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THE WORD

 

Col 1: 9–14 / Lk 5: 1–11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, Jesus asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

 

IN OTHER WORDS

There are good days, and there are bad days. For Simon, it was one of those bad days for fishing. We probably have days like that when we can also say, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing.” Things are not going the way we want them to. We are let down by discouraging results. People, circumstances, and even nature seem to be conspiring to bring us down. We can call it quits. But then, for Simon, an amazing thing was about to happen that would change his life more than he planned or imagined. The miracle in his life happened because he met and welcomed Jesus; and then he said “Yes” to Him, not once, but twice.

More often than not, God uses our lowest moment to lift us up. St. Ignatius of Loyola had the call of conversion that provided the seed for his founding of the Jesuit order while nursing a wound from battle, probably feeling useless and desperate at that time. St. Arnold Janssen founded the SVD during the Kultur Kampf in Germany when the suppression of the church made it impossible to do anything for the church, much less to start a missionary congregation. So, before you despair and give up, first, wait on the Lord and see how He will show you great opportunities disguised as impossible situations.

Secondly, Peter humbly obeyed Jesus with a “yes”. “At your command, I will lower the nets.” Why would a fisherman listen to a carpenter about catching fish in the middle of the day? When we heed God’s commandment and follow His will, He will honor our obedience with opportunities and blessing.

Thirdly, Peter also responded “yes” to the call to follow Jesus and became a fisher of men. Life changes for us when the awareness of our sins leads us to surrender everything to Jesus and follow Him in a new path of life.

  • Emil Lim, SVD (Hongkong)

 

The Word in other words 2015

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

 

Col 1: 1–8 / Lk 4: 38–44

After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them. At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him. He laid his hands on each of them and cured them. And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Messiah. 

At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place. The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him, they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

 

IN OTHER WORDS

An eminent baby specialist (pediatrician) had a standard treatment for frail newborn babies who failed to gain weight. When he came to see the baby during his rounds in the hospital, he would invariably scrawl on the baby’s chart and give the nurse the following prescription: “This baby should be loved (fondled, hugged, massaged) every three hours.”

Francis McNutt, in a New York University study of nurses, found out how effective are those nurses who lay their hands lovingly on patients with the intention of healing them. These patients are found to recover more rapidly. McNutt surmises that loving, caring people communicate a life-giving power to sick bodies through the healing touch of their hands.

  • Fred Mislang, SVD (Villa Cristo Rey, CKMS, QC)

 

The Word in other words 2015

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

1 Thes 5: 1–6.9–11 / Lk 4: 31–37

Jesus then went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet! Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

 

IN OTHER WORDS

My first encounter with exorcism happened in my parish when a young girl came with an amulet which had been handed down from generation to generation. She was shouting, cursing and had extraordinary strength. When the smoke of the incense touched against her skin, she shrieked and her voice changed. When the Church bells signaled for the Angelus, she screamed in pain so that she elevated one meter above the Church floor. As the prayer ended, she also slowly relaxed and all those who were around marveled at the power of prayer.

Jesus in the gospel today deals with demons to show he possesses the key to life. This authority shows the presence and concern of the rule of God on behalf of those who turn to God in a time of need. Jesus meets the challenge and removes the presence and power of evil from the man without destroying the man himself. What a picture of Jesus’ power! Indeed, the power of the demon is no match to the power of God.

The story of this healing closes with a profound impact on those who witnessed it. They saw that Jesus approached evil forces with authority and power. We might picture them asking one another: “What could it mean? Where does such power come from?” Luke leaves the miracle as an event to ponder on. The demon’s confession suggests the answer: Jesus is the Holy One of God, and his power exceeds that of the forces of evil.

Jesus conquered evil 2000 years ago, and is still conquering evil today. Let Him do it in your life and pray that He will do it in the lives of your loved ones as well.

  • Felmar Castrodes Fiel, SVD (WBC – Cebu City)

 

The Word in other words 2015

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

1 Thes 4: 13–18 / Lk 4: 16–30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

 

IN OTHER WORDS

After Jesus entered his public ministry, it was his custom to use the synagogue as his place of teaching on a sabbath day. Anointing was the method by which prophets, priests, and kings were consecrated or set apart in their several offices. The prophecy, which set forth in physical terms what Jesus should perform, closed with a reference to the jubilee year, which, being a time of liberation, forgiveness, and fresh starts, was a reference to Christ’s ministry and kingdom.

The speech of Jesus flowed easily, and gracefully. Although the people admitted his marvelous teaching and miraculous works, they were at a loss to account for these words and deeds. Their extreme familiarity with his humanity made it hard for them to believe in his divinity, by which alone his actions would be rightly explained.

Jesus did not recall the evidences which were so many that they could not deny them. His claims were too high for them to admit, and too well accredited for them to despise, so they sought refuge from their perplexity by getting angry at him. Jesus quoted a familiar proverb, the meaning of which is this: he was a part of Nazareth, and hence the claims of Nazareth upon him were superior to those of Capernaum, and therefore Nazareth should have been blessed by his healing. But the expression was evidently used contemptuously, as if to say, “You can do big things at Capernaum, but you cannot do them here. You cannot deceive us; we know you.”

Jealousy forbade the country folks from honouring Jesus. In Nazareth he was no more than the son of a carpenter and the brother of certain very common young men and girls, while abroad he was hailed as the prophet of Galilee, mighty in word and deed. The Nazarenes were jealous of the claims of Jesus who placed himself alongside Elijah and Elisha. When he likened his hearers to widows for their want, and to lepers for their uncleanness, they (the Nazarenes) were ready to dash him to pieces.

In fact, they got hold of him. Near the eastern end of Nazareth there was a cavern in the rock below forming a precipice which would kill any man hurled at it. At the western end there was a perpendicular cliff about forty feet high, with a naked floor of rock at the bottom. To which place they led Jesus we do not know, but we find here a simple statement of a marvelous fact.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Anointed One who inaugurated the time of liberation, forgiveness and fresh starts. Help us to accept you and not to reject you. Amen.

  • Felix Ferrer, SVD (DWST, Tagaytay City)

The Word in other words 2015

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. August 30, 2015 Sunday
  2. August 29, 2015 Saturday
  3. August 28, 2015 Friday
  4. December 1, 2014 Monday
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