In all probability you have seen these little appliances that make it possible to reach things that are out of reach. I have several of them to assist my arthritic arms and hands reach things that are too high up or too far down. I actually have one in both my bedroom and in my office. I use them every day. Perhaps you are in the same situation.
In today's Gospel Jesus begins preaching where John has left off. "The Kingdom of God is at hand." The message seems simple enough. God and God's reign is not out of reach. It is within our grasp. If the Gospel is to be believed, I won't need my appliance to reach it. Yet doesn't it seem to be out of reach? Aren't we all reaching and grasping for something that our world, our culture seems to have pushed back into the shadows of its cupboards and closets? If both Jesus and John are to be believed, we should be able to touch God's reign right here and now, not just in our churches and chapels, but in our homes, our offices, our schoolrooms, our playing fields, our shopping malls, etc.
The voice of the prophet has been proclaiming this same message for eons. If we listen to Isaiah today, we realize that he is proclaiming it to the people of Israel. The evil King Ahaz has perished and King Hezekiah is about to take the throne. Hezekiah will prove to be a good king. He will bring the light of the Sinai covenant back to Israel. In doing so, he will forestall the attack of Assyria. Unfortunately, King Hezekiah's successor is another like Ahaz and plunges Israel back into the darkness and gloom.
St. Paul is also preaching the message of the light to the community of Corinth. He is telling the Christian community that they have fallen prey to human jealousy and envy, that they have given way to advancing their own cause and that they have forgotten that their community is their privileged place of encounter with God's reign. It matters not who baptized them. Jesus is far more important that Paul or Peter or Apollos.
Today's Gospel tells us that Peter, Andrew, James and John heard the message that Jesus and all the prophets had been preaching, that they left their nets and followed Jesus. We know the rest of their story. Sometimes they were successful in grasping God's reign. Sometimes they failed. Therein lies our own story. All of us are here this morning because we are reaching, we are grasping for something more. Each of us here has a vocation story, a story about how we first heard the message, about how we decided to reach for God's kingdom. For some of us that story involves a call to married life. When we found the person with whom we thought we might be able to reach the kingdom, we joined with them and continued to reach. For others of us it involved a journey in community with others. Joined with other women and men who were all seeking God's reign, we decided to live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. However, notice that whether we chose married life or community life, we all chose to seek God's kingdom with someone else. Notice that Jesus did not choose one disciple in today's Gospel. He chose four, two sets of brothers. Yes, looking for and reaching for God's kingdom is done in concert with others. This is exactly where the people of Corinth were making a mistake. Instead of claiming that they were better than others because of some foolish claim to prominence, they should have remembered that seeking God's reign is far easier when we do it together – in communion with others.
Once again, Sunday is here and we find ourselves around God's table. Once again we approach God's table and seek the food and drink that will sustain us on our journey. Once again we express our desire to reach God's reign. The next time that I use my "reaching" apparatus, I will try to remind myself that you and I can reach it far more easily if we do it together.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator