Bible Text: “Woe to you Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida and you Capernaum, you will be brought down to Hades”. Matthew 11. 20-24
There are several cities mentioned by Jesus in the gospel today. They are Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. They are important cities of Israel which were frequently visited by Jesus. They are very fortunate that Jesus would often come to preach the good news and perform various miracles. In Capernaum, Jesus healed the royal official’s son. John 4:46-54. He healed the paralytic at Bethesda in John 5:1-15 and a blind man (Mk 8:22-26). He also fed the 5,000 men in Capernaum (Lk 9:12-17). The city of Chorazin would see Jesus’ miracles multiple times over for at least three years. During those times when Jesus was becoming popular in the region, people from all over the country are dying to see His miracles. They have to walk for couple of days just to see Jesus. These cities are definitely lucky indeed. Unlike Tyre and Sidon, they are pagan cities but they listened to Jesus. This is the very reason why it seemed Jesus is cursing them; it is because of their unbelief in spite of Jesus miracles.
We are so blessed that we are in this country which is very rich when it comes to minerals and natural resources. We are abundant in everything we need in life. We are also blessed with our faith. We have one of the most beautiful churches in the countryside. We do not need to drive far away just to attend the mass. They are the miracles that God had performed and are performing before us every day. Do we recognize that God is silently working in our midst? Do we give thanks with grateful hearts every time we think of God’s providential care and faithfulness?
The very essence of Jesus miracles is not to impress people. They are not meant for entertainment. The purpose of Jesus miracles is conversion of the heart. He wanted us to make God as the centre of our life and not the miracle to be the focus of life. The miracles are temporary such as health, food and wealth but God is eternal. We are destined to eternity. He is inviting us to set our hearts to that kind of life. Man’s stubbornness does not mean that only hurt God but it is leading us other than heaven which is not our destiny. God does not want us to be there. God wants us to be perfectly happy.
Lord, I beg you to make miracles in our hearts to change its course not to things that will fade away but to life in eternity.