Quarter

TASK
Based on our lesson on the Call of Discipleship, reflect and answer the following questions:

• How do I understand the word “discipleship”? For me, what does it mean to be a disciple? In the gospels, what does it mean to be a disciple of Christ?
• What are certain characteristics of the disciples do I find attractive and worth emulating? Are there certain personal qualities of these disciples that I find discouraging? Explain the characteristics/qualities that you cited.
• If I were a disciple of Christ during his time, what would I feel and do…
• on that moment when Jesus calls me to follow him?
• as his close companion during his earthly ministry?
• in the face of Jesus’ forthcoming passion and death?
• Conclude your reflection paper with a prayer that would summarize Jesus’ ideal of discipleship and your commitment to live according to such ideal.
  

PRACTICAL GUIDELINES

• SHORT Bond Paper
• Maximum TWO FULL PAGES
• Computerized, 1.5 spaced (Don't know how to do it? CLICK HERE!)
  
• Font: Times New Roman, size: 12
• Margin: 1 inch per side
• Write the title of the reflection paper on the first line. Title must be in BOLD and UNDERLINED.
• Write proper identification marks at the back of paper (handwritten may do)
• No drawings, borders, pictures, wordart!
• Rules on reflection papers apply! (Grace period of one day with 20% deduction, any work submitted beyond this date merits a ZERO)
  

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION: 24 SEPTEMBER 2009 ON OR BEFORE 4:00 PM

Relationships of Jesus

The Relationships of Jesus

The gospel portrayal of the people whom he related with helps us learn about Jesus who not only endured them but loved them. There are other groups Jesus was drawn to, and we can gain insight from them in deepening our understanding of the mission and message of Jesus. One of the most intriguing gospel themes is Jesus’ love for the poor and the marginalized. Here again the ministry of the kingdom of God is key to the gospel’s emphasis – that in Jesus, we see the human face of God: gentle and sensitive to the needs of the people.

In order to understand the relationships of Jesus with the people of his time, it is important for us to return to key gospel passages and stories that illustrate the manner by which Jesus established meaningful relationships with them. In these stories, we will see that Jesus did not simply heal or converse with them; on a deeper level, he broke barriers of prejudice and judgment set against the poor, marginalized, and women of his time by establishing quality relationships with them.

Mark 2:15-17 (Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners).
Jesus "broke bread" with public sinners of his time. Let us recall an important point from their lesson on Jewish customs from the past quarter: the act of “breaking bread” symbolizes association with those whom you break bread with. In this case, the society resents Jesus’ friendship with segments of society whose status placed him in the circle of the “officially unclean.” But then again, Jesus says this rather sharp statement: it is not the “healthy” the physician should seek out but the “sick”, not the self-righteous but sinners.

Going back to Israel’s history as a nation, the Israelites during Jesus’ time expected an earthly kingdom just like that of David and Solomon that would lead them back to material prosperity and military victory. But then again, such kingdom also has a responsibility to defend the rights of the poor and the rich alike. Yet the successors of the three renowned kings of Israel (Saul, David, Solomon) failed to protect the defenseless of the land, i.e. the poor. Hence, there was similarly a growing expectation that when the Lord will establish his divine rule over Israel and the nations, the poor – understood as the widows, orphans, and strangers who cannot defend themselves – will have a particular attention in this kingdom.

But then again, who are the “poor” in the eyes of God? Does this mean that material poverty is a requirement to be saved?

Returning to our lesson on the social classes during the time of Jesus, one of the “forgotten” social groups of that time is the anawim (the poor of Yahweh). In the Old Testament, the term ani or anaw was often used to pertain to the “afflicted” – those who were often oppressed and lacked the power to defend themselves. Using a religious connotation, the term anawim were the “poor of Yahweh”, those without material resources or power who could only look only to God for their well-being and deliverance.

Thus in the time of Jesus, the “poor” included more than the economically disadvantaged, the subsistence farmers and day laborers, the unemployed and the underemployed. It also included public sinners, women, orphans, the illiterate, the mentally ill, those with disfiguring diseases and bodily injuries, and those whose religious practice did not measure up to the strict standards of the priestly class and the Pharisees.

The poor, as defined above, seemed to be a special object of Jesus’ ministry. His table fellowship with them indicated his solidarity with sinners, but such did not mean that Jesus only related with the sinners alone. In fact, he also moved freely with the prominent people of his time.

Luke 11:37-54 (Jesus dines with Pharisees), 19:2 (Zacchaeus as a chief tax collector), 7:1-10 (Roman centurion). He even used imagery of the rich and prominent in his parables, like landowners, pearl merchants, kings, and masters of households. We can then say that Jesus’ attention was directed to both the poor and the rich: he was indiscriminate in his relationships with people. His friendship and love extended to all people in the society, regardless of their social status.

Luke 16:19-31 (story of Lazarus and the rich man), 18:9-14 (prayer of tax collector and Pharisee), 21:1-4 (offering of the poor widow and the rich). Yet we must also take note that Jesus seems to portray a strong distinction between the disposition of receiving the message of the kingdom of God between the rich and the poor, between those who are objects of God’s forgiveness and those who blindly consider themselves as dispensed from God’s love.

Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom of God not only to the poor, but even to the rich. However, for Jesus, what matters is their response to the call of being part of the kingdom: the poor responded generously, but the rich could have responded more.

Hence, Jesus’ point is clear: social position, high or low, is no guarantee of salvation; only a genuine response to the gospel is. Hence, we can truly say that in Jesus, we see the human face of God: gentle and sensitive to the needs of the people.

Jesus and Women
To complete our study of Jesus’ relationship with the people of his time, we turn now to a final group who were both close to him and at the same time marginalized in the society: the women. Let us take note that Jesus’ followers were not predominantly male: he also had followers who were women (and it seems that his most faithful followers were women). In order to understand the importance of such relationship, we must return to the situation and perception of women in Palestinian Judaism.

Luke 10:38-42 (Martha and Mary).
Why did Martha tell Jesus to ask Mary to “help her” instead of “listening to him speak”? In this pericope, we shall understand that women in Palestine have specific roles in society. Unfortunately, with the patriarchal mindset in their midst, such roles have become avenues for discrimination and oppression.

The role of women in Jewish society was generally restricted to domestic circles. According to Jewish history, women “are best suited to the indoor life which never stays away from the house” and “should not meddle with matters outside her household concerns”, due to the general perception that “woman is inferior to man, for the authority has been given by God to the man.”

Such inferiority is also extended to religious matters. Women were not permitted full access to the temple and were only limited to the outer courtyard. Like the slaves, they do not have to recite the Shema prayer that every male Jew is expected to pray each morning and evening.

Most of all, women were viewed as objects of lust, thus they must be safeguarded away from the public eye. Even when a woman had to appear on the streets, she was to unveil her face because Jewish custom dictates: “Do not speak much with a woman on the street.”

But in the case of Jesus, it seems that such discrimination to women does not mean anything to Jesus. Most of the people whom Jesus healed were women (to name a few: Simon’s mother-in-law, woman with hemorrhage, daughter of Jairus, the Samaritan woman, the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman, etc.). Jesus too had a special friendship with Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38). More importantly, Jesus was also involved in the incident involving an adulterous woman who, under Jewish law, is punishable by stoning to death (John 8:1-11). Of course, who cannot forget the person of Mary Magdalene as one of his faithful followers?

How then shall we assess this relationship of Jesus with women? Let us keep in mind that they are not counted among the twelve, nor were they formally addressed as “disciples” in the gospels. But their fidelity makes a staggering contrast to their male counterparts.

Women had been supporting the entire mission of Jesus. At several points in the gospels, the evangelists, particularly but not exclusively Luke, make explicit reference to the women who followed Jesus in his ministry (see Luke 8:1-3).

During the passion, the women did not desert Jesus. Interestingly, the disciples of Jesus, who were all male, seemingly deserted him and fled at the moment of his arrest. The betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter highlighted the failure of the disciples. However, in all four gospels as we will see in our study of the Passion and Death of Jesus, that as the male disciples abandoned him, the women did not desert Jesus.

All the four gospels state that women were the first to discover the empty tomb. This testimony to the women’s faithful discipleship is carried over into the resurrection story. Again, all four gospels state that women were the first to discover the empty tomb and were given the responsibility of bringing the Easter news to the other disciples (see Luke 24:1-11, Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-11, John 20:1-18).

To sum up our discussion, we may learn the following points from the relationships of Jesus:

Jesus’ established relationships that broke barriers of discrimination and oppression. He desired to change the traditional views of Judaism regarding the outcasts, the marginalized, and the women in society by establishing quality relationships with them. He proposed a new way of looking at relationships: a relationship that knows no boundaries and limits and embraces the least, the last, and the lost of society.

The “good shepherd” smells like his sheep. As what we learned in the world of Jesus, shepherds are considered “nobodys” in the Jewish society because they are uneducated, paid laborers who simply act in behalf of the owner of the sheep fold. Sheep also have a special quality of recognizing their caretaker by identifying the smell that is similar to them. However, Jesus changes this perception by using the analogy of the good shepherd: someone who has concern for the sheepfold and is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. A true shepherd, in the mind of Jesus, “smells like the sheep” because he immerses and relates with them, and knows them by heart. A good shepherd is willing to seek the least, the last, and the lost of his sheepfold even if his life is its price.

Jesus’ example on friendship can be a good window in our relationship with Jesus. In the same manner that Jesus was able to embrace those whom the society despised and marginalized, we too are challenged to emulate his example in our lives. Today, it is observed that people seem to be all the more “discriminating” of each other, choosing to relate only with the famous, the prominent, and the useful. Yet let us constantly remember the example of Jesus: the good shepherd smells like his sheep. He knows them, he cares for them, and he is ready to lay down his life for them.

Mission of Jesus

The Kingdom of God as central message of Jesus’ mission


The central theme of Jesus’ ministry was the “kingdom of God”. Under this program can be gathered a large percentage of his individual sayings, his most eloquent parables, and the purpose of the healing and teaching ministry he undertook. Mark and Matthew explicitly state that Jesus’ inaugural preaching announced the coming of the “kingdom” or “rule” of God.

The kingdom of God was not an invention of Jesus or the gospels. The theme had deep roots in Israel’s religious history. In the Old Testament, the Israelites held unto that hope that God would eventually vindicate Israel and bestow on the people the blessings of peace, prosperity, and fullness of life. The students may be led to a review of their Old Testament lessons to facilitate discussion.

• From the act of creation to the promise of land to Abraham and even until the Exodus from Egypt, Israel has been reminded of the reality that God is their ruler. More importantly, the covenant at Sinai signified God’s active rule in their lives: You shall be my people and I will be your God.
• When the Israelites were settling in the Promised Land, they lived according to their respective tribes, i.e. 12 tribes of Israel. Back then, they were led by Judges who served as “tribal leaders” to remind them of their covenant with God in Sinai. God alone could be acclaimed as king over Israel, and no other human would dare usurp this role.
• But the need for a tighter social organization asserted itself and as Israel saw the appeal and threats of the surrounding cultures, it too turned toward a monarchy. However, they were reminded that despite the existence of earthly rulers (Saul, David, Solomon, etc.), God remains as their sovereign king and ruler, as these kings were his representatives to Israel.
• Israel’s experience of monarchy, however, was not satisfying. David and Solomon were flashes of brilliance in the long line of often mediocre and sometimes corrupt rulers. Solomon’s mishandling of priorities eventually led to the division of the kingdom, and soon after, the invasion of conquerors from Assyria and Babylon, then the Persians, Greeks, and the Romans during the time of Jesus.
• The expectations of the kingdom intensified with the message of the prophets, as the Israelites expected a messiah who will free them from a history of oppression and slavery.
  

However, the kingdom, it was believed, would appear once more, but this time not as a symbol of human ambition. God would come to establish a kingdom, not only to Israel but over all the earth – not as some heavenly “Camelot” but as God’s reigning in power so that all could know and experience His might.


What exactly is the Kingdom of God?
What exactly is this “Kingdom of God” that Jesus preached at the beginning of his public ministry? In order for us to understand the important facets of this message, it is important for us to return to Mark 1:15 – “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

“The Time is fulfilled”

• Throughout its history as a nation, Israel was intensely and intently expecting for a redeemer who will come to their aid. Through the person of Jesus, this period of waiting is over, for their long awaited messiah is in their midst (see Luke 4:16-22).
• “Time” here is understood not in terms of a succession of events that come one after another (chronos), but a special moment that, if not responded to accordingly, would be missed forever (kairos). The coming of the kingdom is a privileged moment that demands an action for those who are part of it.
  

“The Kingdom of God is at hand”

• The kingdom referred to by Jesus should neither be understood in a spatial sense nor as a state of bliss constructed by human means. Rather, it refers to God’s active reign or rule (basilea) where God would draw near to us through divine mercy and justice – in a situation where hostility and infidelity would cease (Isaiah 11:6-9). Hence, this kingdom is not static location (a place), but a dynamic present, and living reality (a reign or rule).
• However, some of the parables and sayings of Jesus refer to the kingdom as a future event whose full impact must be preceded by slow and patient growth (see parables of mustard seed and leaven in Matthew 13:31-33). Even in the Lord’s prayer, Jesus evokes this by saying “your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). Nonetheless, this kingdom is a work in progress – it is already, but not yet. It means that God is now manifesting his reign, his salvific activity in the lives of his people through the person of His son, Jesus. The fullness of the kingdom, the complete expression of God’s rule over Israel and all nations, awaits the future. But such does not mean that we are stranded in an uncertain future. Now is the time when we either open our lives to the kingdom through a concrete life response. The kingdom may be future-looking, but the choice is now.
  

“Repent and believe in the Gospel”

• Jesus’ preaching of the reign of God is that he calls for an immediate response – “repent, and believe in the Gospel.” The English word “repent” has the connotation of being sorry for one’s sins. But its original Greek term, metanoia, suggests much more: to think again, to change one’s heart, one’s mind, one’s way of life, to assume a new standpoint. The impact of such term implies a complete reform, a radical change in priorities that comes from seeing the world as God sees it.
• How will such metanoia be possible? One needs to look no further than the person of Jesus, who fully reveals the kingdom of God in his own person. Jesus’ way of life, as we will see in our next few sessions, was a response to the very kingdom that he was preaching.

Monthly Prayer for September

Monthly Prayer for September 2009

HAIL HOLY QUEEN
(for Solemnity of the Birth of Mary, September 8)

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope!
To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping
in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

Leader: Pray for us, O Holy Mary, mother of God

All: That we may be made worthy by the promises of Christ.