[Jesus] went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him. (Mt 4:23-25)
Perhaps one of the things that most grated against people’s nerves was when Jesus said that He had come for all. Many of those in the Lord’s audience did not want to hear that. Even more, they did not want to see Jesus helping those who were considered outsiders.
In today’s Gospel, we get an idea of the crowds who gathered around Jesus and who were healed. They were from all over the territories. They were Jewish and they were Gentiles, outsiders.
Jesus did not care about physical boundaries. As long as a person’s heart was pure and that person had faith in God and faith in Jesus, Jesus would help that person.
The simple message to us is that we are to do the same.
As Jesus served all people, we are called to serve all people. We should not restrict anyone. We should not label anyone as outcast. We should not limit ourselves to helping only those whom we like or with whom we associate. We, too, are to go out to all people.
Take the Christmas message out into the world today.
FAITH ACTION: Is there any person whom you have refused to help? Try to do something positive for that person today even if it is only to hold that person in prayer.