It happens to me all the time. I get in the car to go somewhere. It can be anywhere really: a blessing, grocery shopping, picking my son up from school, or even home for dinner. I forget where I’m going and the end up somewhere else just in time to remember where I was supposed to go and have to turn the car around. It happened just the other day. I left the office to go home for dinner, but I had to stop by the grocery store to pick up an ingredient for dinner that I had forgotten the night before when I went shopping. (Lest you think my wife was to blame, this one was all my fault) I was almost home when I remembered; I FORGOT TO STOP AT THE STORE! AGH! I had to turn the car around and go all the way back to the store before going all the way back home. It really bugs me when that happens. I don’t like forgetting where I’m headed but thank God I can always turn around and get back on the right track.
In today’s Gospel Jesus is sending us a clear message to turn around and get back on track. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4.17) Repentance means nothing more than getting back on track and headed where you need to go, just like being in a car. Let’s keep this driving theme for a moment. Now imagine you are driving on the interstate and pass your exit. It can be really frustrating not just because you missed your exit but, especially if you are out in the country, because the next exit you can use to turn the car around isn’t for another 27 miles. Whenever we get off track, we count on those next exits so we can turn around and get back on track.
But thank God that in life we don’t have to wait for the next exit. We can turn our life around right now and be headed on the right track immediately. In life, U-Turns are always allowed! For the past couple of Sundays we have heard the message of repentance in the Gospel very pronounced; last week from Saint John the Baptist and today from the very mouth of God. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We might wonder, just like driving, if there is danger ahead.
If you have ever driven in high mountains and see the sign, “DANGER AHEAD!” you know that if you’re not careful you could very easily end up running the car off the cliff. Well the Gospel is doing the same thing, only this time it says, “ROAD ENDS, TURN AROUND!” or “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Highway departments are very careful to make sure we know the danger that lies ahead of our path in the mountains. Those bright yellow signs are always very helpful. If only life had the bright yellow signs.
Life does have bright yellow signs, only they were written by the Author of Life and not some convict in prison. The bright yellow signs are the Holy Scriptures. Our Lord is given us a great gift by warning us in the Scriptures that if we don’t turn it around we are headed for danger. Actually, He is saying something ever better that WHEN we turn it around we will immediately be blessed by Him in His kingdom.
Our Lord says, “The kingdom of heaven at hand.” It is not something that we are forced to wait for as it has been already been ushered in by His Birth and Baptism that we just celebrated. We should pay special attention to His words. This morning’s Gospel message takes place even before He calls His disciples, those chosen ones who would be guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit and establish His Church. Before He ever met Pilate and was crucified He said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
In other words my dear brothers and sister, the time has come, it has arrived, for us to take Jesus up on His offer of a new life and turn our old life around. If you could remember your baptism you would remember that long before you were naked and in the water of the font you were facing west spitting on the devil. Then you turned around and faced Jesus Christ and His Altar and embraced Him as your Lord and King. Jesus is offering us the same chance today to turn our life around. He knows that it has been a long time since our baptism. He knows that we may have become slack in our worship of Him. He knows that we need another chance and today He is offering it to us.
Jesus is offering us another chance at a new life. He is offering us a life in His kingdom free from the darkness of the world. All we need to do is turn our life around and face Him. It doesn’t matter how many times we have tried and failed in the past. It doesn’t matter that we aren’t perfect. It doesn’t even matter that we have doubted Him in the past. Today is a new day. Listen again to the words of Isaiah, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (Matthew 4.16 – see Isaiah 9.1-2 for complete citation)
You and I both know that life can be difficult some times. And God knows much better than we do that it isn’t always easy to follow His will in our life because the world is a dark and dangerous place filled with the devil and his evil demons. But He has given us His light to see in the darkness and we can use His light to see the warning signs to turn our life around, just as if they were bright yellow highway signs. He’s given us another chance, let’s take Him up on His offer and turn our life around.
Let’s make 2011 the year we rededicate our life to a deeper relationship with Him. Let’s make 2011 the year we commit to living our Orthodox Christian faith with purpose and not just sit around like a bump in the road. Let’s make today the day we start our new life for the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
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