At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us about His mission, His purpose in becoming one of us: He is to preach and drive out demons throughout Galilee. Last week we heard about Jesus calling His disciples. Now He begins His ministry and begins to teach His disciples about what it means to follow Him and do His Will.

He begins by going to the town of Capernaum, which in Greek means “town of comfort”. He cures Simon’s mother-in-law and helps her up. This word in Greek means “raised up”, the same word that is later used to describe Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. She then becomes the first disciple to act; she serves them and provides for their needs. After sunset, after the Jewish Sabbath was over, many villagers also brought their sick to Him. The word had spread – he was now known as a healer. Even the demons knew who He was!

After this busy night and before dawn, when all was quiet, Jesus goes off to a “deserted place” to pray. Repeatedly, we hear of Jesus praying to His Father. He never forgets where He came from and why He became a man. It is in this quiet and private time that Jesus shows us how important it is for us to stay in very close contact with our Heavenly Father, both to know His will and to ask Him for the strength and courage to continue our ministries. Even St. Paul in the second reading talks about being a slave to all for the sake of the Gospel. Paul gave his life totally to God and fulfilled his mission to preach the Gospel to as many people as possible.

As Christians, as members of the Body of Christ, this is also our mission: to share the Gospel message with everyone and to give our lives to God, trusting in His grace and love for us.

Carla LaBore, Pastoral Minister & Adult Education