Gospel: Matthew
4:12-17, 23-25
When
Jesus 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 a 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.”
He went
around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of
the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame
spread to all of Syria, and they
brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those
who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great
crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the
Jordan followed him.
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Reflection:
Do you
know that you will be joyful and you will feel complete if you decide to follow
Jesus?
The
gospel tells us that great crowds followed Jesus for His healings, miracles and
life changing words. And it is still the same today in our time: many of us follow
Jesus to be healed by Him, to experience His miracles and to hear His life
changing words. This is only the other side or the other half of Jesus.
The other
side/half of Jesus is Jesus who suffered for us. Yes He is God and He could
have avoided sufferings yet He chose to suffer out of His love for us. In His
humanity there were times that He was praying to God that He be steered out of
sufferings. But God prevailed upon Him. Therefore, Jesus humbly followed the
mission given to Him by God and that is to die on the cross for our salvation.
Don’t
only follow Jesus for your own selfish interest, follow Jesus because you want
to partake of His sufferings too! By doing so you shall be deepening your
friendship and communion with Him. Continue to follow Jesus in good times and
in bad.
Go on
with your journey with Jesus through your pains, heartaches and sufferings. In
His own perfect time He surely will make things right for you. In His own
perfect time He will cure all your pains, your heartaches and sufferings. –
Marino J. Dasmarinas
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