The time has come for the Archdiocese of Hobart
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The first recorded words of Jesus given by St Mark announces – “the time has come”. The time for what? Jesus adds, “the Kingdom of God is close at hand”.
This is a simple and very significant announcement. It is central to all human history. This is the Kairos, the moment of God.
Jesus now commences his public ministry. The years of his hidden life are over. He has just spent 40 days of spiritual preparation in the solitude of the desert. Now the moment has come in which he launches into his mission.
His essential mission is preaching to the people of Israel, God’s chosen people. To them he can declare that all the waiting is over, the promises of a Messiah, a Saviour, are now fulfilled.
God’s great plan for the redemption of humanity has now commenced.
God will establish his kingdom. Not an earthly kingdom – but a spiritual kingdom. Not a territorial kingdom – but a universal kingdom open for all. Not a kingdom of power and dominion – but a kingdom founded in humility and love.
Jesus called his own people to respond to an invitation to embrace life in this kingdom. There were two essential elements to this response: one called for a conversion of mind and heart and the second required a new level of faith.
So, the proclamation of Jesus as he launched his public ministry was: “repent and believe”.
This path of conversion and faith remains foundational to the proclamation of the Gospel to the world of today, and it remains at the heart of our personal ongoing response to Jesus.
We are all aware that we are living through a time in which many have chosen to walk away from the Christian faith. In some instances, there is now a real antagonism towards Christianity because these people consider that Christianity is so out of step with the views and attitudes of modern society.
There is an anger towards the Church which continues to declare its traditional teaching that life is to be preserved from conception to its natural end and so declares abortion and state assisted suicide is morally wrong. It also teaches that marriage, in God’s plan, is between a man and a woman.
The Church has not changed its belief that the expression of sexual intimacy belongs within a stable marriage union, and that a person is created male or female and this cannot be altered.
These beliefs now stand in stark contrast to what our society has come to accept.
In the lives of many in our society, faith in God has become irrelevant and unnecessary. People find it hard to see the importance of nurturing a relationship with God, and pursuing a life of virtue.
They are caught up with all that this life has to offer. They consider that they do not need God. They believe that they are basically good people trying to do the right thing, and that is all that is necessary.
The message of Jesus given today seems to fall into a void, sucked into a vortex of unbelief. The Gospel appears to have lost its appeal and its power to convict.
But, for others, the proclamation of Jesus is a profound truth that has captivated their hearts. They know its essential worth and value. They know that this world is passing and the allurements of this world are empty.
They desire to seek beyond the shallowness of a godless way of life. They want to avoid a path that is self-centred and sterile.
Often through some moment of grace or enlightenment, they have seen the truth and power of the Gospel and want to orient their lives around a living relationship with God.
They want to strive for virtue and holiness. They want to be faithful disciples of Jesus. They look to the Sacred Scriptures as a sound source of revelation about God and a wisdom to guide human life.
They want to live a spiritual life. They commit themselves to daily personal prayer and to a sacramental life centred on Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
They hear the Lord saying to them daily, “repent and believe”, and they choose to respond.
The call of the Gospel may have gone cold in the hearts of many in our society, but it remains a power to bring people to conversion and a new way of living.
The call of Jesus will continue to echo over the ages and will be proclaimed in and through the Church. Whatever may transpire in the broader society, the Gospel will still be heard by some and it will be embraced as grace and truth.
This year I am launching a special pastoral initiative across the Archdiocese. I am asking all parishes to develop a Parish Mission Plan. I believe the time has come for the Archdiocese to become intentionally missionary.
As our society abandons Christianity, the true response of the Church should be to recommit itself to proclaiming Christ and his message of salvation.
The Gospel will never lose its capacity to touch people’s hearts with a call to repent and believe. And through grace and the mercy of God some will hear and respond.
For the Archdiocese of Hobart the time has come and the Kingdom of God is close at hand. We will find the ways in which we can enable our fellow Tasmanians to encounter Christ and enter a path of conversion and faith.
Archbishop Julian Porteous
Sunday, 21 January 2024