Right Where No One Is Looking
Dear Sutton and Savannah,
I can’t stop crying. I’m not sure why, But writing the reflection on this weak’s Gospel reading has me all emotional. So let me just say again, I love you.
-Dad
Inside Out Lectionary Letters
Year A - 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (Texts, Art, Hymns)
Readings for January 25, 2026
Isaiah 9:1-4 / Psalm 27:1, 4-9 / I Cor. 1:10-18 / Matthew 4:12-23
Summary of Matthew 4:12-23
Jesus begins his public ministry after learning that John the Baptist has been arrested. He goes to Galilee and settles in Capernaum. In typical Matthew style, this move is connected to the prophetic writings of the sacred scriptures. Matthew states that this is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy about light dawning in a region associated with darkness. Jesus’ message is similar to his cousin John’s: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” As he walks along the Sea of Galilee, he calls Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who leave their work immediately to follow him. The passage concludes by describing Jesus traveling throughout Galilee, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease.
Scripture as a Mirror of the Soul
Is it possible to take the description of the geographical landscape of Jesus’s early ministry and apply it to the inner landscape of the spiritual journey? Absolutely. Let’s consider the land of Capernaum. The Old Testament passage to which Matthew connects Jesus’s travels is found in Isaiah 9:1-2. There we find a reference to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. These were northern territories of Israel that included the lakeside town of Capernaum.
This area was the first portion of Israel taken into captivity by the Assyrians when the northern kingdom was attacked. Over seven hundred years later (in the time of Jesus) the region still represented political defeat, physical exile, lost autonomy, and vulnerability. The darkness referenced is probably not about morality or ethics, but rather about vulnerability, insignificance and defeat. And all of us could probably testify to parts of ourselves that would mirror vulnerability, feelings of insignificance and defeat.
Here is where the story gets spicy. The journey of sacred learning (Jesus’s teaching), the story of the good news of redemption (Jesus’s preaching), and the transformation of the soul (Jesus’s acts of healing) don’t begin at the center of personality, at the crossroads of religious excellence or in the spotlight of political power (Jerusalem). No, true transformation seems to begin at the margins, in the shadows, in the forgotten places relegated to insignificance. When grace and love touch grief …and loss …and open wounds …and exhaustion ..and discouragement …and depression …and sadness …and vulnerability …and insignificance …and defeat, something changes. Maybe its a shift in perspective, maybe a small healing, maybe a new way to hear, maybe a small boost of adrenaline, maybe a change in your gait, and maybe a spark of life where it once felt dead. And who knows, maybe in this forgotten, forsaken space you might say that it seemed like the blind parts see anew, the deaf parts hear something again, the lame parts are now contemplating dance lessons, and the once dead parts are making New Year’s resolutions! Oh thank God the good news came to Capernaum.