REFLECTIONS ON GALILEE

He went on foot or by boat wherever He went, so it makes sense that He didn't travel far.

Yet, the region seems more like a neighborhood, by our standards. Like the Greater Cincinnati area. Even the big trips to Jerusalem were more like travelling from Mason to Dry Ridge, or the Ohio River to Dayton.

So how did this itinerate Preacher make such an impact in such a small, insignificant corner of the world?

He did it by turning religion on its head.

He did it by living His message.

He did it by fully equipping a few men to keep it going.

He did ti by the signs and wonders He performed, right here, signs that still bring pilgrims here to wonder at their Creator. You can stand in Capernaum, or go out to the middle of Lake Galilee and see it all.

He really healed a paralytic right over there at Peter's home.
He really walked on water, right there, and had Peter join Him.
He really taught from, slept in, and calmed the storm from that boat, right over there.
He really healed this demoniac from Gadarene, and the pigs died right over there.

Too many witnesses, too fickle a crowd, peace-loving disciples who changed the world, not through aggression, but through faith working itself out in love.

In this region, there are grim reminders everywhere you look that this area is a hotbed of violence. Matters are settled by intimidation and outsmarting the wiles of your enemy. Jesus is as stark a contrast to that way of achieving peace as can be imagined:

He let Himself be wronged, let Himself be cheated, didn't even try to rescue Himself or cast blame. He showed mercy to the fallen (Remember Mary, from Magdala? That's just right over here, the next town around the lake. Saven demons!), and the only ones He criticized were the religious leaders, whom He called hypocrites. But then, considereing where He lived and what He taught, it's easier to see the contrast with their pompous behavior. They were so removed from (above?) the common folk that their hypocrisy was easy to see, once it was pointed out.

Then there are these wind-andwaves, storm-and-peace, shining-robe, walk-on-water miracles that only the disciples saw. That was a part of their training, too, I suppose, to believe in what seems impossible.