＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

 Colossians 1: 1-8

 Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother, to the saints in Colossae, our faith­ful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Receive grace and peace from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. Thanks be to God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord!

We constantly pray for you,  for we have known of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints. Indeed you await in hope the inheritance reserved for you in heaven,  of which you have heard through the word of truth.

This Gospel, already present among you, is bearing fruit and growing through­out the world, as it did among you from the day you accepted it and understood the gift of God in all its truth.

He who taught you, Epa­phras, our dear com­panion in the service of Christ, faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,  has reminded me of the love you have for me in the spirit.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 4: 38-44

Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever and they asked him to do something for her.  Bending over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and waited on them.

 At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Demons were driven out, howling as they departed from their victims, “You are the Son of God!” He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew he was the Messiah.

 Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place. People went out in search of him and, finding him, they tried to dissuade him from leaving. But he said, “I have to go to other towns to announce the good news of the kingdom of God. That is what I was sent to do.” And Jesus continued to preach in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

Reflection gospel：

“I HAVE TO GO TO OTHER TOWNS.”

Jesus knows exactly what he is up to, that is, the proclamation of the good news of God’s saving love and to launch the reign of God on Earth. This is the “divine priority” which must touch the lives of peoples. Zeal and undivided focus primarily characterized Jesus’ mission of liberating humanity from the grip of sin and the power of the devil. His missionary zeal cannot be contained; the good new of God’s love and mercy needs to reach the ends of the Earth.

Jesus’ experience of the Father’s love, the “Abba experience,” is the driving force behind his commitment to the mission. And our personal experience of the same love, and of the love of Christ, drive us to be faithful to the task/mission assigned to us. it even urges us to go beyond” familiar shores.”

I met Fr. Manh Le, Vietnamese religious missionary, who recently arrived in Sydney from his mission assignment in the Amazon in Brazil. Of the thirteen years in Brazil, three years were spent in a poor parish and five years living in the Amazon, in the homes of the people because there is no accommodation. He does not stay permanently in one home and travels with his hammock and mosquito net.