The Gospel from Monday after Epiphany is taken from Matthew 4:12 through the 17th verse and 23:25th verse. 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, 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. He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame spread to all Syria, and it brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics and paralytics. And he cured them. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

This entire week is focused on the coming of Jesus, the major transformation that’s happening. John the Baptist is setting himself out of the picture. And into the picture comes this incredible figure of Jesus. And it’s interesting that he goes to a Gentile town, not to Jerusalem. And there he starts his ministry, which is so impossible to believe that everyone he encountered, he would heal them. And it was just this beautiful image of a great light comes into the world so bright that it destroys pain and suffering and darkness and evil.

It was almost too much for people to grasp. And that’s exactly what happened. The beginning of his ministry was difficult because people had no idea what the kingdom of God was really about. After the music, I will close with a prayer. Sam satan sam satan sa. Closing Prayer When Jesus came to initiate the kingdom of God, he changed everything.

And the most important thing for us, and we pray for it always, is that we’ll grasp fully what this new light and life really means. It’s not just that we become the receiver of healing, but we also become the partner with God and in the work of healing. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.