17 January 2025 - Friday of the 1st ordinary week (odd-numbered years)
Homily
When Jesus was in Galilee, the region that Isaiah had already called the ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ (Is. 7:23-9:1, quoted in Matt. 4:15), he was on the borders of the land of Israel and was often confronted with those whom the Jews called ‘Gentiles’ or ‘pagans’. The text we have just read from Mark describes in symbolic language this encounter and all the tensions it generates.