“And He went about all Galilee…” (Matthew 4:17).
My father in law (may God rest his soul) never left the country in which he was born. And within that country he never travelled very far from the actual place int eh actual village in which he had been born. During the entire course of his life, he was never more than a couple of hours away from that place.
Now, my mother in law (may God rest her soul) travelled. She lived for times in Canada, Australia and Qatar. Though she loved her home village and preferred it to every other place, she travelled because her children migrated from her home-country and she wished to visit her children.
My husband has lived very little of his life in the place where he was born. He moved soon after his birth (due to war) and then as an adult, he travelled overseas to various countries in order to work. While so many Australians love to travel because we have the luxury of exploring new places, for my husband and his family, travel is an indication of migration, which is a largely difficult and painful experience.
Christ lived twenty centuries ago when very few people travelled.
And yet, Christ went all about. He travelled all over the place. And he spoke to people all over the region. In fact, when Christ travelled to Tyre and Sidon to preach, he was in a gentile place. And as such, the Blessed Virgin, being a woman, was unable to enter the cities with Him. And so, she waited outside the cities for Him to finish His work and rejoin her when He was done.
“Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them.” (Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25).
What compassion there is in Christ!
Blessed Angela of Foligno was meditating on the Passion of Jesus when she heard Christ’s voice saying, “I did not love you as a joke.”
No. The love of God for His people – for me and for you too – is a serious thing. Perhaps it is the MOST serious thing in the world.
And I have been thinking about that today as I have been reflecting on the travelling of my husband and his family. For it seems that if I am to understand how all-encompassing is the love of God for me, then I must first understand that God will never leave me alone and will always look after me – even if it means that He must travel all about…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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