On this Sunday of the Word of God, the Church invites us to pause, listen, and let the Word of Christ dwell deeply within us (Col 3:16). The Word we celebrate today is not a distant voice from the past. It is alive, dynamic, and close — a Word that walks, calls, and heals.
Matthew tells us that Jesus begins his public ministry not in the grand city of Jerusalem but in the humble region of Galilee, “the land of the shadow of death.” It is there, in a borderland of mixed peoples and weary hearts, that the light shines most brightly. God’s Word chooses to dwell among the ordinary, the overlooked, and the struggling. Capernaum, a modest fishing village, becomes the first pulpit of the Gospel. It reminds us that the Word of God seeks spaces where hope is dim to make faith come alive.
Jesus begins with a message as brief as it is life-changing: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance is not merely sorrow for sin but a new way of seeing — a change of heart and attitudes. When the Word enters our lives, it enables us to think differently, to reorder our values according to God’s heart. The kingdom is near not because we have climbed to heaven, but because heaven has come to meet us in Jesus — the Word made flesh.
Then, the living Word walks along the shores of Galilee and calls fishermen — Peter, Andrew, James, and John. His simple invitation, “Come after me,” transforms their work and their world. Notice that Jesus does not command them to abandon their public lives, but to reorient it. Fishing remains their trade, but people become their catch.
Their nets — symbols of what entangles or limits us — are left behind. Today, the word “net” can also refer to the virtual net that strangles and chokes us, much like fish caught in a net with no way out. True discipleship begins when we drop the nets of fear, routine, and self-centeredness, and trust the voice that calls us to something greater.
Jesus’ mission unfolds in three actions: teaching, proclaiming, and healing. He teaches because truth liberates. He proclaims because good news must be shared. He heals because love restores what sin has wounded. The Word of God, then, is not mere information but transformation; it illuminates our minds, renews our hearts, and empowers our hands for service.
As we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God, the words of Pope Francis is worth recalling: “The Word must not remain on a bookshelf or in a liturgical book alone — it must live among us.” Every time we read Scripture, proclaim it at Mass, or live its message with mercy and justice, the light of Christ shines anew in our own time.
Let us, then, open our hearts to the Word that dwells among us — not as an echo of the past, but as the living voice of Christ who still walks our shores, calling us by name, saying: “Come, follow me.”
Father Josekutty Matthew CMF
