"To other towns I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God."
The term Kingdom of God is usesd 122 times in the New Testament. Its frequency of occurence suggest a certain importance to God's revelation.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
The reign of God in time, in history is made concrete in the person of Jesus.
In today's gospel Jesus tells us he must proclaim the "good news of the kingdom of God."
The term, "good news" "evangelion" was not originally coined by the gospel writers.
Originally it was used by the emperor of the Roman empire. What ever the emperor had to say, was posted throughout the empire as "evangelion" that is "good news."
The emperor illegitimately pretended to be a god, a savior, a redeemer; therefore, whatever he said was taken to be good news regardless of whether the content was pleasant or not. His message would go out through the empire and was considered good news not because it was information but because it was going to change the world as the people knew it for the better.
This is the reality that the gospel writers understood as they transferred the "evangelion" from the lips of the emperor to the lips of Jesus, the true savior, redeemer, God.
What the emperors pretended to be, Jesus was. Thus, the good news was really good, for it really changed everything.
Pope Benedict reminds us it is the word of God that is a living action in our world; a word that brings about conversion and faith, the central core of the good news that truly is performative.
This kingdom is in the person of Jesus, which takes root in the interior of man, that is proclaimed by the Church. The good news goes out to all and it truly changes the world for the better.
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