S3, E8 - The Proclamation of the Kingdom Bible Study (Matthew 4: 12-17)

The mission of the Ponder and Magnify Podcast is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. Join us as we dive into the Third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary! In this episode, Jess, John, and Fr. Philipp discuss the Proclamation of the Kingdom using Matthew 4: 12-17. Praise be to God!

Transcript

Jess 0:05

Hello and welcome to the Ponder and Magnify podcast, where our mission is to seek an encounter with Jesus through praying the rosary, relying on the grace of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Mary. I am so happy that you are here. Welcome everyone to our episode on the third luminous mystery, the proclamation of the kingdom. I'm joined here by Father Philipp and by John, and I'm just praying come Holy Spirit. We're excited to have a great conversation. Father Philipp, would you mind opening us up in prayer?

Fr. Philipp 0:40

Sure, if we're going to ask the Lord's kingdom to come, we might as well offer the words the Lord has taught us. So, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen, Jesus, we have confidence and we dare to call God our Father. As we say, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen, come Holy Spirit. Amen in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Jess 1:28

Thank you, father Philipp. It is that time we're going to crack it open with some words to describe where we're at right now. John, I'm going to throw it to you. What word are you choosing today? Word or phrase?

John 1:39

I'm going to go with content. I'm feeling very fulfilled and happy, but I'm also feeling wiped. We had our last, uh, last pool day of the summer and kids were having fun, but it was time in the sun and you know, it's just that kind of tired but happy feeling at the end of the day. Father Philip, you got one?

Fr. Philipp 2:02

Yeah, I'm trying to articulate the one word. So I have some triangulation. I have like a pondering or wondering or like inquiring. Just I was reading some stuff this afternoon and it's got me thinking about a couple of different topics and kind of conversation and it connects to the mystery. For me

Jess 2:31

Beautiful

Jess 2:35

I am going with a phrase here. I am in my feels today. We had a big day in our family sent our oldest off to kindergarten and it was also really special that today is the anniversary 16-year anniversary of John asking me to be his girlfriend. So it was a little bit surreal to have both of those things happening on the same day and just the evolution of, yeah, of our family history just right before our eyes. So I'm feeling in the feels about all of that in a great way, and John was able to take the day off work today. So it was fun, fun to be together and to be able to celebrate our daughter, just feeling thankful With that. Father Philipp, would you proclaim our scripture for us for today, for the proclamation of the kingdom.

Fr. Philipp 3:29

Sure, and we're going to listen to Matthew 4, 12 through 17. So reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea beyond the Jordan, galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light. On those dwelling in the 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.

John 4:26

All right. Well, did anything stick out to anyone? Jess, anything resonate with you?

Jess 4:32

I was really struck by two things that kind of started to tie together for me while I was praying there. First, I was struck by where it was that Jesus went. I know we get specifically those geographic regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, but later on, in those verses that Jesus went to the people who sit in darkness and to those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, and I just was reminded of when Jesus comes to proclaim the kingdom. He's not looking for those who already have it figured out, and so the pressure to have it all figured out is just so reduced. He is coming and wanting to enter into all those places of darkness in my own life, places of fear, all these places of shame, anything like that, that we're holding to. Those are the places where Jesus wants to enter in as Savior and in order to fulfill his role as Savior, he needs to enter into that darkness, enter into those places that are overshadowed by death and he is not turned away by that, this idea of him being a light. I was imagining him handing me his sacred heart and the fire of his sacred heart being a light to hold out into the darkness, those dark places where I might experience fear or whatever, of entering Jesus, giving me the light coming off of his heart like the love for me, the love for every soul, and letting that be my confidence and hope as I go in to those places and as I enter into those places with others too. It was just really a consoling thing.

Jess 6:24

And then from that, this word repent just kept coming.

Jess 6:28

That Jesus was saying and I think for a long time I felt like this call to repent was just like oh, you should feel sorry about the things that you've done wrong. And what I'm hearing through prayer with this repent is really to just look at life of those places of dissatisfaction, fear, overwhelm, that sort of thing, and see that something different is being offered. The kingdom of God is here and I just I love the idea of this call to repent as like holding Jesus's heart in my hand and like shining it all over the fire of that heart, shining it on those places of my life and really using that as my tool to illuminate and evaluate what's going on and what are some of my driving forces or motivations. And doing that like with Jesus beside me, who's ready to look at it all with me with such gentleness and tenderness and love to kind of change course on those places where I might be acting out of fear or that sort of thing. That's really what was sticking out to me, johnny. What about you?

John 7:40

Yeah,

John 7:41

this, I don't know. This one was harder for me to get something out of. You know, reading the I did agree with kind of the last part but just like the word repent meant to me like for so long, just like go to confession, almost you know Um, but like now you know, as I've kind of gotten older, it kind of means it means more now to you know, have that relationship and have that faith and lean on the Lord, trust in the Lord and, just like I said, have that established relationship, not just, you know, simply confessing sins. Um, the first part was a little confusing to me just in terms of like I think there's probably some context that I'm missing. Um, I love the idea of it, like in movies, I love like stories of, like prophecy, um, but that was kind of the main. I guess takeaway was the was just the end of what stuck out with me with the repent.

Jess 8:47

I like that too, kind of having what you said shed light more on what I was thinking too. It's just this idea of repent as really an invitation to look into our life, Of like where do we need saving because that is that is what Jesus is there for. Like that's where he wants to enter in and heal us, um, so that we can then carry that light forward with others and kind of be that witness of his mercy and love to others too.

Jess 9:15

Like that that first has to happen in our own hearts before we can help bring others in too

Fr. Philipp 9:23

what you guys are saying is kind of leading into the, the things that are on like the lord, kind of pulled into, uh, pulled up in my mind. So I was thinking about the word repent and the, the, the word behind that, metanoia, tay. Like y'all, change your minds right, take, take on a new way of understanding. And this week in the daily readings we had, unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. And I just like it struck me when I was proclaiming the gospel at mass, like what Jesus is saying is like there's no one but children in the kingdom, so the kingdom is only filled with children. And so, like when he's saying, like take on this new way of thinking about yourself, like enter into the reality of what I'm inviting you like be a child of my father and like that's what the kingdom is, uh, this, this new invitation for, for that Um, and what you guys are speaking, like the, the way of relating into, uh, the Lord, and like not just this, like beat yourself up, like before the father right, or like just set, set yourself in this, this space of where you only recognize your failings, but it's the reality of a child who needs just is recognizing that they're like I can't do this, I need someone to help me, and that whole disposition of childlikeness. So that's what I'm thinking on, thinking on that repentance thing.

Fr. Philipp 11:03

But John, with the, the, the, the first part of the passage I actually I love. I love this passage because we we get part of this for the readings for midnight mass at Christmas. So this passage from Isaiah is a chunk of I don't remember what chapter. Somewhere in Isaiah it says right, no, but this is the prophecy that then goes into the wonder counselor, a God hero, a king of kings. Right Like the Lord of Lords, that is, like the Messiah that handles Messiah, and really like what I have in my head and what the thing I wanted to share and what the Lord was bringing up, was this right that.

Fr. Philipp 11:51

What stands behind this is the history of Israel, in which the first of the tribes of Israel, when the whole nation of Israel was falling apart, they had split up into two kingdoms. The first sections to be conquered and deported in exile are Zebulun and Naphtali, and so the word that came about was recapitulation, is just like a big way of saying like Jesus takes, like he starts back at the beginning. It's not like he wipes out what happened before, but that he he makes the newness come from the first point of like darkness, um, and so like, even with you guys having this like anniversary of like you're dating today, I'm just I was just thinking like it's kind of fitting that we're considering the ways in which, like the Lord, from the first moment, goes back to redeem the whole thing, and like you're looking back at these like 16 years, right, and uh, we can all look back at those, those points, like that's not a bad thing, right, so it's not being's not being conquered, but uh, like maybe your hearts are being conquered, but, um, but like the, the spaces of exile where we're, like we're separate from, from Jesus or the Father, um, and like the way that he and his goodness fulfills this prophecy, like from that spot, I want to come back and take back my territory, like your heart, your mind, everything that you are.

Fr. Philipp 13:30

Like I want that and I'm going to do it from the beginning. And so, just this like the beauty of this prophecy is that, like Jesus walks literally through these lands to do that, and that God, in his providence, doesn't let anything pass, that what Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, and so just that hope of the new life that Jesus brings in the kingdom the new life that Jesus brings in the kingdom.

Jess 14:08

When you were talking, father Philipp, it was reminding me of a recent experience that's quite frequent with our two-year-old daughter. She is really in an independent phase, do-by-myself phase, and particularly this means getting dressed in the morning. We have to wake up a little extra early because she wants to do it all herself. And I remember sitting there one morning feeling really frustrated because we were a little pressed for time, and she was just like nope, I'm going to do it by myself. I kept offering help and she was like nope, I'm going to do it by myself. I'm going to do it by myself. God love her.

Jess 14:36

She ends up like in a heap on the floor crying, and then finally she's like Mom, will you please help me? And at that moment my honest first reaction was oh, thank goodness. Like we've already lost a lot of time here, but honestly, like returning to the beginning, it's almost like her trajectory there is exactly what the Lord wants. Like when it's kind of interesting when you're a parent, you're like trying to help your children become more independent, and that's the goal. Is that, like they will be able to like live life successfully on their own after having spent time under your care, um, but with the Father it's like the opposite. The goal is not to go to independence, but go toward greater and greater dependence and like to kind of restart and reclaim that childlike nature before him.

Jess 15:26

And so it's cool to think I was thinking of that interaction and just like what an example that is for me and how many different situations in my own life I can relate that to, and just how the Father is waiting for me to finally be like okay, I really need your help. And honestly, it kind of almost seems like maybe at times why suffering is permitted, because sometimes it takes us getting like our sweet daughter, like to the heap on the floor of okay, finally, like just please help me. And you know it's, it's painful for the Father to watch us endure suffering to get to that point. It's not like he's not enjoying that in any way, that is like causing him great pain. But when we get to that point where we finally rely on him and allow him to step into our darkness and step into where we need to be saved, step into those places of our hearts, like that brings him such delight.

Fr. Philipp 16:19

Well, that's right. So, like the, the, the reality you said, you said that like our goal, our goal in parents is like independence, such they can fend for themselves, or like be on their own. It's like the Father never wants us to be on our own, like that's not his goal. He wants us near to him, which is just a beautiful gift. That's a. That's an awesome, awesome story to uh, just a great beautiful example of of uh, yeah, what we do all the time but we just don't notice that we do it. Yeah, it's a lot more hidden when we're not a two-year-old.

Jess 17:01

Totally Well, john, father Philip, anything else to add? Anything that's speaking to us from the scripture, anything else to add here to our conversation?

John 17:16

Nothing on my end,

Fr. Philipp 17:17

I think

Fr. Philipp 17:18

I'm good.

Jess 17:20

Awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you for opening our hearts and minds to your inspiration, and we just pray that what we receive in our prayer just might be a spark of hope for someone else, or just be perpetuated. The love that we feel in being with you be perpetuated to the hearts of those who listen To, all of you who are listening. Count on our continued prayers and please, please, we ask you to pray for us. Praise be to God.