The Gospel of the Day – 2017.01.22
After John’s Arrest
Hearing
that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth
he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and
Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:
‘Land
of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way
of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee
of the nations!
The
people that lived in darkness has seen a great light;
on
those who dwell in the land and shadow of death
a
light has dawned.’
From
that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
The
Beginning of Christian Ministry
Be wary of the
Scriptures, when the authors try attempt to fit their narrative of the life of
Jesus into a picture that makes it look as if he is fulfilling a prediction
made by a prophet from the past.
This is always a
falsehood.
Even if a prediction was
made, and even if Jesus did the thing that was predicted, it is a false
narrative to suggest that Jesus’ actions were in fulfillment of prophecy.
Prophets only speak of
the future for two reasons; to engender hope, and to warn of danger.
The words of a prophet
are always addressed to the people in their own time, in their own place.
Prophecy is never meant to guide the lives of future generations, except in the
cases when the prophet is addressing an issue of universal truth, such as the
nature of justice, which is itself unchanging.
The Gospel writers were
propagandists. They fabricated many of the details of Jesus’ life. They
fabricated those details to suit their narrative about who Jesus was, why he
was necessary, and what his life and death meant for the early church.
In this narrative the
Gospel writers place Jesus directly in the tradition of John the Baptist, with
the words “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
This is a continuation of
that narrative, meant to harness the energy of John’s movement, after his
arrest and murder.
3rd
Sunday of Ordinary Time
