Monday after Epiphany

Lectionary: 212



When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Next week, when we return to ordinary time, our gospel passages will be taken from Mark, beginning with Jesus' initial announcement of God's kingdom. This week we are still in the Christmas season and the Church directs our attention to the Light which shines in darkness. He appears among us "as the splendor of truth."

When I moved back to the Louisville area, my home town, after being away for forty years, I soon realized I did not know the "Catholic geography" of the area. Catholics often tell me what part of town they're from by referring to their parishes. With its dense overlay of Catholic high schools, grade schools and churches the metropolitan area has its own rich Catholic subculture.

In today's gospel we see a similar geography, as the light which shone in the darkness over Bethlehem spreads to "Galilee of the Gentiles." The people who sat in darkness now see "a great light."

It is now sixteen days since the winter solstice; the morning sky is a little brighter than it was two weeks ago. Spring is a long way off, but it's coming. On Guadete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, we heard the exhortation, "our salvation is closer than when we first heard the good news."

As we dig into this new year, returning to work and school we remember the duty we have to enlighten our minds with the study of Scripture and Creed. Our pope emeritus urged Catholics during his administration to study our faith, especially the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and to confirm ourselves in the wisdom of our religion.

Saint Peter urges us, "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear..."

Our explanation may be quite simple, we are grounded in the assurance of Jesus as our Friend, Lord and Savior. But our hope is also deeply rooted in our knowledge of our history, our stories of saints and martyrs, our understanding of doctrine, and our familiarity with psalms, prayers and inspired songs. No matter how confusing the present moment might be, we remember how the Lord has brought us through much worse times.