The people’s route was popular because merchants bought their fish, and travelers made a living from it. Today, they live off tourism and trade. In this respect, it wasn’t so bad. On the other hand, it was bad because, whenever an army came to Palestine from the north, they always passed through Capernaum. It’s a very logical route for an army to take, given the many travelers who realized moving around in a foreign country, after all. They didn’t have maps, let alone satellite navigation, so they didn’t know the area well.
To make sure they wouldn’t get lost, the foreign soldiers always travelled along the main roads. The situation has not changed since the time of Jesus—Palestine has three main north-south routes: along the coast, through Jerusalem and the mountains, and through the Jordan Valley. So, to use a modern expression, Capernaum was the first to be hit by disaster. The worst tragedy occurred in 734 BC when the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser invaded and destroyed the entire city. Why am I talking about this? Because today’s first reading was about that time of the Assyrian invasion when the people were humiliated. The prophet came to give them hope, saying, “In the last time”, meaning the time of Jesus’ coming, “God will compensate you.” He doesn’t literally say, ‘God will make it up to you,’ or ‘He will start here with you,’ but he will show you in some way that he cares about you. People were in a similar situation to us: they were doing quite well materially, but they realised that, for their lives to be truly satisfying, they needed something more. They needed more than just material security; they needed something to anchor their lives, something to entrust themselves to, something to attach themselves to, something to establish a relationship with. Jesus came, and his activity had two aspects: he spoke, taught, and healed. Today’s Gospel was about this, especially the last sentence: ‘Jesus went throughout Galilee, preaching the gospel and healing every disease and sickness among the people.’ Strangely, the holy writer says ‘sickness and sickness’, because to us they are the same thing. However, he is not only referring to physical illnesses; he is not only talking about broken arms, aching legs, or heart problems. Even today, psychologists talk about various burdens and bonds when describing conditions in a person, comparing them to diseases of the body.
With this expression, the holy writer means: “Jesus was interested in their every need.” We know that people went to Jesus to complain; they came to him for advice. In short, they could have come with absolutely everything, and he did not reject any of them. It was like connected vessels – he spoke to them, but he also let them talk to him. We live in a house where many people speak, but then nothing more, and it is not so difficult to figure out that these are empty words, that they are empty promises, and we also say to ourselves, “There is nothing to it.” If Jesus wanted, and he wanted people’s relationship with him and with God to be permanent, he had to offer them something more than just words. He had to show them that he was interested in them. The Holy Scriptures describe this with the words he used to heal. Yes, he performed miracles, but he also healed those interpersonal relationships and was interested in them.
Many people engage in various activities and offer them to others, but the question is, “Are they beneficial and healing, or do they irritate?” We can look at all the possible dictators of the 20th century, from Russia to Germany to Spain and Portugal, among others. They promised paradise on earth, but then hell broke loose. When a person gets well, they are happy and laugh, but after these dictators, people cried and were divided. One final thought: In today’s Gospel, we heard how Jesus called his first disciples. When we talk about Jesus calling the apostles, all preachers basically use the word ‘collaborator’. We listen to it so often that we forget what it means to be a collaborator. It means that they are equals. Jesus doesn’t call day labourers, helpers, or henchmen to do his bidding, as they say today, but he calls his collaborators.
When a company celebrates a success or receives an award, the director is usually there. Everyone applauds him; he gives speeches about what a good director he is and how he manages everything, and rarely does anyone say, ‘There are a lot of capable people behind that director who had to do their job well for the company to prosper.’ People are rarely like that. Those at the top get the credit, while those at the bottom do the work. It’s not like that with Jesus, though. He chooses his collaborators, meaning that when he chooses us, we have the same task as Jesus: to preach the gospel and heal. Preaching the gospel must always be accompanied by interest in people; otherwise, people will say: ‘These are empty words; they are useless.’ Jesus did it this way; let us follow his example and be sure that he will be close to us, helping us. equal
Hello. And Bye.