"The Kindgom of God is at hand"

“The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:14), we read in the opening lines of today’s Gospel.  The Lion King comes to mind as I read that passage.  Remember how relieved the residents of Nardia were when liberation from evil was in sight.  That is what Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel. John has just been arrested. The situation looked as though evil had the upper hand.  It looked that way, too, when Jesus was crucified and put to death 2000 years ago.  So, too, today. Evil seems to be galloping out of control and seems to be dominating all of creation: human trafficking, the disappearance of innocent children, murders by persons seeking to become rich or seeking revenge, corruption of our political systems, nations threatening to do harm to other nations, discrimination against women and blacks and other minorities, injustices of every kind, racism, sexism, individualism, consumerism, materialism,  natural catastrophes and so much, much more that is not of God.  “Repent,” Jesus says, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.”  Do I believe Jesus? Am I looking for Jesus? Am I a collaborator with Jesus in the work of the Kingdom and in the confrontation of evil? Or am I a perpetrator, a collaborator, a bystander, watching the collapse of our nation, our Church, our society, our families, our own integrity, believing that I am helpless to make a difference? Or, like the four apostles in today’s Gospel called to become one with Jesus and His mission, do I believe that I am  called to be one of His disciples sent into the world to spread the Good News, to be the Light that the world needs to overcome its darkness?  Armed with the Word of God, with the Eucharist, with the graces of the sacrament of Reconciliation, I can and do make a difference, as do the Tim Tibows of this world who are unafraid to rely on God and express their faith.  What about you?