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On the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee stands a little town that is currently going about the normalcies of a normal mid-morning. The sun has long been up—it is climbing higher and higher over the opposite shoreline’s hills, out over the water—and it is starting to feel like the day will be quite warm. Shall you and I go on a little stroll together?
We’ll start at the water’s edge, looking east, looking out over the sea, enjoying the sparkling sunlight on the water’s surface, ruffled by a west wind. The beach along this stretch is pebbly; crunchy underfoot. To both sides of you are Capernaum’s native fishing fleet: the hulls of the boats all exposed, having been dragged up after the nighttime’s long work. The boats and nets are drying out nicely in the warm sunlight. Turning around, you begin to walk up the harbor-path toward the town—which isn’t much of a town—a mixture of homes built with earth-colored clay; some with white plaster. The sounds you hear are as follows: the squawking of the seagulls behind you at the beach; the breath of the wind through the trees and bushes; the sound of children at the village school; and the voices in Capernaum’s small market square. Let’s go up there. Again, it’s not much of a market—nothing as grand as you’d find down at Tiberias—but it has everything you’d need for the living of small, village life. You are passing past the seaside edge of the town, which squeezes narrowly between two buildings—the synagogue and the tax-collector’s offices—and now the view opens up to this central market. All around are the tables of the sellers, offering their wares. To your left are all the fishermen, or their appointed vendors; the smell of fish is strong as the morning heats up the last remains of the catch. Past them is the village butcher; then a series of booths operated by farmers from the surrounding countryside; then a baker; then a section reserved for a group of women who sell their handiworks. Shoppers are walking stall to stall, inspecting the goods. There is the general noise of question-asking, bargaining, comparing/contrasting. Everything is as you’d expect. Except, What’s this? Over there. Behind the back of the furthest stalls. A small group of men, following in the wake of one particular Man. Strangers. Travelers. The Man who leads is… strangely arresting. There is that something about Him which grabs the attention. He has a smile on His lips; He carries Himself with a certain confidence; He seems delighted and amused by everything He sees, looking around. Now you watch as He takes off His heavier outer cloak and hands it to one of His friends. His tunic, underneath, is plain; simple. He winds His way through the tables that ring the market and takes up a central position in the square. For some reason, others have started to notice Him too. He stands for a moment very still. He is watching all the people; they, in turn, are watching Him. Then, still smiling, He begins to speak with a loud sure voice; Capernaum’s entire market square is now listening. “Repent!” He says. “For the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived. The time has come. Believe the good news!”
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From the heart of Jesus to His follower: "I am the way, the truth and the life. Without the way there is no going; without the truth there is no knowing; without the life there is no living. I am the way that you should follow, the truth that you should believe, the life that you should hope for. I am the inviolable way, the infallible truth, the indestructible life. I am the straightest way, the sovereign truth, the authentic life, bless'd and eternal." Thomas à Kempis
The Imitation of Christ Book III, Ch. 56 “If there is anything in us, it is not our own; it is a gift of God. But if it is a gift of God, then it is entirely a debt one owes to love, that is, to the law of Christ. And if it is a debt owed to love, then I must serve others with it, not myself. “Thus my learning is not my own; it belongs to the unlearned and is the debt I owe them... My wisdom belongs to the foolish, my power to the oppressed. Thus my wealth belongs to the poor, my righteousness to the sinners... “It is with all these qualities that we must stand before God and intervene on behalf of those who do not have them, as though clothed with someone else's garment... But even before men we must, with the same love, render them service against their detractors and those who are violent toward them; for this is what Christ did for us.” Martin Luther
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