GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 30TH AUGUST 2016
TUESDAY OF THE 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
1ST READING: 1Corinthians 2:10-16
PSALM: Psalm 145:8-14
GOSPEL: Luke 4:31-37
THEME: THE POWER OF THE WORD
A mentally ill patient on the streets of Accra gave me a profound teaching on the power of spoken words. This “madman” in his tattered clothes would often visit the Parish where I lived, and for some reason I enjoyed listening to him. One day, he said to me, “Put your hand close to your mouth and speak”. I obeyed. He asked me, “What do you feel?”. I responded, “I feel the effect of my breath on my hand.” He then said, “Just as your word comes with a breath, the word of God also comes with a breath – His Spirit”. I was stunned but elated. I got the message. Words are not just sounds, they are spiritual. The Spirit of God is present in every word of God.
Jesus had gone down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where during his public ministry, he spent considerable amount of his time. It was a Sabbath day. The authority underpinning the teaching he gave in the Synagogue, together with the dominion he exercised over a demon made his audience to say, “What a word is this! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out” (Luke 4:36). Yes, the word that came from the mouth of Jesus was full of power. He exercised the power of authority and of right (“exousia” in Greek) with the spoken word.
The Spirit at work in Jesus and behind his words is the same Spirit at work in a believer. Thus, in our First Reading, Paul would write, “The Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God…Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words” (1Cor 2:10, 12-13).
In Christ, we have received divine authority to cause change wherever we find ourselves – “See, I have given you authority (exousia) to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you” (Luke 10:19). Hence, whenever, we are faced with any dark or difficult situation, let us not stand powerless and helpless. Rather, on the wings of prayer, may we make declarations of faith rooted in the word of God, trusting that the breath of the Spirit will bring about transformation.
Prayer: Eternal Father, I thank you for the power you have bestowed on us in Christ. In him, you have made us more than conquerors and we can do all things as your Spirit strengthens us. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)