Jesus emerges from the desert after a time of prayer and preparation. His message has four parts: "the time is fulfilled" - the time of the prophets has come to an end and the Messiah promises are being fulfilled; "and the kingdom of God has come near" - the reign of God bringing justice and peace to the world is breaking in; "repent" - all who wish to welcome this reality and participate in it must turn away from sin; "and believe in the good news" - the way to do this is to believe in the message Jesus brings and incarnates. The message is the same for us today as we begin the season of Lent: we need not wait for another prophet or leader; the reality of God's reign in the Holy Spirit is already in our midst; we need to turn away from self-destructive attitudes and behaviours that form an obstacle between us and God; we need to believe what the Scriptures tell us about the hope we have in Christ. In this way the urgency which gave dynamism to the preaching of the first disciples becomes ours as well. We do not give in to fatalism and pessimism but are renewed in our baptismal/confirmation mission to take Christ to a world so badly in need of good news: "See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots labours, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God... ". (2 Cor. 6: 2-8)
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