THE WORD
1 Sm 17,32-3 3.37.40-51 /Mk 3,1-6
Again Jesus entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Come up here before us.”
Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?” But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death
IN OTHER WORDS
On January 24-31, the 51st International Eucharistic Congress is coming to Cebu! The Philippines hosted this event back in 1937 when Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was still a young kid preparing himself for his first communion. What a joy to have it held in our shores again after 79 years! The theme song “Christ in Us, Our Hope of Glory” beautifully captures the desires of our hearts to be Eucharistic persons – “We felt your word burning within us. Your word unlocked the hardness of our hearts, and opened our eyes that we may see You hidden in the broken bread.”
This song shows us a picture of holy communion, when we “stretch out our hands” to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. In the same way, our gospel today shows us a person with a withered hand also stretching out to the Savior. Interestingly, when the Bible is referring to ‘your hand,’ it’s talking about one’s capacity to work and one’s capacity to labor, and do ministry. A withered hand is the exact opposite: it doesn’t function in the gift and calling that God has given.
A life without purpose is a withered life. Not, however, for the saints we celebrate today. They are worth remembering for the ministry they did during their lifetime. Saints Fabian and Sebastian, whose feasts we celebrate today, were martyrs in the early centuries of the Church. Pope Fabian is famous for the miraculous nature of his papal election, in which a dove is said to have descended on his head to mark him as the Holy Spirit’s unexpected choice to become the next pope.
On the other hand, Sebastian was known for his goodness and bravery. During the persecution by Diocletian, Sebastian would not renounce his Christian faith. Archers shot arrows into his body and left him for dead. When the emperor found out that he was still alive, he ordered that Sebastian be immediately clubbed to death.
God has given every person, every believer, a ministry calling. He has given each one a calling to do something, accomplish something. Often our unresolved grief, disappointments, bitterness, offences, unresolved sins, abuses or trauma can wither our mind and even harden our soul. But we should take comfort in the fact that God’s love is limitless. Every time, we stretch out our hand in the holy communion, we are being reminded of Him who laid down His life so that when we eat the bread and drink the cup, He lives in us and He becomes our hope of glory.
- Fr. Felmar Castrodes Fiel, SVD | DYFR-Cebu
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. The Word in other words 2016
