THE WORD
Ac 22,3-16 / Mk 16,15-18
Jesus said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
IN OTHER WORDS
Conversion stories reveal the unpredictability of our existence, show the power of God's grace, and offer hope to humanity. St. Paul's conversion story continues to challenge my personal conversion to be an authentic bearer of Jesus' Good News.
Sometimes we are quick to judge people, including ourselves. We spend more time criticizing, instead of helping others and building their self-worth. God certainly sees in us what our naked eye cannot perceive and alone fathoms the mystery that we are. He brings out the best in us and makes our weaknesses a source of our strengths. In the story of St. Paul, the Lord transformed a fierce persecutor of Christians into a fearless and zealous apostle. He saw Paul's potential as an extraordinary preacher of the Gospel. He called him, showed him His kindness and mercy, and Paul responded with burning love for and total commitment to Jesus and His mission. He, to whom much was forgiven, loved much. Let me end with a sonnet written in honor of the great apostle by Malcolm Guite, an Anglican poet-priest:
An enemy whom God has made a friend,
A righteous man discounting righteousness,
Last to believe and first for God to send,
He found the fountain in the wilderness,
Thrown to the ground and raised at the same moment,
A prisoner who set his captors free,
A naked man with love his only garment,
A blinded man who helped the world to see,
A Jew who had been perfect in the law,
Blesses the flesh of every other race,
And helps them see what the apostles saw: The glory of the Lord in Jesus' face.
Strong in his weakness, joyful in his pains,
And bound by love, he freed us from our chains.
- Fr. Edwin Fernandez, SVD ( DWC, Laoag City)
The Word in other words 2017
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.
