Open Bible: February 2002
	In the path of the Galilean (MT 4, 12-13)

		In the path of the Galilean MT 4, 12-13 When Jesus heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. On leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is on the seacoast, in the borders of Zebulon and Nephthalim. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The land of Zebulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach and to say: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".   And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, casting a net into the sea.  And he said to them: "Follow me…. And Jesus went about all Galilee…preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and healing all kind of sickness…. A short while after his baptism in Judea, in the Jordan River, Jesus went back to Galilee, like an incognito visitor. It is paradoxical for some one who intends to start a public activity. He "departs" from the enemies of John-The-Baptist but where he is going is not really a peaceful region. Jesus chose a city where nations met together, a road towards a journey, a place for commerce, a place for meetings. He is applying what he is preaching as a true "Son of Abraham" (Mt 1,1), he leaves his country " He leaves Nazareth and comes and dwells in Capernaum". The distance is small (about thirty kilometers) but long if one considers its meaning. Jesus is going away; from now there are goals more important than his family, his village. His new address is "Kephar Nahum" the village of the comforted man" Did the old man Simeon not announce that Jesus will be the "Consolation of Israel"? Leaving home is never easy, for a specific mission or only to assume one's life as an adult. Many young ones feel it, when they are so nicely protected in the family home, are they not afraid of becoming an autonomous person? In the outside world, they are going to find a messy and odd world, indifferent or hostile, reluctant to build a world easier to live, in spite of all the calls to repent so easily unheard. Is the proximity of the Kingdom of Heaven so straightforward? To dare to look at and accept the light of Jesus as a guide needs some courage. Can we dare to say to ourselves that the outside world is not as bad as some people think? Kephar Nahum had some good people: the fishermen waiting for the Messiah to come and Simon, the first of the Apostles, who will house for a while Jesus, the Master, Galilee is a meeting point, Jesus takes the time to look and understand all these people. When he asks Simon and Andrew and James and John to follow him, he does not break the link of brotherhood, with human consideration he calls them two by two. They leave their nets and, most of all, their father; it is already some thing! For individuals or for peoples, Galilee is the symbol of a light giving strength to stand up.  Jesus is taking them with him for a long journey where a priori all is possible, even to cross over to the other bank…