Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

…the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death 
light has arisen. 
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Old Hollywood movies sometimes helped the audience to see the context of their story with a map. As we watched the map would show light places changing to darkness as the Nazis or Communist armies overwhelmed the countryside, or dark places illuminated by the advancing forces of prosperity, freedom and equality.

Our readings do that this morning as they draw on the writings of Isaiah and Saint Matthew. Isaiah recalls how the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrian armies in the eighth century before Christ. The Assyrians were a threat far more savage than the communist of the 20^th century or the terrorists of the 21^st century. They killed thousands of people indiscriminately as they conquered, and led survivors into slavery far from their native lands. Isaiah, writing in the sixth century, saw the gloom of that once happy land. Its inhabitants were people sitting in darkness.

Many centuries later, Saint Matthew describes that accursed land, now under the rule of the Roman empire, as blessed by the presence of Jesus:

…on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death 
light has arisen. 

The light of Jesus advances over the ancient map, bringing relief, healing, freedom and prosperity.

In fact his ministry began there as he preached the good news:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Regime change, whether we’re speaking of ancient Galilee or modern Afghanistan, demands a change of heart. The people must adjust to a new reality, or be swept aside by it.

Fortunately, when Jesus arrives, he does not come with chariots and horses or tanks and artillery. He arrives on foot, with nothing more than the clothes on his back and the compassion in his eyes. He speaks to the poor and lowly, for the powerful and wealthy are too busy guarding their property to hear his message. Like the five percent who control most of wealth in the United States or the one percent who control the wealth in Haiti, they cannot be bothered with a gospel of penance, forgiveness and healing.

I have attempted to celebrate this mystery with a pantoum:

Easter 2010

Who can believe what we have heard?
A hanged man died and deified;
Isn’t this story a bit absurd?
The whole world saw him crucified.

The hanged man died and deified
Belonged to us as one of our own;
The whole world saw him crucified.
A man as common as a stone

Belonged to us as one of our own.
Bore dignity beyond the skies,
This man as common as a stone.
We could not see through his disguise

His dignity beyond the skies.
Enmeshed, begrimed in politics,
We could not see by his disguise
An excellence that would bollix

The powers meshed in politics.
The holy struggle to revive
An excellence that should bollix
those who rule and now deprive

The holy struggling to revive.
They'll stand at last to fill their lungs.
Those who rule will be deprived
but will praise God with serpent tongues.

They'll also stand and fill their lungs.
And no one dares call it absurd;
Their praising God with serpent tongues.
Who would believe what we have heard?