Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming he is the good news of God by words and actions. People saw him setting people free, bringing forgiveness and healing. Blind people saw, deaf people heard, lame people jumped and the dead received life.

When the poor looked at Jesus they saw God was on their side. He had power over demons and authority when he taught.

Christians are often portrayed as bad news in the media, bigots, abuser, haters of women and homosexuals, spoil sports, control freaks, money grabbers, racists and war mongers. Some people attribute all wars to religion.

Because some Christians have behaved badly we all suffer the stigma of the evil they have done. We are stereotyped by others and feel ashamed making it more difficult to share our faith. If we talk about what Jesus has done for us we run the risk of accusations of thinking we are better than others.

Being hurt by other Christians blocks us gazing on the loveliness of Christ. We can become stuck in negativity.

Jesus’ words are good news for us. He calls us to repent, believe and follow him.

Repentance means more than being sorry for the consequences of our sin. It means hating anything that makes God unhappy, that is not conducive to his Kingdom.

We are shocked by what Christians have done in the past. We may also feel condemned as a result of personal wrong doing. Jesus does not leave us wallowing in self-condemnation.

When we confess what we have done, repent and do all we can to put things right we are forgiven. Jesus died on the cross for our transgressions. He loves us and lifts the weight of our history from our shoulders. Repentance enables us to move from the darkness of the past into the freedom of God’s presence.

Jesus’ love for us enables us to forgive others, letting the hurt go. Through the power of his Holy Spirit we develop our relationship with God in prayer and pray for those who hurt us because God loves them.

Jesus came to Galilee, in the northern province of Israel, a tiny nation about the size of Wales, not to Jerusalem, to ordinary people not to a super spiritual centre. Jesus’ first disciples were “northerners.”

He talked in the open air on a beach by a lake, not to the clerical elite.

He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;” The timing wouldn’t have seemed right to most of us. Israel had been conquered and was oppressed by Rome.

The way Jesus came didn’t seem right either. He was born into a carpenter’s family. His father was not an educated man or a soldier.

Jesus proclaimed that something wonderful was happening. He was the one prophesied about in the Old Testament who John the Baptist had pointed to before his arrest and imprisonment.

In Jesus we see the kingdom of God come near. He obeys his Heavenly Father fully. Through him we see a little of what it will be like when the Kingdom of God comes into completion and there is no more sin, sorrow, or wars.

The closer we live to Jesus and the more we allow him to reign in us the more others will see of his Kingdom.

When Jesus walked on earth, the kingdom had not fully come. Corruption, hatred and death still existed as it does today.

We pray, “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven trusting that one day Jesus will be King everywhere.

Vices often begin when there is a hole in our lives sometimes caused by bitterness, unemployment, shame or lack of friends

Alcoholics, drug addicts, thieves and control freaks know they are destroying their lives but feel unable to stop. They need Jesus to fill that hole.

We need to believe and trust in him. His dying for us is not too good to be true. Jesus is good news for everyone. He still comes among us, loves, forgives and heals. He still has power to save.

Simon, Andrew, James and John were called to leave their families and their security behind because Jesus had another job for them to do.

Instead of being experts in their trade they had to become disciples, followers, learners.

Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen. Jesus calls us to follow him whatever our job or position in life. It involves transformation.

We don’t necessarily have to leave our homes and families to follow Jesus. He lives and reigns wherever we will let him.

Sometimes it’s difficult following Jesus in our present places of work or homes. Showing love, honesty and integrity may be a challenge in our target driven, money orientated society.

The disciples were to use their fishing skills, to draw people into the kingdom. Jesus said, “I will make you fish for people.” Jesus uses the skills he has given us to increase his followers.

We share in the ministry of Jesus. We are called to tell and show others that God is good. Jesus’ ministry on earth was exciting and powerful but it only lasted for three years before he would be beaten, betrayed and crucified.

His disciples would also suffer martyrdom. Our opportunities to share our faith may be short.

Ordinary people like us are called to proclaim the good news of the Jesus story and the good news of what he has done in our own lives. The pandemic has shown us new ways of doing this.

There are times when I don’t want to do this and like Jonah would rather run away. Most people feel highly offended when asked to repent and turn to Christ. However our testimony is important. Because Jonah eventually gave God’s message, Nineveh repented and wasn’t destroyed.

In our apocalyptic times where so many suffer as a result of climate change and COVID 19, the world needs to know we have hope and forgiveness through Christ if we repent and change. They need us to speak up.

We long for our friends and family, those hurting, doubting, those who have lost hope, those persecuted and in warzones to see God loves them. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, our words, our love in action and our prayers for and with others may we see God’s Kingdom come today?