THE WORD

Eph 4,32-5,8 / Lk 13,10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.

When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and gloried God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, “There are six days when work should be done.

Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.” The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?” When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

IN OTHER WORDS

“Hypocrites!” A strong word uttered by Jesus to the leader of the synagogue. Similarly, Jesus is telling us who don’t practice what we preach, or who make promises but don’t fulfill them, “You hypocrites, shame on you!”

Our Gospel for today invites all of us to walk our talk. Jesus said, “Let your ‘Yes be a yes ‘ and your ‘No, a no’; anything beyond these is of evil” (Mt. 5: 37). That means we must only say it if we really mean it, and a only when we really want to do it. This is an invitation to be true to oneself. As a soft drink advertisement runs, “Magkapatotoo ka brother [sister]!” Just be honest to yourself.  Honesty replaces hypocrisy.

• Fr. Ferdinand Alfante, SVD | CTManila

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.

	Production : Fr. Carlos Maria de Guzman, Jr., SVD and Staff of Logos Publications
	Cover Design : Malou E. Domingo
	Liturgical Calendar : Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD
	Production Consultant : Fr. Gerardo del Pinado, SVD
	Scriptural Texts : New American Bible and Daily Roman Missal
	Cover artwork based on photos by Fr. Bar Fabella, SVD
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