Matthew emphasizes today the two buzzwords of Jesus’ message: “kingdom” and “conversion.”
“The Kingdom”: something that belongs to God, but which he does not delight in possessing, but in giving to us. His Kingdom shines when life flourishes in all its forms. The Kingdom of God is the world as God wants it, finally free from deception and violence, more beautiful than all dreams, more intense than all the tears of those who lived and died in the night wishing to see it.
“Conversion”: to think in quite another light. But there is more: some beings of creation are born once, and they reach fulfillment. Humans, on the other hand, are never fully born and have to go through the toil of generating themselves anew: humans never reach the point of being ready. Only those who have hope will reach conversion: hope is a hunger to bring to completion what we have within us in germinal form—it is a hunger to be born. To live by being born, coming to more light.
Every time we reach for the holy water at the entrance of the church, we are traversing the waters of baptism to enter his Kingdom. The Sign of the Cross with holy water will immerse us into a desire for renewal, longing for one more step into a more profound conversion.
May your Kingdom come!
