GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 9TH DECEMBER 2016
FRIDAY OF THE 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
1ST READING: Isaiah 48:17-19
PSALM: Psalm 1:1-4,6
GOSPEL: Matthew 11:16-19
THEME: PEACE LIKE A RIVER
As the year 2016 gradually comes to an end, there are some who have started counting their blessings. Unfortunately, some too are counting their woes, with no peace in their hearts.
The prophet Isaiah, in our First Reading, addresses Jews who were going through tough and challenging times – these were captives in Babylon. They were longing for divine intervention and liberation. The prophet tells them, “Thus says the Lord, your redeemer…O that you had paid attention to my commandments, your shalom would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea” (Isa 48:17-18).
The Hebrew word “shalom” in the above text, which is translated as peace, prosperity, well-being or wholeness, in different versions of the English Bible, carries with it a sense of completeness, i.e. everything falling into its right place in one’s life. The prophet tells them that the condition for experiencing “shalom” is obedience to the commandments of God.
I love praying with people for breakthroughs in their lives. However, over the years I have come to discover that the greatest breakthroughs come not because of the hours one spends in prayer but simply because of obedience to the Word of God.
Are you longing to be prosperous? Do you desire to see your life flowing beautifully like a river? If only you would obey the commandments of the Lord, he promises you that your “shalom” would be like a river and you would be able to say, “it is well.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace. May your peace, like a river, surge in our hearts and overflow into our families and nations. 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).