Jesus Begins His Ministry

 Matthew 4: 12-17, 23-25

Jesus Begins to Preach

¹² When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³ Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— ¹⁴ to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁵ “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”

¹⁷ From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus Heals the Sick

²³ Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. ²⁴ News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.

We leap abruptly from the Magi's visit to the Holy Family to Jesus at work teaching and healing, setting the stage for his death and resurrection, the real purpose of his birth. We lose sight of this purpose with the almost magical elements of the Christmas story: the stable, the angels, the shepherds, the Star, the Magi, treasures, but of lesser significance as we turn to Jesus at work in his ministry. We might be shocked into this reality as we dismantle, perhaps even reluctantly, our Christmas decorations and return to the plainness of ourown "ordinary time."  There is still almost a week left of Christmas time, so let our retreat into reality be gradual so that we may continue to meditate on the Birth before we become totally engrossed in the Mission.  

We also have the option of celebrating the Optional Memorial of the Holy Name of Jesus.  We think of the power of that name and the strength it gives to us when we are sinking into a post-Christmas slump or depression. There is huge power in that name and it's simple to repeat as a mantra or simple prayer to stop the slide and put us back on the track..Life consists of ups and downs for a purpose...to allow rest and to help us appreciate "the good times" even more.  After all, Jesus came on a mission and to a mission are we also called.

Bro. Rene