12When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee.13He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.14This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah:15“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
16the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.”
17From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
The Kingdom of God was unbelievably near! Jesus just picks up where John left off. It sounds like the same message from a different messenger. Yet perhaps that defines the depth of the call. All the prophets who came to Israel for the almost 2,000 years that preceded Jesus all had that same message. Now Jesus, the Son of God, the great light, THE Kingdom of God arrives, and he is saying the exact same thing.
As we go through our daily lives do we hear this call again and again from so many different people? And when we do, do we realize it is a call from God? Will we ever learn to listen to hear the Word of God when it is spoken to us by a child, or an out cast, or a learning disabled person who participates in mass better than we do? Perhaps in all those we are really hearing the call of God, from God and the Kingdom of God is right beside us.
When have you been brought close to the Kingdom of God by a messenger you didn’t expect?
Beginner’s Online Bible Study *obbs*
We were in church one evening and we sat in the row behind the area set aside for wheelchairs etc. That evening 2 severely disable young adults were there. Neither could speak or control the movements well and both were strapped into their chairs. So often I had wonder how much or little they could perceive and was it worth it to go through so much effort to bring them to church.
When mass was over their care-givers were preparing them to go out and face the cold Ohio winter. The young ladies arm was exposed outside her blanket and the young man in the wheel chair carefully and tenderly reach over and moved her blanket to cover her arm.
A simple act of caring between 2 people who I am almost sure could never have exchanged a word in their lives. He simply cared for someone else despite his own severe situation. How often when my life endures some slight imperfection do I become a self-centered whiner? And here was someone who must struggle endlessly with even the slightest task, and he is gently serving and caring for someone else more than himself.
I was VERY near the Kingdom of God at that moment.