GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 14TH JANUARY 2017
SATURDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING: Hebrews 4:12-16
PSALM: Psalm 19:8-10, 15
GOSPEL: Mark 2:13-17
THEME: LIVING WORD
When we glance through the newspapers and read articles of journalists or listen to the radio, we get informed about happenings in our world. After the news have been read or heard, it becomes dead and we wait for another news the next day. The Word of God is quite different. It never dies. The same Word can be heard over and over again and yet it always comes with a new effect.
In our First Reading, the author writes, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We can infer from the text that the Word has a life of its own and can rightly be called a Living Word.
The Living Word does not only inform, it transforms. It is more than a book; it is a person – Jesus Christ. In the Gospel account, we see the power of the Word to change lives. Levi, son of Alphaeus, had found himself in a profession that had the cloud of sin hanging on it. As a tax collector, the Jewish society regarded him, to a very large extent, as a sinner. In an encounter with Jesus, he heard the words, “Follow me”. He obeyed, got up and followed Jesus. Over two thousand years after that event, he is remembered and celebrated as saint Matthew. Yes, the Word of God has the power to transform a “sinner” into a saint.
The same Living Word comes to us daily in different forms. However, just as a good seed has no effect on the ground that is dry and unprepared, the Word of God has no effect on the heart that does not welcome it. A person who surrenders wholeheartedly to the life-changing Word can never be the same.
PRAYER: Eternal Father, your Word is life. Speak, dear Lord, into every situation of my life and give me life, 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).