Daily Catholic Lectio. Mon, 5 January ‘26. Leaving Nazareth

Daily Catholic Lectio

Mon, 5 January ‘26

Monday after Epiphany

I Jn 3:22-4:6. Mt 4:12-17, 23-25

Leaving Nazareth

They say ships are safest in the harbour. But ships are not built to stay on the shore.

Today’s Gospel shows us Jesus leaving his harbour. After thirty quiet years, he steps out of Nazareth—his comfort zone, his familiar world. Nazareth had sheltered him, but it had also questioned him. Safety and resistance lived side by side there. Jesus knows it is time to move.

He does something unexpected. He does not go to Jerusalem, the centre of power, religion, and visibility. He chooses Capernaum—an ordinary, border-town, a place of little prestige. The Kingdom of God does not begin from the spotlight, but from the margins. God’s great work often starts where no one is looking.

Another sign pushes Jesus into action: the arrest of John the Baptist. Jesus reads the moment. He understands that waiting is no longer faithful. Discernment leads to decision. Silence gives way to proclamation.

From that moment, Jesus acts. He proclaims the Kingdom. He heals the sick. He restores broken lives. The Kingdom of God is not just a beautiful idea or a distant dream. Without action, it remains only a thought. Jesus knows this. So, he moves, speaks, touches, heals.

This Gospel speaks directly to us at the beginning of a new year. We have plans, dreams, and good intentions. But if they never become action, they remain only wishes. Fear, delay, and comfort can keep us standing on the shore.

Jesus invites us to leave our own “Nazareth”—the places of safety that keep us from growth. He asks us to read the signs of our time, to begin where we are, and to start small but real.

The first reading gives us the key: remain united to God. John reminds us that those who live in God live in love and truth. Action without union becomes empty activism. Union without action becomes sterile piety.

Think of a smartphone. No matter how advanced it is, without connection to power, it becomes useless. When connected, it comes alive and becomes fruitful. So are we. When we remain connected to God, we receive the energy of love, courage, and clarity. Only then does our action bear fruit.

Leaving Nazareth does not mean abandoning faithfulness; it means living it fully. Connected to God, we can move from safety to service, from ideas to action, from dreams to the Kingdom made visible.

The shore may feel secure. But the world needs ships that dare to sail.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy