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Commentary on the Gospel for Wednesday, January 15, 2025
The Gospel text for today might seem like a collection of stories or anecdotes that don’t really connect. It recounts Jesus’ activities over two days. Jesus leaves the synagogue and goes to Simon’s house. There, He heals Simon’s mother-in-law, who gets up and begins to serve everyone. Crowds gather at the door, hoping to be healed. Night falls. Early in the morning, Jesus gets up to pray. But the disciples search for Him because people are still looking for Him. Jesus then sets out again, preaching the Good News and healing along the way.
That’s a summary of what Jesus did: various activities, different moments. But there’s one detail I’d like to highlight—something present throughout the entire account. It’s a detail that reveals just as much, if not more, about God’s nature as the words Jesus speaks in His teachings. It’s the closeness Jesus shows to everyone.
To begin with, it is Jesus who draws near to the people. He goes to the synagogue, walks the roads, leaves prayer to go back out again. Even before resting, He tends to Peter’s mother-in-law, who is sick. The first movement comes from Jesus toward the people. Naturally, once people see Him in action, they seek Him out. In Him, they find hope and life. But it all starts with Jesus, who steps out of His space to go to the people, to draw near to them.
What’s more, after gaining fame, Jesus could have stayed in one place: a hermitage or a shrine, waiting for people to come to Him. But He does the exact opposite—He heads back out to the roads and travels all over Galilee, preaching and healing.
It occurs to me that in the Church, and in our lives as disciples of Jesus, we should do the same. It’s not about setting up fancy offices to attend to those who come between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. If we want to be like Jesus, we have to forget about offices and head out into the streets. We need to go to those in need, to the poor, to everyone. The key word here is “draw near.” This means stepping out of our comfort zones and approaching others. “Closeness” is a whole way of life. Isn’t this what Pope Francis means when he talks about being a “Church that goes out”?