January 25, 2026 at Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint William Churches in Naples, FL
Isaiah 8: 23 to 9: 3 + Psalm 27 + 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13, 17 + Matthew 4: 12-23
Galilee. It is to this day a fertile region of great beauty. In some ways, it is the “breadbasket” of the whole region. It is the place where Matthew has the work of Jesus begin. It is also the place from which the risen Lord departs and where he commissions his disciples. Then, there is Capernaum. It was, before tourists, a small agricultural fishing village. The people there were poor, not necessarily hungry, but because it was productive, it was heavily taxed by the Romans leaving the people bearing the brunt of imperial greed. In short, the people there are oppressed, without any hope of liberation. A kind of darkness and gloom as spread over the place. Yet, it is from this gloomy place of little importance that Jesus seeks disciples.
John is arrested, and Jesus goes home to Galilee, but not for long. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is on the go all the time, moving from place to place because the message of Jesus is not confined to one place or one person. Over and over again Jesus and the message of the Kingdom will conflict with the authorities both religious and civil. Why else was John put in prison by King Herod? Why else was Jesus a threat to the Roman, Pilate? Matthew would have us see that the kingdom of God with it’s Justice and Peace is not to be spiritualized. It is for this world, and any ideology or person that stands in opposition to the Kingdom of God will be threatened and, if we can believe history and the Gospels, violence will be their defense.
Uncomfortable as it may make all of us feel, spiritualizing the Kingdom of God or believing that it is for some after-life or distant future ignores or denies what John and Jesus both had to say to us. Herod thought he could shut John up by locking him in prison and then killing him. Then Jesus comes along. We should have noticed that his first words repeat what John said word for word. Then he goes even further by revealing what the Kingdom of God must be like with his openness and compassion. Pilate and the religious leaders whose power and privilege were threatened by what Jesus had to say thought they could stop him and shut him up by killing him as had happened to all prophets earlier.
But God will have none of this. Jesus is raised up and goes home once again, but not before he gathers his disciples and sends them out to the whole world not just to proclaim the Kingdom of God, but to bring it to fulfillment by the life and work of the Church. It is real, my friends. The Kingdom of God is at hand, and as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are its heralds and its proof. It cannot be spiritualized as though it has nothing to say to this world today, to governments and civil leaders just as before. This is not imposing some religion on the state. There is nothing sectarian about compassion, kindness, respect, justice, generosity, or the truth.
We have just celebrated the birth of Christ, the Word of God taking flesh. The presence of Jesus Christ to this day is not some “spiritual being” that we cannot see. The Word became Flesh, real flesh, our flesh. It is in us, and through us, and by us that Kingdom of God is to becomes a reality. If there is no mercy, no justice, no lasting peace, no healing forgiveness it is because too many people and sometimes we have allowed that kingdom to become some vague spiritual idea silenced by those who think it is for some distant time in the future. But that is not what Jesus said, and it is not what he meant. The Kingdom of God is at hand.