In today’s Gospel Story Jesus (Mk1:12-15), having been led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted, tells us to repent, to change where we look for our happiness, to re-direct our focus, because the Kingdom of God is at hand right here and right now. He is not calling us to do more “holy things”, but to choose to live in a way that lets us open ourselves to knowing him as real, to experience in very practical ways our relationship with him as someone intensely with us always and in everything. He is calling us to be transformed.
“This is the time of fulfillment” – right here and right now. It is good. Now is real. Jesus calls us to make necessary changes in our life, and we find out what they are in our own desert, our own fearful and dark times, and our time with him. He asks us in our own life and in our own way to let him become really real to us. Our choosing to respond to Jesus’ invitation is really life-changing. It does not mean that we will have to give up fun, or that our life will be dull or miserable. It does mean that we will discover a depth and richness and a goodness to our life that we never thought possible.
It might be that in our Army these days we are experiencing our own desert as we try to deal with our brothers and sisters in uniform for whom the ordeal of life has become too painful for them to bear any longer. When Jesus is talking about the Kingdom of God being at hand, he is not talking about our private relationship with God, because there is no such thing. He is talking about a personal relationship with God that we live out with everyone around us. When those of us who are privileged to wear or serve the uniform took the Oath, we called on God to witness and support our commitment to our military lifestyle and culture. We have no doubt that God is doing this now. Each of us has the grace to bring healing to our Army, and to our brothers and sisters in uniform, to our own community. With this grace comes the power and responsibility to act, to be involved, live the grace and the kingdom right here and now. How we do this comes from our efforts to be open to Jesus always, in other words, to get to know him.
It is no accident that each one of us is right here at this time and place in history. The Kingdom of God is here, and we are part of this Kingdom. It is good that we are here. Taken together we have all the gifts necessary to meets the needs of our brothers and sisters, our families. We might move our focus beyond the workshops, presentations, stand-downs, etc, and look to the quite place in each of us where we are one with God, and then go where this takes us. We do not have to know just where we are going. We just have to take each day, each moment, each step in trust and confidence not in ourselves and our judgment, but in the power and love of grace that is with us always in every situation and relationship.
When we come to know beyond words that we are not alone in any sense, it is a freeing experience. We are not alone here. Our brothers and sisters are hurting, our Army is hurting. We are hurting. In a setting unknown outside the military, Command is hurting. In one of the thrills of being soldiers, we are becoming aware of a terrible burden upon us. As we have benefitted from the sufferings and growth of generations of soldiers who have gone before us, in the wonders of grace we will address this burden and bring the gift of God’s healing to all who suffer. This will be the gift we pass on to the soldiers who come after us, for “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”
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