Gospel (Mk 1,29-39) - At that time, Jesus, having left the synagogue, immediately went to the house of Simon and Andrew, in the company of James and John. Simone's mother-in-law was in bed with her fever and they immediately told him about her. He approached her and made her stand up by the hand; the fever left her and she served them. When evening came, after the sun set, they brought him all the sick and possessed. The whole city was gathered in front of the door. He healed many who were suffering from various diseases and cast out many demons; but he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him. Early in the morning he got up while it was still dark and, having gone out, he withdrew to a deserted place, and there he prayed. But Simon and those who were with him followed him. They found him and said to him: "Everyone is looking for you!". He said to them: «Let's go elsewhere, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too; for this in fact I came!”. And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The Gospel of Mark tells us about the first day of Jesus' public life in Capernaum: it remains emblematic and we could say it illuminates all the days of the disciples. The evangelist describes it with the succession of hours while he outlines the beginning of Jesus' mission with the disciples. It immediately became clear that Jesus had not come for himself but to save men. Jesus, as soon as he enters the house of Simon and Andrew, is moved by Peter's elderly mother-in-law, takes her by the hand and raises her up. The strength of that hand gave strength back to that old woman. And she "immediately began to serve them". The evangelist uses the term "diaconia": healing in fact means raising oneself from concentration on oneself and placing oneself at the service of the Gospel and of one's brothers. The apostle Paul remembers this for himself and for us: «Although I was free from all, I made myself the servant of all in order to win the greatest number. I became weak to the weak to win the weak; I became everyone to everyone, to save someone at all costs. I do everything for the Gospel" (1Cor 9,19). Serving the Gospel and the poor is the reward for the disciple. This already happened on that first day of mission in Capernaum. And when the sun had set on Capernaum and darkness surrounded the houses, Jesus remained the only light that did not set in that city. The sick and the poor had understood this and crowded at the door of that house, the only one that remained open even in the evening. Nestled among the houses of Capernaum, that house had been transformed by the presence of Jesus and the disciples into a place of mercy and piety, into a sanctuary of the Gospel. It is what it must be for every community everywhere in the world: a sanctuary of the Gospel, a house of love and mercy, where all are welcomed and loved, free of charge. It is a sanctuary for us beloved and no longer abandoned disciples, and as it became for Peter's mother-in-law, healed from fever and returned to serve, so it is also for the many poor and sick people of contemporary cities. Jesus, through the community, continues to collect, heal and liberate. And his light remains lit to give hope in a world that struggles to see a peaceful future.
However, Jesus' day was not over: "Early in the morning, while it was still dark", writes Mark, Jesus withdrew alone to a secluded place to pray. From that prayer Jesus drew his strength. They were supposed to be moments of passionate conversations between the Son and the Father. It is from prayer, from listening to the Word of God spoken in common, that the disciples draw strength and vision. This is the meaning of the last passage of this day in Capernaum. The disciples, faced with the arrival of many in front of that house, go to Jesus and say to him: "Everyone is looking for you!". But Jesus replies to them: "Let's go elsewhere." After having raised their eyes to the Father, he invited them to raise their eyes towards the many who in the other villages were waiting for the Gospel to be communicated to them: "Let's go elsewhere, to the nearby villages so that I can preach there too, for this in fact I came!".