Matthew 4:12-23
At the height of the Second World
War, people living in western Europe knew what it meant to sit and wait in the
darkness. Back in those days, the aircrafts which dropped bombs on cities
filled with people didn’t possess the sophisticated locating devises they do today. Keeping the lights off , and
waiting in darkness was the only means of defence against the terror from
above. There are people alive
today on both sides of the conflict who can tell you about that experience of
waiting, and hoping that the bombs would miss their homes. This is the
experience of quite literally living, sitting, in terrifying darkness. How
those hearts yearned for some light! But that kind of darkness has not
disappeared with the Second World War. The darkness of uncertainty continues to
hang over populations and individuals, people waiting and hoping in the dark--people
waiting for the results of medical tests, or waiting for organ transplants, or a new treatment. People waiting to
hear the news about a missing relative, people waiting for the day when they no
longer have to hope. Then there are those who move in the darkness without even
knowing that they are in the dark. In the depth of their being they may know that something is wrong, they
long for the light, but the light they seek is a deceptive one, leading them
down the path of consumerism, materialism, and even addiction.
But
the experience of sitting in darkness isn’t a new one.
The
people of Israel, knew about the darkness. They, too, sat, in darkness, they
too, hoped for a better day. Four hundred years before Jesus came into the
world as a human being they would have to endure the darkness of exile and
captivity under the Babylonians. When Jesus came into the world as a human
being, they lived in the darkness of Roman occupation. Oh how they longed and
hoped for the day that God’s light would shine into their lives, how they hoped
that God’s promise to them would be fulfilled.
How many
people today are hoping for something big to change their lives? Hoping, a big spectacular ray of light that would shine in through the window
and make everything better. Lottery tickets sell by the millions precisely for
that reason. If we were to take a
poll asking people what the best possible thing is which could happen to them,
winning the lottery would probably top the list. Why? Because with all that
money comes the power to purchase, the power to change, the power to turn it
all around—or so people think. But the people of Israel were not so much hoping
for a lottery win. They were more like lottery winners waiting for the
payout—the day when God would make all things right, when light would shine
strong and perpetually.
The
people of Israel were waiting for the day when the words of the great prophet
Isaiah we read today would be fulfilled. And that prophecy was fulfilled, on
that first Christmas day, when the light came into the world. And Isaiah tells us exactly where that
would happen—it would be in Galilee. All things considered this was the most
unlikely place for the Messiah to make his entrance into the world. The
entrance point would not be the great temple in Jerusalem, it would not be in
the capital city. Rather it would be on the periphery—it was on the periphery
of Jewish life and society where Jesus would be born. It was on the periphery where Jesus would begin his
ministry.
And Jesus
would begin his ministry with a great proclamation:
“ Repent
for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
The kingdom of heaven. This is a very
powerful idea. When most people
think of heaven, they tend to think of the place people go to after death, a
place not of this world, a perfect place where the barrier between God and
humanity does not exist, where there is no death or suffering, where there is
eternal peace. Yes, this certainly encapsulates the idea of heaven. But if we
see heaven only as a place where people go after they die, we miss the full thrust of Jesus’ proclamation. When
Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, he didn’t only mean
that the kingdom of heaven in its fullness was coming, he also meant that the
kingdom of heaven in its fullness had arrived, that it was here, that God’s
eternal kingdom had come into the world. But
where was it? How could it be seen? How could people find it and get to it?
As the
story unfolded, the kingdom of heaven would be wherever Jesus was, doing what
he did. And what he did was bring light into the world. What he did was push
back the darkness. What he did was bring life where the world saw only death.
What he did was bring healing and hope, where the world saw only sickness and
hopelessness. In other words the kingdom of heaven would be unlike any kingdom
in the world, which were easily definable by geography. The kingdom of heaven
would not be defined by a geographical location, but by a way of being, a new
way of being. This way of being was the way which God had intended for humanity
from the beginning-- but humanity chose otherwise. Humanity chose to walk and
dwell in darkness, and see only darkness.
So this
region of Galilee, which was on the outskirts, the periphery, shrouded in
darkness, became the centre, the centre of God’s activity in the world. Where Jesus was the kingdom was, where
Jesus is the kingdom is. Wherever there is truth, justice, and compassion there
is Jesus and there is the kingdom. His kingdom is not a visible kingdom
recognizable by the world, but his kingdom, hidden to the world’s eyes, is more
powerful than any kingdom the world has ever seen.
There is
much talk about the decline of the Christian church in the western world, and
the incredible growth of the church in the so-called third world has been
noticed. What was once the periphery appears to be becoming the centre and vice versa. And looking at the situation
of the church in the western world, this city stands very much on the
periphery. This part of the city, especially, is acknowledged as having the
lowest church attendance rate on the entire continent. We are standing on the
edge, we are standing on the periphery. Well what does that mean? Does that
mean that God is less present here than he is in one of the mega-churches in
the Fraser Valley? Does that mean that the work of the kingdom is being carried
out more and better at Willington Church in Burnaby?
No. What it
means is that we stand on the periphery, but remember: Where Jesus wa,s the kingdom was, where Jesus is, the kingdom is. Where the Living Word is proclaimed,
Christ is transforming hearts and minds. Where Christ is proclaimed, light
shines into the darkness. The Kingdom of Heaven is here, the kingdom of heaven
is alive and active on the corner of 31st and Collingwood. Yes it is
true people drive by the church building every day without noticing it. Yes it
is true, people will walk by this congregation every day without ever joining
it. Yes it is true that many people living in this area are not particularly
interested in attending Dunbar Lutheran Church. Yes, indeed, this part of the city, this part of the
neighbourhood, this corner seems the most unlikely place for God’s kingdom work
to be taking place. But taking place it is.
And you who
hear the Living Word are being called to work for the kingdom. Jesus has called us to become fishers
of people. Jesus has called us
into his work of ministry. “Well I’m not qualified for that”, you might be
thinking. But just consider who
Jesus called as his first disciples. Did
he call the best and brightest? Did he call the most educated Rabbis? Did he
call the most influential members of society? No, he didn’t. He called
fishermen—he called fishermen to help him in his work of expanding his
peaceable kingdom, to help him transform minds and change hearts, to make a
significant and lasting difference in the lives of others. This is what kingdom
building is all about.
People need
to hear the Word of promise. People hunger for meaning in the depths of their
souls. People hunger for wholeness and healing. People are looking for a new
way of being. And we, those who
confess Christ, have been entrusted with giving them the answer, in spoken word
and visible action. We, as
imperfect as we are, have been entrusted with proclaiming the answer.
“Repent.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” These were the words of Jesus. These are the
words of Jesus. Notice that this proclamation begins with that word, the R
word, which our natural ears do not want to hear. But Jesus’ call to repentence is a wake up call, a wake up call
to those who dwell in the darkness, and are totally unaware of it. It is also a
call to those parts of us, each and every one of us, which work against the
kingdom in one way or another. But let us be clear. The call to repentance is
not a moralistic admonition, or a
divine finger point. The call to repent is call to turn away from orientations
and attitudes which have no place in the kingdom. It is a sharp reminder that our
ways are not God’s ways, that left to our own devices it is the natural human
tendency to work against the building of God’s kingdom. Greed, avarice, hatred,
lust—all of these have no place in God’s kingdom, that these are the ways of
the one whose ministry is of darkness, who loves the darkness, who would have
all people dwell in the darkness. So Jesus calls us back, calls us back to the truth.
The light
shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. In the final days
the kingdom of heaven will be plainly visible to the eyes of all. Right now it
is hidden, but it is here, and it is ruled over the one who brought real and
everlasting light into the world.
So we
continue our celebration of ephiphany, the moment when humanity’s greatest
dream was realized, when true and ultimate light shone into the world. Now may
the Light of God’s Kingdom shine brightly in your hearts, so that you too would
share the good News of the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
