Word to the Wise
Wednesday, September 3, 2025 - Wednesday in the 22th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 1:1-8 and Luke 4:38-44]At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, "To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, for this purpose I have been sent." And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 3 ST. GREGORY THE GREAT - pope and doctor of the church
Even if Jesus' hometown of Nazareth rejected him, the people in Capernaum knew a good thing when they saw it! As soon as Jesus came back to his "headquarters" in Capernaum, his power to heal became quickly known. Today's gospel scripture speaks to a quick series of healings and exorcisms that were talked about and his reputation began to grow. It's important to understand that the faith of the people was based on his power to heal and not on a faith in him as "Messiah." But Jesus knew his mission and could not be "captured" in one place. His mission was to proclaim the Kingdom of God and not simply a healer. The entire Gospel According to Luke is basically a journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and from there, through the apostles and St. Paul and others, to the world!
The tendency, in our individualized society, to keep something good to ourselves, is counterproductive when it comes to proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God! We can be shy about discussing matters of faith, either by saying nothing or only sharing it with an "in-group" of similarly faithful people. But we who are baptized and confirmed are called to be, as Pope Francis put it, "missionary disciples." We have been given the same Holy Spirit that the apostles received at Pentecost. If they had kept that experience to themselves or simply stayed in Jerusalem and the immediate area, there would be no Church today! If St. Barnabas had not gone and found St. Paul to help out, what would Christianity be today? Even one person can make a big difference! We don't have to travel, as St. Paul did; we can be local. But silence about the Kingdom of God or bottling up the Good News inside us is not what Jesus has called us to do. AMEN