Vatican City, 26 January 2014 (VIS) –
The beginning of Jesus' public life, starting from “Galilee of the
Gentiles”, as it was called by the prophet Isaiah, was the topic of
Pope Francis' reflection during this Sunday's Angelus, attended by
thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Jesus' mission, he said, “did not set
out from Jerusalem, the religious, social and political centre, but
rather began in a peripheral zone, an area regarded with disdain by
the most devout Jews, on account of the presence in the region of
various foreign populations. For this reason, the prophet Isaiah
referred to it as 'Galilee of the Gentiles'”.
“It was a border area, a transit zone
where people of different races, cultures and religions encountered
one another. Galilee therefore became a symbolic place for the
opening of the Gospel to all peoples. From this point of view,
Galilee resembles today's world: the co-presence of various cultures,
the need for comparison and encounter. We too are immersed every day
in a 'Galilee of the Gentiles', and in this type of context we can
become fearful and give in to the temptation to build barriers, to
feel more secure, more protected. But Jesus teaches us that the Good
News He brings is not reserved for a part of humanity, but rather is
to be communicated to all. It is a joyful proclamation, destined to
all those who await it, but also to those who perhaps no longer await
anything, or who no longer have even the strength to seek and to
ask”.
Setting out from Galilee, Jesus
“teaches us that no-one is excluded from God's salvation; on the
contrary, God prefers to begin in the periphery, with those who are
last in line, to reach everyone. He teaches us a method, His method,
which however expresses the content, the mercy, of the Father. … We
are all invited to heed this call, to come out of our own comfort
zone and reach out to the peripheries in need of the light of the
Gospel”.
Jesus began his mission “not only
from a location far from the centre, but also with men one might
describe as having a 'low profile'. To choose his first disciples and
future apostles, he did not seek in the schools of scribes or among
doctors of the Law, but among simple people committed to preparing
themselves for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus goes to call
them where they work, on the banks of the lake: they are fishermen.
He calls them and they follow Him, immediately. They leave their nets
and go with Him; their lives become an extraordinary and fascinating
adventure”.
“The Lord calls today too! The Lord
passes along the streets of our everyday lives. Today, too, in this
very moment, the Lord passes through the squares. He calls us to go
with Him, to work with Him for the Kingdom of God, in the 'Galilees'
of our times”.
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