Day 5

Read Mark 1:12-15.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."

Mark 1:14-15

Another kind of life is available to each one of us, right where we are, right now. This astounding offer lies at the heart of Jesus' message about the availability of the kingdom of God. Jesus brings us not so much a new piece of advice or a new social agenda or a new kind of spirituality but a new kind of life.

How can we describe life in the kingdom? It is an intimate life in which we come to know God personally as Abba. It is a shared life through which we come to discover ourselves as a part of God's family. It is a transformational life in which we are gradually changed into the people that God wants us to be. It is a powerful life in which God acts together with us for the good of others and the healing of our world. It is a loving life in which we become more responsive to those around us. Above all, it is an eternal life that cannot be snuffed out by death.

We deeply long for life in the kingdom. This longing is written in capital letters in the hollows of our souls, in the pain of our relationships, and in the strife in our communities. In spite of the abundance of techniques for self-fulfillment and self-help, we still witness and experience despair, addiction, and what seems a tragic inability to get along with those closest to us. We do not appear to live well.

To enter the joy of life in the kingdom, we need to open ourselves to repentance and trust. We must walk a daily journey of turning toward the risen Christ and learning from him how to live our lives. As we do this, he steps out from the pages of the Gospels as our ever present companion and gives us the courage to follow him.