1st Monday of Lent (February 19). The kingdom has come near

Prepare to Listen.  Repent and believe the good news.
 
Prayerfully Read Mark 1:14-20
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’  16As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen.  17And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’  18And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  19As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.  20Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
What comforts or shocks you about Jesus in this story?
 
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”  Jesus’ first sermon has only 19 words in English, but enough to keep us pondering for a lifetime.  It may be brief, but its demands are loaded—repent, believe, follow. [1]
 
Repent, from the Greek metanoia, means change your mind, turn around and go in the opposite direction.  Let’s be honest, we’re not good at that.  We don’t like change and actively resist it.  We struggle to admit we’re wrong, and give up the old for the unfamiliar.  But here’s the thing, Jesus demands change, repentance all the time.  We must change our minds about the kingdom of God and how to live as God’s kingdom people.  And since we get it wrong so often, change is a daily challenge.
 
Second, believe.  Believe the good news, that is, “believe the kingdom of God has come near.”  We’re not waiting for it to come after a future cataclysmic event, or for Israel, or any other nation, to get its act together.  It has come near in Jesus, and we’re called to believe it is here, now.
 
Third, follow.  To four fishermen, Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  This wasn’t a call to ‘saving individual souls.’  The imagery is rooted in the ancient prophets, who used it as a symbol of judgment.  Jesus invited ordinary folk “to join him in his struggle to overturn the existing order of power and privilege.”[2]  They had to leave behind, change their minds about the old ways of doing things, and follow Jesus, helping him in the reordering of the social and economic structures of society.  This wasn’t about Christians taking over all levels of government, but creating space for the poor, the marginalized, the excluded, the aliens to live and flourish.
 
Now what comforts and/or shocks you?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, I confess my reluctance to repent, to change my mind.  Open my eyes and ears to see and hear where and how I need to change.  Give me the courage to change and believe that you are in charge.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Repent and believe.
[1] Obviously Jesus said much more.  Mark has merely summarized, highlighting Jesus theme.
[2] Myers, C.  Binding the Strong Man.  Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2015, p. 132.