A Great Light!

Monday, January 5, 2026

1 Jn 3:22-4:6; Mt 4:12-17, 23-25

Today’s Gospel highlights the significance of Jesus’ Galilean mission.

The Galilean Mission of Jesus is highly significant for at least three reasons. 

1. Galilee holds a special place in the life of Jesus. He not only begins his mission there but also meets with his disciples after his resurrection. Thus, for Jesus, Galilee symbolizes continuity. Already when it begins, Jesus’ mission reveals its future plan too. The echoes of Jesus’ Galilean mission are found everywhere in his life. It is quite surprising to see that the universal mission of Jesus began in a humble place amid ordinary folks. 

2. Compared to the glory of Jerusalem, Galilee was a place looked down upon. The religiously mixed community was considered impure because of the Gentile population that surrounded the region. But by beginning his mission in a Gentile-dominant region, Jesus shows that his mission is universal. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God means transcending human-made boundaries and expanding the horizon to be universally inclusive. 

3. Jesus’ choice of Galilee proves that God chooses what humans despise. By the very choice of the place and the manner of his ministry, Jesus announces the kind of mission he brings about. Jesus, who ‘came to call sinners’ (Lk 5:32), also reveals himself to be a physician of hope to people who need it most. The Galilean healing mission makes people believe that God is present in their midst. The fact that Jesus heals people from sins, diseases, and evil forces that possess them shows the heart of his mission as the propagation of Divine mercy and compassion. 

Inspired by the Galilean Mission of Jesus, we need to ask ourselves, ‘Where does Jesus want me to begin my mission of announcing him?’

Let us pray that our mission may have the profundity and clarity that Jesus, the Galilean, enjoyed. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar