GOSPEL READING: Mt 4:12-23
At the right time (when John had been arrested) Jesus came out of his own home and moved to Capernaum. Capernaum was a town near the sea of Galilee and made that place his home. He started his ministry from that town. It was to fulfil the scriptures he began the work there. It was also the place of extreme end of the land so he did not start from a place of importance. Light comes from the extreme end always like the sun rise.
His preaching was simple: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He asked them to come back from the present way of lives. The present way of lives had gone away from God. Certainly the Jews, at the time of Jesus, were very religious and practiced the religion as they were taught. But it was an empty religion a religion without God. The religion had lots of rules and regulations and St. Paul himself would say, later on, that rules only would lead us to sin and not to salvation. Jesus asked his listeners to realize the presence of the kingdom of God.
The first disciples were called to be fishers of men. Jesus’ mission was to preach the kingdom to people, to persons. This probably would mean that his preaching and mission was not interested in the religion or purifying the religion rather he was interested in catching men and bringing them towards God. His mission was to build up God man relationship. He was interested in giving God experience to people and that was his religion.
திருமுழுக்கு யோவானின் பணியின் நிறைவுதான் இயேசுவின் பணி துவக்கம். இயேசுவின் பணியின் துவக்கத்தின் நேரம்> இடம் எல்லாம் இறைவார்த்தையின் நிறைவாகும். சீடர்கள் உறவையும் உடமைகளையும் விட்டுவி;ட்டு பின்தொடர அழைப்பு.
