26 January 2014
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
If you were to travel to the Holy Land today, to the area on the Northern shores of the Sea of Galilee, you can find the ruins of the town mentioned in today’s gospel. Capernaum, the center of Jesus’s activities, was also the recruiting ground of the first apostles. It was here that Human beings first heard the Gospel as he called out to them “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It may be easy to slip into a picture of Jesus preaching in some far away land, a biblical Narnia. But recently I came across an archaeological website containing pictures of the ruins of this ancient city. One of the pictures that caught my eye was the Roman-era synagogue of Capernaum. Reading the caption, I was struck by the simple statement that it was here that Jesus prayed, preached, and announced the gospel. Here amidst these simple basalt stones the savior of the world came in pursuit of fallen humanity. No myths, no legends, but a real man of flesh and bone lived out the drama that touches every human life of every age. Jesus was made part of this world so that we weak human beings could find him in our midst. Let us cast our minds back to the roads and buildings of the Holy Land and there encounter him once more searching us out and proclaiming the message we long to hear.