As Christians we are used to having Jesus in our lives. His image is very familiar to us and we all have an picture of Jesus in our minds, but we need to move beyond the image in the picture or the statue; so, who is Jesus to you? This is not an odd question. Who Jesus is comes up time and again in the Gospels, including times when Jesus asks this question of his listeners and followers, and we have an example in Sunday's gospel. “are you the one who is to come”? The author of today’s gospel, Matthew, is clear about who Jesus is. For Matthew Jesus is the Messiah, long awaited by the Jewish people. Though Matthew’s gospel is good news for all people, at the time of writing Matthew’s primary audience at the time were Jewish Christians. Unlike Luke for example, Matthew was not primarily concerned with a non-Jewish readership. His task as he saw it was to prove that the prophesies about, and the promise of the Messiah to the Jewish people, had come to pass in the person of Jesus (though at the end of Matthew’s gospel the mission of salvation does become universal and is not confined to a particular group). Even so Matthew, even with Jesus in front of him, had to ask the question who Jesus was; in a way you can see him working it out as the story of Jesus unfolds in his Gospel. One thing we have in common with Matthew is how in our minds, hearts and souls our understanding of Jesus evolves over time. We see in Matthew’s narrative how the life and purpose of Jesus evolves over the course of his ministry. Jesus’ mission of salvation is gradually revealed, it evolves from salvation for the Jewish people to salvation for the whole of humanity. It evolves from an expectation of an earthly kingdom to the kingdom of the new heaven and the new earth. It evolves from having the adulation and respect of hundreds of followers to a solitary death on the cross. A solitary death but followed by a triumphant resurrection. During Jesus’ life there must have been times for Matthew and, as we see in Sunday's Gospel, for John the Baptist too, that Jesus was difficult to fathom let alone understand. But both John and Matthew stick with Jesus and it moves them to a better and deeper understanding of themselves and of God which in turn gains for them eternal life. How can we be as confident as Matthew and John about Jesus? In Sunday's gospel Jesus shows how his saving work defines who he is. He connects himself with the ancient signs of the arrival of the Messiah and the kingdom by his saving actions. He connects himself directly to the fragility of humanity, sickness, and pain. Jesus desires to save each and every one of us. He wants to give sight to the blindness of our hearts, he wants to strengthen our weary hands, he wants to gently say to us “courage, do not be afraid”. He invites us to look towards a time of joy and gladness where sorrow and lament be ended. Let us pray for the coming of this kingdom, our God is coming to save us. As always, be assured of my daily prayers for your intentions. God bless and keep you. Fr Chris

Over the centuries during which the books of the Bible were written, though they were inspired by the Holy Spirt, the different authors often struggled to explain their understanding of what God, and the promised Kingdom of God, looked it. They were dealing with ideas and concepts which are beyond the limitations of human understanding. That is why so often in the Bible the phrase that something “looked like” something is often used, it’s was often the best they could do. If I were to ask you what does God’s kingdom look like, what would you say? My earliest imaginings was formed by the holy cards you used to get (some which I still have) which, if set in heaven, had figures standing on a fluffy cloud with a pearl grey backdrop. Nothing else seemed to be happening. It was a kind of a neutral beauty. What does the Kingdom of God look like to you? How would you experience it? How would you know you were there? Related to this in this Sunday's readings we have a sequence of beautiful images from Isaiah. He first describes the characteristics of the Messiah, what the Messiah is like. The amazing thing is that we too have been given these characteristics; these are the gifts we have received at Confirmation. How often do we pause to reflect on the extraordinary gifts of divine grace we have already received? Do we pause before passing judgement on others, do we act wisely (or rashly), do we act with integrity? Jesus the Messiah is the perfect embodiment of all of these graces, as we see time and again in the Gospels, but are we mindful of these in our own lives? In our words and our actions? We have been given the ability to be the mirror of God’s grace to the people we meet, and the world in which we live, which in turn will also literally enlightens our own hearts and souls. And what of the Kingdom? At the very beginning of the universe, which was created through his Divine Word, Jesus the Word made flesh, everything created is meant to be good, not just good but perfect in every aspect of its nature “they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain”. At the full realisation of the Kingdom the entire universe will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, The universe, and we too, will be filled with that knowledge, beauty and love. In this Sunday's gospel John the Baptist, the last and the greatest of the prophets and the cousin of Jesus though Mary and Elizabeth, shouts out to everyone who will listen – “he’s here”. John has a big following but he always points away from himself towards Jesus – the one who saves; the Christ – the anointed one. Then and now John calls to us to prepare for Jesus; to prepare for Jesus the morning star for Him to arise in our minds and hearts whose light will illuminate our souls. John tells us that the way to do this is by repentance which is something we all need. It is also by faith in Jesus. If we repent we will be better people tomorrow than we are today; we will be salt to the earth and light to the world. God desires that all people will be saved. We have been invited to share in the new heaven and the new earth at the end of time. Of course ultimately we will decide for ourselves if we wish to accept the invitation, we are God’s children, not His slaves. Do not be afraid to rise to this challenge. With God’s help you are destined for great things. As always, be assured of my daily prayers for your intentions. God bless and keep you. Fr Chris