GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 26TH AUGUST 2017
SATURDAY OF THE TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING: Ruth 2:1-3, 8-11, 4:13-17
PSALM: Psalm 128:1-5
GOSPEL: Matthew 23:1-12
THEME: GOD PROVIDES
Nothing good happens by chance to any child of God. The Lord is ceaselessly at work to make ‘all things work for good with those who love him’.
Ruth was a widow who chose to leave her homeland (Moab) and follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem in Judah, where she had to live as a foreigner and a stranger. Finding herself in the land of Judah, she chose to work so as not to be a burden on her mother-in- law. She opted to work in the fields as a gleaner. As destiny would have it, she came to that part of the fields which belonged to Boaz. Little did she know that divine provisions had been made for her and God was going to use Boaz to change her story of pain to one of gain. God made Ruth favourable and she found favour in the eyes of Boaz. They got married and gave birth to Obed, the grandfather of King David. That was how Ruth’s name got featured in the genealogy of Jesus (cf. Mt. 1:1-17).
I am sure that many of us in the face of something pleasant happening to us have often made statements like, “I was really lucky”. However, at a deeper level, what we often consider as “luck” is actually an intervention of God. When something good comes your way, rather than thinking of yourself as lucky, count yourself as blessed and favoured by God; praise him for his provisions in your life and trust him to do much more.
Ruth was a woman of faith. She entered the land of Judah with virtually nothing except her faith and God honoured that faith. In the same way, your faith in God is enough to turn things around in your life. As God singled out Ruth and favoured her, the Lord knows how to single you out of the lot and bless you.
PRAYER: May the Lord send a “Boaz” into your life, a channel of God’s blessing. May goodness and mercies follow you all the days of your life. May God grant you a testimony of his eternal ability to provide, through Christ our Lord. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St Arnold Janssen)