Time is fulfilled. What can be fulfilled? A vessel, a reservoir, or a riverbed may be fulfilled, but the river itself remains unfulfilled, as it persists in its flow. It may dry up, but it cannot cease to flow. It would cease to be a river. Something similar seems to apply to time. We can fill an hour with entertainment, a year with learning, and a life with good deeds. However, time continues to pass. It was before us and will be after us. But will it last forever? Ancient mythologies assumed so. They depicted time as a snake biting its tail, yet always growing. However, this perspective does not correspond to the biblical conception. According to mythology, time provides birth to and devours gods and humans. The God of the Bible, on the other hand, is the Lord of time. It is He who creates things and people and gives each one a certain amount of time to fulfill the task God has given them. Thus, individuals, nations, and even countries have their time in the universe. The people of Israel also had their time: from Abraham to Christ. Compared to the history of all humanity and the world, this period is relatively short. It is filled with God’s great deeds: the election of Abraham, the liberation from Egypt, the founding of a dynasty, the prophets, etc. All this was, in God’s eyes, sufficient preparation for the Jews to receive Christ. Therefore, the Old Testament had its time, which is now fulfilled.
The Kingdom of God was approaching. When asked how the Gentiles differed from the Jews, Paul gave a simple answer: “They have no hope, but we have the promises of God” (cf. Eph 2:12). God gave the Jewish people many gifts, but they were all only a foreshadowing of what was to come in the last days: God gave his Son (cf. Jn 3:16) to establish a kingdom, not that of David and Solomon, but that of a Father in heaven. His name is Immanuel, God with us (Isa 7:14). All religions have a belief in a deity who is more or less pure. These deities dwell in mysterious forests, on mountains, and in the clouds. Their kingdom lies elsewhere, outside the earth inhabited by humans. They are difficult to reach, and it is not easy to get close to them. In contrast, we read Moses’ statement about the Jews: “There is no great nation whose God is so close to them as our God is to us” (Deut 4:7). Christians use this text when they speak of the Eucharist, of the presence of Christ in the tabernacle. But it is generally understood to refer to God’s presence in our world, working through Christ and in him.
Jesus went to Galilee and proclaimed the Gospel of God there. Often, someone enters our lives with a message. No one likes to deliver sad news. On the contrary, the Gospel means “good news.” It means that God also enters our personal lives and constantly fills our time, so that this encounter becomes alive and conscious. Confessors can testify to many examples of how people encounter Christ face-to-face at different moments and under different circumstances. This encounter transforms them and gives meaning to their everyday lives. A child and a young person do not doubt their path in life. They believe that something great awaits them and that they will succeed. Later, however, fatigue sets in. Success fails to materialize; life drags on day after day. Does it still make sense? Perhaps we no longer enjoy encounters with other people; perhaps we tell ourselves that we have nothing left to look forward to in life. But that is an illusion. This feeling means the opposite of emptiness: that the true encounter has not yet taken place but may already be very close.
Since we are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we may pray to the Father with complete confidence.
Jesus, like John, stayed at the Jordan and baptized. It was the baptism of reconciliation and peace.
Therefore, we pray. Those who find fulfillment in God and don’t take what only God can give are blessed.
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