Gospel: Matthew 4:18-22

 

"He was walking along the Sea of Galilee." Jesus is just out of the desert, after 40 days of great loneliness and struggle against the devil. He emerged victorious, secure in His love of the Father, and came into Galilee and dwelt in Capernaum on the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and of Nephthalim, bringing His great light and His salvation

 

Here He began to shout His message of joy and liberation: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand". There is no more loneliness since the Lord Jesus has arrived in our land, Galilee, among the Gentiles. He is very close, He is God-with-us. He is not far away and does not stay hidden. He "walks", along the sea and along the shores of our poor lives. Indeed, even more. Galilee, meaning "ring", tells us that He, being love, is to marry and to join with Him forever. Then you just have to welcome Him, as He walks by the sea. He already sees us, even from a distance, we already know.

 

The verb "saw", repeated twice, first in reference to Andrew and his brother, then James and John, brings all the strength and intensity of a gaze that comes deep from the heart. Thus the Lord sees us, as readers, with loving attention to browse the pages of our lives, and who knows everything about us, everything He loves.

 

It is no accident that Matthew often uses a particular vocabulary to describe this episode of family vocation. In this encounter with the Lord Jesus we find the word "brother" four times and the word "father"two times.  We discover that we too are sons and brothers. Jesus enters our reality in a most human way everyday. He enters the flesh, in the heart, in our entire life, to make us born again. "Follow me." These are His words, simple and clear. He asks us to set out, to move,  to "come to Him."