THE WORD
Eph 4, 1 7.11-13 / Mt 9,9-13
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew 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 came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
IN OTHER WORDS
in her w ds January 17, 2015 was when Pope Francis visited Tacloban City to ful ll his promise to be with the people who suffered from typhoon Yolanda.
Despite that stormy day hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came from as far as Mindanao. Practically, without breakfast, drenched in the rain, wrapped in wet and cold clothing with only a thin rain coat on, everyone endured the unrelenting bad weather while celebrating the holy Eucharist.
The whole event was an intense display of deep faith. No amount of rain, flood, wind, hunger, thirst, and cold weather could dampen the joy of the people in the company of the Pope whose presence was so moving that no words could ever capture the intensity of the whole event. Abandoning his prepared homily, he spoke spontaneously from his heart. The crowd of 300,000 prayed and sang in unison, praising the Lord’s goodness for having gifted us with a Pope so holy and yet so human.
The presence of the pope in Tacloban reenacted Christ’s presence and reaching-out to wounded people. Perfectly chosen, the theme of the Pope’s visit was mercy and compassion. Like Christ, the Pope, made his non-judgmental presence and expressed his love to everyone. Like Christ who mingled with all kinds of people including tax collectors and sinners, the Pope travelled from far Vatican and unmindful of inclement weather, brought his person very close to the people in Tacloban to bring healing and a message of hope to all.
- Fr. Eugene Docoy, SVD | USC, Cebu 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.
