January 4, 2010
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious
Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17
Piety
The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures you let me graze; to safe waters you lead me; you restore my strength. You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name. Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage. You set a table before me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
Study
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
Jesus takes up the exact mantra of John the Baptist as his ministry begins in earnest. Although the words are the same as in Matthew 2:3, there is a subtle difference in meaning. For John was preaching that the kingdom was near and coming and we needed to reach for it. Jesus, though, is preaching that is the kingdom is here and we can touch it in all of his humanity. Through the real experience of Jesus, we can begin to experience the real
In the notes to this passage from the New American Bible, we learn that the expression "the kingdom of heaven" occurs only in the gospel of Matthew and refers to the rule of God over his people. “In its fullness it includes not only human obedience to God's word, but the triumph of God over physical evils, supremely over death. In the expectation found in Jewish apocalyptic, the kingdom was to be ushered in by a judgment in which sinners would be condemned and perish, an expectation shared by the Baptist. This was modified in Christian understanding where the kingdom was seen as being established in stages, culminating with the parousia (second coming) of Jesus.”
However, to get this experience, we have to turn toward the great light. If we are in a dark room, and someone turns on a great light, we might shield our eyes, but will we not eventually turn to see what is being illuminated? How can we not? If a plant is set on a window ledge, the leaves will turn toward the warmth of the sun. If we rotate that plant or more it to another location in the room, its growth will change and bend back toward the direction of the light from that window.
In our first reading, we are being shown why we need to turn toward the light. Too often, we look for happiness in the world, not in God. All John the Evangelist is saying is give God a chance to show you real happiness. He echoes the spirit of John the Baptist who was asking the people in his day for “a change of heart and conduct,” a turning of one's life from rebellion to obedience towards God.
Yet when we make the Lord our shepherd, we will be provided everything we need. There is nothing the world can give to match his goodness and kindness. His light will guide us along the right path rather than turning in other directions.
Action
Fr. Thomas Keating writes: “The first thing Jesus did in his preaching career is to say, ‘Repent,’ a word that means not do penance in some external practice but change the direction in which you are looking for happiness implying that where we are looking for happiness is not the place where it is to be found, and, still less, where God is to be found.”
In his book Open Mind, Open Heart, Fr. Keating describes the inner changes that occur during the process of prayer, including the letting go of the false self (a self-image that impedes one's relationship with God) in favor of expressing one's true self (our "basic core of goodness"). Keating is so convinced that a spiritual life involves ever-deepening levels of growth and awareness that he often startles those raised in a traditional Catholic setting with his definition of sin as “the refusal to grow, to choose to stay as we are.” Instead of relying upon happiness and security as defined by the world, he suggests that we look to rest in God as the place for that happiness.
As we start this New Year of 2010, what change are you planning to make in the direction where you pursue happiness? How has that question helped you formulate any plans or resolutions for this New Year?
