Repentant hearts

Monday, January 06, 2020
First Reading: 1 John 3:22–4:6
Gospel Reading: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25
WHEN Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
In preparing Jesus’ way, John the Baptist provoked the ire of Jewish leaders. They had him arrested and imprisoned. He was eventually beheaded upon orders of King Herod. When Jesus heard about John’s arrest, he left Nazareth and moved to Capernaum where he began his preaching career. He chose repentance as his preaching theme because God’s kingdom could not flourish in unrepentant hearts.
Jesus ended his preaching career but the work isn’t over yet. Let us hasten the perfection of the kingdom on earth by intensifying our works of repentance. The First Reading of today’s Liturgy underlines the importance of observing the commandments. “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave to us” (1 John 3:22–4:6). Let us talk about repentance vis-à-vis the Commandments.
Initial breaches of the Commandments are usually mere lapses – rarely any of them is intentional. But if these are not fixed in the spirit of repentance, lapses turn into habits that suppress any feeling of guilt in the person concerned. Habitual violation takes us farther away from the kingdom.
The salvation story would have to segue from the demanding role of John the Baptist as herald, to our equally challenging role of witnessing to the genuineness of God’s kingdom. We need not start with a big bang. As John the Baptist began as a tiny voice in the desert crying out “Prepare the Way of the Lord!” we can begin with our inner selves by cultivating the spirit of repentance. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., J.D., D.M.