Thoughts for the Day

Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

'Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles -
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region
and shadow of death
light has dawned.'

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

After Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the holy family travelled to Egypt until the death of King Herod when they decided to return to Israel. But with King Archelaus reigning in his father's place in Judah it seemed safer to be further away, and they settled in north-east Galilee in Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph had come from. It was here that Jesus grew up and lived until he was around thirty years old. Now, with the arrest of his cousin John the Baptist, he moves to the garrison town of Capernaum, on the ancient Kings Highway that stretched from Mesopotamia in the north to Egypt in the south. It was here in this more cosmopolitan town that he would find his first disciples.

Matthew reminds us what the Prophet Isaiah has said about the coming Messiah. He is to appear like a light in the dark. The earliest copy we have of Matthew's Gospel is written in Greek, and the word for light is φῶς (phōs). It means a source of light or radiance, but more than that, the word for great light is μέγα and this is a word that we still use today - that is, mega. This mega light is mighty, strong, and on a grand scale. It is not a tiny, feeble, light. We might say it is like the light of the sun rather than the light of the moon.

When we become Christians it is as though God switches a light on inside us. C.S. Lewis in an essay, said 'I believe the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.' The world and our whole life changes when we look at everything in a different light - when we look through the light of Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ,
Light of the world,
enable us to look at ourselves
and all that we do
through the lens of Your light,
so that we may see clearly,
and act justly
in all that we think,
do, and say.
Amen.