Today, we hear how Jesus spoke with authority to the crowds, as Jesus himself was the Word of God incarnate in the world. He was even able to command the demons to obey him. Our Gospel today prompts us to ask ourselves if we approach the Word of God and the teachings of Jesus with the same zeal and eagerness as the man with the unclean spirit who cried out to Jesus as he recognized Jesus' authority. If we approach God’s word and God’s authority with that same eagerness, loyalty, and enthusiasm, we are in a much better position to learn what God has to teach us in his holy word.
One of the things that struck me about our ALPHA sessions about the Bible is that many of our adults and youth admit that they don’t read the Bible very much and that they perhaps do not even know how to approach reading the Bible. Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter on September 30 of last year entitled APERUIT ILLUS, which established the third Sunday in Ordinary Time to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God. This Sunday falls on January 26 this year. September 30 is a significant date, as it is the feast day of St Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin and who once said: ”Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ". This year also marks 1600 years since the death of St Jerome. Pope Francis stated in this apostolic letter that the Bible is not meant for a privileged few, but that it belongs “to those called to hear its message and to recognize themselves in its words”. He further notes that the Bible cannot be monopolized or restricted to select groups either, because it is “the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity”.
As it is still at the beginning of the new year, perhaps this a good time for us to devote more time in our lives for the Word of God and to devote more time reading our Sacred Scripture.
No comments:
Post a Comment