Recognize
Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee (also known as Lake Tiberias or Lake of Gennesaret or Kenneret) and lands in Gennesaret which is situated 200 meters below the level of the sea. The air, the water, and the temperature, although perfectly harmless to the locals of Gennesaret, are harmful to foreigners causing severe physical exhaustion and illness. Gennesaret was under the direct control of the Romans who had built a large, permanent military camp, a sort of training headquarters. That is why Jesus can preach and heal safely there out of the reach of the powerful priests assigned to the temple in Jerusalem and out of the jurisdiction of Herod's soldiers. Here Jesus can preach and heal the sick in every square and beach while on the other side of the lake the same man is considered a drunkard, a glutton, a friend of prostitutes, thieves, and persons of dubious reputation. When Jesus lands in Gennesaret He is left undisturbed for a little while, but as the people come to know Him as an extraordinary healer they scurry about begging him to heal them of all types of diseases and illnesses in order to be restored to health. Jesus caresses, he imposes his hands, and sometimes makes mud mixtures from the earth and his saliva. Other times the sound of His voice or even a glance is enough to heal people. In more agitated situations, when the squares spill over, leaving Him just a narrow path to walk through a crowd, simply being able to lightly touch his cloak is enough to be healed. Jesus’ healing protocol is completely new and unknown, and above all it is free. No one must spend all his/her assets in order to be healed from an illness. Healing, as far as Jesus is concerned, is never a promise, it is always a reality, a reality that is totally free and simple. It is not traumatic, it does not create anxiety or fear, it frees the body, the mind, and the soul. Jesus frees the mind and the soul so that the people can recognize, can recognize on their own, what frees and what binds, what makes us healthy and what makes us die.