THE WORD
2 Sam 17,1-5.8-12.14.16 / Lk 1,67-79
Then Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people. “He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old: salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that, rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. “And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
IN OTHER WORDS
For people without faith, death is a reality that one has to avoid and deny. Despite all the modern inventions and technological advancement in science and medicine, we all still must die. Someone said that human activities are designed to avoid death as human being’s nal destiny; that one principal motive in human activities is the terror of death (E. Becker). O. Wells claims that, “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone.” He continues that even our relationship and friendship are only an illusion that we’re not alone.
If this is our idea of death, then death is something dark and according to philosophers the ultimate evil.
In the darkness of our human destiny, the Gospel proclaims something that will bring supreme comfort in the face of this ultimate disaster. “Because of the tender mercy of God, the daybreak from on high will…shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow…”
We prepare for the birth of God who created us not to die but to live. This will be the good news of Jesus. So good and so true. He will teach and show us how to truly live in preparation for the loving embrace of the eternal Father. Jesus will be our life. Eric Fromm says something about living and dying: “To die is poignantly bitter. The idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable.”
- Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD | DWST, Tagaytay City
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
