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 being rejected by his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus comes to Capernaum and is accepted to the point where the crowds there want to keep him from leaving. However, Jesus makes clear his mission is not just to minister to one town, but to proclaim the good news of the kingdom to others. In the same way, we are called to proclaim the gospel to others. We cannot let rejection stop us. Nor can we let the temptation of comfort keep us from following in Jesus footsteps. Jesus didn't stop his mission in Capernaum, where we would have been beloved by all and treated like a king. Rather he choose to continue his teaching throughout Judea. Jesus did not come into this world to be comfortable, but rather to speak the Truth, to show us the Way, and to give us the Life that never ends. We are called to follow in his footsteps, seeking neither rejection nor acceptance by man, but rather living our lives in accord with God's Will in the hopes that one day He shall smile upon us and call us to our eternal rest as good and faithful servants.

How can we overcome rejection in order to know, love, and serve God and His children more perfectly? How can we overcome the temptations to be prideful or rest on our laurels when we succeed at doing God's Will and helping others? For what purpose has God sent us into the world and how can we fulfill it?

O Lord, give us the words and works to proclaim the good news of your kingdom.

Amen.