There were many newsworthy events this past week and there are many more going on this weekend; but there’s one event that happened this past Wednesday that you probably didn’t hear about: one of the world’s best-selling authors passed away at the age of 92. They say that if a book sells more than 20,000 copies in a year, then it’s in the top one percent of all book sales. This author sold over 10 million copies of his books. And yet, despite being so successful, you probably didn’t hear about it on the nightly news, or see his obituary on Facebook or Twitter. And that’s because Fr. Mark Link was a quiet, unassuming priest who was more interested in sharing the good news than in sharing the limelight. Fr. Mark wrote over 75 books in his lifetime, most of them about praying with scripture. And when he turned 80, he didn’t stop writing, but instead talked his nephew into helping him set up his own inspirational website called StayGreat.com. The website’s theme is, “God made you great. Stay great.” Fr. Mark continued writing even up until his last days. When he was asked what motivated him to keep writing, he said, “Writing…is one of the greatest ministries… As Christians we’ve got one heck of a story to tell. That’s what I’m trying to do.” In today’s gospel, Matthew continues telling this “one heck of a story.” He cites the prophet Isaiah, the very reading we heard first today, saying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy: “the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.” This is good news! In Fr. Mark’s words, this is “one heck of a story.” We’re at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Today we start our continuous reading of Matthew. From now until the end of November we’ll read the Gospel According to Matthew straight through, interrupted only by the seasons of Lent and Easter. Today’s gospel lays the foundation for the entire year. In fact, we get the entire gospel in a nutshell. In this passage from Matthew we hear the core of Jesus’ message, a message that he will explore, and explain throughout his ministry: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” That is a sentence worth committing to memory, worth meditating on, worth sharing with our family and friends. All that Jesus does, all that Jesus says, is contained in that one concise sentence, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. When Jesus says, “Repent,” he is talking about a change of heart, a change of mind. A transformation. Repentance is turning away from sin and turning toward the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is God acting in our lives, here and now. Each and every time we hear from Matthew on the Sundays of the year, Jesus will either be telling us how to change our hearts, or he will be describing what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. One time Jesus will say that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for the vineyard. Another time he’ll say the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king that gave a wedding feast. And still another time, he’ll say the Kingdom of Heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps