3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2020
Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1Cor 1:10-13, 17; Matt 4:17-23
“Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” Here we have the kerygma, the basic proclamation of Jesus, the heart of His preaching. What does it mean, and especially, what does it mean for us?
When we use the word “repent”, we usually think of sorrow, of being sorry for what we have done or failed to do; for sins that we have committed. That is certainly one aspect of repentance, but taken to its fullest extent, it actually goes much deeper, is much more comprehensive, more demanding of us.
The Greek word which we find in the New Testament, and which we translate as “repent” is metanoeite which really means to change in the deepest part of us, to have a change of heart, a re-orientation; so that, in our living, we are focused completely on God. That involves sorrow for our sins, but it also involves much more: a transformation of the innermost part of ourselves.
For my spiritual reading at the moment I am using a book which I was given for Christmas: “Newman, the heart of holiness” by Mgr. Roderick Strange. On Monday morning, just before I sat down to prepare my homily, I came across this quotation from St. John Henry Newman himself: “For in truth, we are not called once only, but many times; all through our life, Christ is calling us.”
“All through our life, Christ is calling us.” That is the heart of repentance, fully understood. This may involve a change of lifestyle, as when someone is called to marriage, or to priesthood, or to the consecrated life; but it also entails much subtler changes, as we are called, perhaps, to deepen our prayer life, to change our attitude to someone who irritates or annoys us, to recognise our responsibilities to the wider world, and to modify our response in the light of events whether far away or close to home.
Newman himself wrote “to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” He is not advocating change for change’s sake, running after every daft new idea which comes along, but being alert to the presence of Christ in our lives, and to His ongoing call to us. It is possible to argue that the reason why the Second Vatican Council caused such an upheaval in the Church is that, for a long time, the Church had been seeing itself as the perfect society which had no need, or even no right, to change: in other words, it had neglected the call to fundamental, ongoing repentance. Hence, when St. John XXIII “threw open the windows of the Church” and summoned the Council, the Holy Spirit blew away many cobwebs and set in motion a whole host of changes—of aspects of repentance—which should have been taking place by degrees throughout the decades.
We can see how this works in the calling of the first disciples and in their subsequent following of Christ. In today’s Gospel, we hear that fundamental call to a complete change of lifestyle, a call for which they have been prepared by the time which they have spent with the Lord after being directed to Him by John the Baptist. Hence, when Jesus now utters His command “follow me” they are ready to respond AT ONCE.
This corresponds to the initial call of our baptism, and to the other life-changing calls which we may receive. Afterwards, though, as they followed the Lord, they were being called to an ongoing repentance, to keeping their relationship with Jesus and His Father fresh. Thus, they heard the Sermon on the Mount, turning the world’s values upside down. They were told to change their view of what constitutes greatness, to imitate the innocence and simplicity of children. They learned that it isn’t enough to avoid sins like murder, but that they must avoid anger and self-centredness, learning the true meaning of the commandments of love of God and neighbour. They were urged to perseverance and endurance, and were taught a new approach to prayer.
All of these were aspects of repentance: all of these are demanded of us, as we follow Christ day by day. They are demanded because “the Kingdom of heaven is close at hand”. Christ has come into our world. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us: and He is calling us anew, every day and every moment. We must be alert, to hear and to respond.