THE WORD
Hb 4, 1-5, 11/ Mk 2, 1-12
Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them (that), “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
IN OTHER WORDS
It is on the 17th day of January 2015 that I am reflecting on today’s reading. The Bible text is the same – Mark’s Gospel about Jesus calling Levi (Matthew) to follow Him - being read in the Holy Mass presided right now, this Saturday by our beloved Papa Francesco at the Tacloban airport.
In papal yellow raincoat, our charismatic Pope celebrates Mass, with thousands of loving people standing in the rain, in prayerful devotion, in tearful attention listening to his confession from the heart, in Spanish, translated thus: “Last year, when I saw the damage that typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda, to Filipinos) brought to you, I said to myself, ‘I have to go there. I have to be with you.’ Now I am here.
I have come – a year late, I must admit, but I am here.” He continues, “You may ask me why what happened ever happened, why so much death and destruction came. I have no answer. But I invite you to look at the Crucifix. There you will find an answer. Not mine, not yours, but God’s. If you do not hear words, may you realize that you are not alone. He is with you -- in your suffering, in your doubts, in your fears, in your pain.”
Pointing to a unique statue of the Virgin Mary by the altar (a brown-skinned Filipina with a child in her left arm, whom she seemed to have just lifted from ood waters) Papa Francesco says, “Go to her. If, in your sorrow, you nd no words for your questions or your pleas, just say Mama. She will know what you need, what you want. She will understand. Mama.”
There is a call: Follow me. There is a name: Jesus. Levi. Matthew. Francesco. Joseph. Mary. Your
name. My name. We are called. Today. Now. Always. Forever. We follow.
- Fr. Roderick C. Salazar, SVD | CKMS, QC
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.
