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THE WORD

Phil 2,1-4 / Lk 14,12-14

Jesus said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

IN OTHER WORDS

Jesus gives us words to follow. He is our perfect example. A lot of people have tried to emulate his ways. My parish priest during my pastoral year was one of them. He was very generous, simple and compassionate. His regular guests were strangers, refugees, the sick and the poor. He always gave them his time, honest presence and help in many forms. I observed though that a lot of those who frequently came to him asking for help were just taking advantage of his goodness. Many of them were alcohol and substance dependents. I asked him one evening why he was doing what he was doing. He just smiled back and told me that he was helping them to make them feel that somebody was there for them even in their brokenness and woundedness and that he does not need to ask for anything in return.

He unsuspiciously allowed himself to be a present for others. It is consoling to know that we have Somebody whom we are allowed to come to, just as we are, without being judged. It is so beautiful that Somebody, whose goodness is unlimited – Jesus Christ – is there, in a world that asks us most of the time to give so that we may receive. We are allowed to come to him every time just as we are and we thank him for that.

  • Fr. Ritch Salinas, SVD | Germany

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.

 

 

THE WORD

FIRST READING: Wis 11,22-12,2

Indeed, before you the whole universe is like a grain from a balance,
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook sins for the sake of repentance.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for you would not fashion what you hate.
How could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O Ruler and Lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them, and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, Lord!



SECOND READING: 2 Thes 1,11-2,2

Brothers and sisters:

We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully
bring to fulfi llment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our
Lord Jesus may be glorifi ed in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God
and Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling
with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a
“spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day
of the Lord is at hand.

 

GOSPEL: Lk 19,1-10

Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy.

When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

 

IN OTHER WORDS

We, Filipinos, are fond of artistas. We’ll do everything just to get a glimpse of any of them. To see an artista is already a source of great joy and to have a souvenir photo with her/him is already an indescribable ecstasy!

In today’s Gospel, a chief tax collector and a wealthy man named Zacchaeus wanted to have a glimpse of Jesus. But his desire to see Jesus was marred by two problems: (1) the big crowd and (2) his short height.

But Zacchaeus was not discouraged. His wish to see Jesus, marred by two problems, fueled his creativity. What did he do? First, instead of giving up and running away, Zacchaeus ran ahead! Second, he calculated where Jesus would pass by and so, he climbed a sycamore tree. What creativity and strategy!

True enough, Jesus passed by the place and stopped in front of the sycamore tree. Jesus looked up and saw him and said: Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house. And he came down quickly and received Jesus with joy.

What a bonus! Zacchaeus’ dream was just to have a glimpse of Jesus. More than having a souvenir photo with Jesus, Jesus volunteered to go to Zacchaeus’ house! And in that house, the greatest bonus was given: conversion and salvation!

Zacchaeus was freed from internal imprisonment. He confessed his sins and immediately did retribution: “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay it four times over.” Jesus said: “Today, salvation has come to this house….The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

  • Fr. Glenn Paul Gomez, SVD | DWC, San Jose, Occ. Mindoro

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.

 

 

THE WORD

Phil 1,18-26 / Lk 14,1.7-11

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say,

‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

IN OTHER WORDS

Banquets are occasions to share our blessings with others. Nowadays, they have increasingly become instruments for other purposes: launching a political career, enhancing one’s status, aunting one’s power and wealth. Who sits beside whom and where merits a very serious consideration. This is how society celebrates banquets. Even among church people.

A very peculiar banquet took place on a stormy day of Jan. 18, 2015, in Tacloban. One of the most influential and respected persons in the world insisted on sitting at table and celebrating a banquet not with the rich and powerful, nor with politicians and officials but with the poor, marginalized and forgotten who lost loved ones and homes to the earthquake and super typhoon that devastated the area. Pope Francis reminded us of Jesus’ injunction on how to celebrate a proper banquet (Lk 14,12-14).

Jesus advises us not to seek the places of honor but rather to take the lowest place. In the eyes of the world, the lowest place is for the lowly, the rejects and the marginalized; those who count for nothing in the wisdom of the world. But in God’s eyes, the last is the first and the least is the greatest.

In the great banquet of the Kingdom of God, the poor and the lowly not only occupy the places of honor but also sit in the company of God. Pope Francis understood this very clearly. How about you?

After working for eight years in the formation house, I received a new assignment. However, from time to time I visit the formation house and even have some group sessions with the formandi, especially with the new ones, to help them adapt to life in the community. At the end of one of these sessions, some of them ask me to pray for them so that they would persevere. In response, I tell them that one of the things I have learned in handling formation is to pray for each seminarian and each member of the community under my care. I even make sure to say at least a mass per week for them and for their intentions, since nothing can really be done without God’s help. He is the only one who can truly form hearts and minds, for these to be truly conformed to His desires. It is no wonder then that even Jesus spent time in prayer before choosing twelve of his disciples to be his closest partners in the mission. The grace of God, which one gains through prayers, is the only guarantee that these weak men will be able to live up to their vocation and carry out the task to which they are called. Prayer ripens one’s vocation -- whatever that vocation is. How important for superiors of communities or of organizations and parents to pray for those under their care. We tend to forget this and complain interminably instead. Parents and elders, for example, tend to complain that today’s generation lacks maturity compared to their own generation. Instead of complaining, pray for our youth.

  • Fr. Herman Suico, SVD | 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.

 

 

THE WORD

Eph 2,19-22 / Lk 6,12-16

In those days Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

IN OTHER WORDS

After working for eight years in the formation house, I received a new assignment. However, from time to time I visit the formation house and even have some group sessions with the formandi, especially with the new ones, to help them adapt to life in the community. At the end of one of these sessions, some of them ask me to pray for them so that they would persevere. In response, I tell them that one of the things I have learned in handling formation is to pray for each seminarian and each member of the community under my care. I even make sure to say at least a mass per week for them and for their intentions, since nothing can really be done without God’s help. He is the only one who can truly form hearts and minds, for these to be truly conformed to His desires. It is no wonder then that even Jesus spent time in prayer before choosing twelve of his disciples to be his closest partners in the mission. The grace of God, which one gains through prayers, is the only guarantee that these weak men will be able to live up to their vocation and carry out the task to which they are called. Prayer ripens one’s vocation -- whatever that vocation is. How important for superiors of communities or of organizations and parents to pray for those under their care. We tend to forget this and complain interminably instead. Parents and elders, for example, tend to complain that today’s generation lacks maturity compared to their own generation. Instead of complaining, pray for our youth.

  • Fr. Jerry Songcog | Madagascar

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.

 

More Articles ...

  1. October 27, 2016 Thursday
  2. October 26, 2016 Wednesday
  3. October 25, 2016 Tuesday
  4. October 24, 2016 Monday
  5. October 23, 2016 Sunday
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