Today’s gospel begins with just four brief words.

“On leaving the synagogue…”

It sounds so simple. It’s almost a passing reference. You could hear those words go by and not give them a second thought. But with those four brief words, St. Mark does something radical and unexpected.

He points the way to another kind of living. The Christian way. The way of Christ.

And it begins when Christ leaves the synagogue.

The synagogue, of course, was the great center of Jewish teaching.

But another kind of teaching, another lesson, is about to be imparted. And it will unfold in the unlikeliest places.

It begins at Peter’s house, where Christ cures Peter’s mother-in-law. And then others are brought to Jesus. Jesus himself eventually has to go away, to a quiet place, to pray. But Peter finds him and says “Everyone is looking for you.” And Jesus replies that he needs to get up and go into other towns and villages. He explains it beautifully:

“For this purpose have I come.”

What strikes me about this is that Christ’s work begins in a house of worship. And he clearly exercises his ministry there.

But it doesn’t stop there.

It continues, and is carried out, and made real, in the world.

His great purpose is fulfilled outside the synagogue walls – in places where the lepers and the lame, the sick and the possessed, can come to him. He goes out to meet them where they are – and they go to meet him where they can find him.

It’s a significant detail. But what was true in Capernaum 2,000 years ago…is still true, around the world, today.

The great work of Christianity happens in homes, on street corners, in the marketplace. It unfolds on breadlines and in soup kitchens, in shelters and classrooms. It’s made manifest around the dining room table, and in offices and stores and subway cars.

What we do here, within these four walls, of course, is invaluable and supremely important. Here, we gather to become a community, to worship and to receive the Eucharist and to hear the gospel message proclaimed – yes.

But this is only the beginning.

Out there, out those doors, is where it lives, and grows, and spreads.

The gospel doesn’t do any of us any good if we simply treat it as a pretty story bound in leather and perched on the altar. It’s meaningless if we leave it behind. It needs to be carried from here, in our hearts, and in our lives.

It needs to be taken into the world, the way that Jesus did.

There are still those who are sick and who are possessed who need to be healed.

They may be sick of heart…or possessed by loneliness. They may carry a leprosy that eats away at their self-worth. They may be shunned, or ignored.

We can be Christ to them.

We can help fulfill His purpose in the world. Or, as someone once said: “The only edition of the gospels most people are likely to see…is you.”

Significantly, the synagogue is mentioned twice: at the beginning of this gospel passage, and at the end. We begin with Christ leaving the synagogue. But we conclude with him going into it, in other towns and villages, as he continues his work.

Years ago, a colleague at work gave me a beautiful picture frame as a Christmas gift, with a note: “What matters in life,” she said, “is how you frame it.”

I think Mark is telling us the same thing in this gospel. A life of prayer and worship gives guidance and direction to Christ’s work, to the gospel message. It’s the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. And so it should be for each of us.

It’s the start and the finish. But what will we do in the middle?

At the end of this mass, I’ll say the familiar words: “The mass has ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”

We hear it so often, every week, it may not register. And let’s be honest: by that point in the mass, a lot of people are already out in the parking lot.

But this time, stay and listen. And let’s ask ourselves: what does that really mean?

How will I love and serve the Lord? How will I put those words into practice?

How can I take what I hear and receive here, and carry it out those doors…and into the world?

That was Christ’s challenge – and it’s ours.

Because for that purpose have WE come.