I had heard and read the Word umpteen times but that day the word ‘Galilee’ struck me. From the ‘tomb’ the focus was ‘Galilee’. Why Galilee…it sank deep! When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdelene, He said to her: “go and tell my brothers that they are to leave for Galilee, they will see me there”. My thoughts and reflection brought to mind the vivid scenes with a flash back of what I saw on my tour to Holy Land! Galilee from where Jesus began his ministry, the choosing of the first disciples Tabgha – the place where Jesus prayed before choosing the disciples, Mensa Christi, the Beatitudes, the first miracle, the commissioning of Peter… feed my sheep, tend my sheep… all in Galilee!!!
After the resurrection Jesus wants to remind his disciples of his first love! And thus the significance of returning to Galilee! Yes, Galilee the place where everything began. In Galilee, Jesus had walked along the shores of the lake as the fishermen were casting their nets. There he had called them, and there they had left everything and followed him (Mk 1:16-20; Mt 4:18-22).
For each of us, too, there is a ‘Galilee’ at the beginning of our journey with Jesus (baptism) in the family, the work place. ‘Go to Galilee’ means go back to our ‘roots’, to rediscover our identity; our mission and vision as baptised Christians, to live our faith to the full. To return to Galilee means, above all, to return to that moment of light with which God’s grace touched me then when even from a murkier situation!
In the life of every Christian, after baptism there is also another ‘Galilee’: the experience of a personal encounter with Jesus Christ who calls to follow him and to share in his mission. In this sense, returning to Galilee means treasuring in my heart the living memory of that call, when Jesus passed my way, gazed at me with mercy, and asked me to follow him. To return there means reviving the memory of that ‘moment’ when his eyes met mine, the ‘instant’ when he made me realise that he loved me.
Where is my Galilee? Am I one of the crestfallen disciples? Galilee does not have to be a place for us. It is a situation, a frame of mind, or a choice we make. Our particular Galilee could be the desolate journey of physical, emotional or spiritual pain. It could be dashed promises, broken relationships or unrealised hopes. It may simply be the unremarkable circumstances of our everyday lives. Whatever it is, the joy-filled and hope-filled message of Easter is the promise made to us that Christ is not only there when we arrive, he has gone ahead of us, to that desolate place, as promised by him…I will meet you in Galilee!
There the Lord is waiting for us. Do not be afraid, do not fear, return to Galilee! The Gospel is very clear: we need to go back there, to see Jesus and to become witnesses of his resurrection. It is returning to our first love, in order to receive the fire that Jesus has kindled in the world and to bring that fire to all people, to the very ends of the earth.
There’s need of an Easter encounter with Jesus like the two disciples at Emmaus to recognise the Lord’s presence and return to our Galilee with renewed power, energy and vigour!
