Twenty-Second Wednesday of Ordinary Time

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

After Jesus cures the mother of Simon and many others, he goes off to a deserted place to pray. However, when the crowds come looking for him in the hopes of keeping him with them, he must rebuke them just as he did the illnesses and demons. His Father’s Will is not for him to remain in one place and be satisfied or adored by crowds. Instead, his divine mission calls him to continue to preach the good news to other towns. We have a similar purpose. We are called to be living manifestations of God’s love, mercy, and grace. We cannot be satisfied with where we are spiritually. We must make progress along our own road to Jerusalem and eventually to Calvary and our own passion and death. To be Christ-like means being willing to move on when the time comes for us to take the next step in serving God.

Do we take time to silently listen to God? Are we willing to leave everything behind if an opportunity to know, love, and serve God and His children presents itself to us? In what ways do we proclaim the good news?

O Lord, we too are called to witness to your word. Give us the strength to continue on our journey with you to Calvary.

Amen.