REFLECTION FOR SATURDAY 17th Week in Ordinary Time
(Jer 26:11-16,24. Mt 14:1-12)
Jeremiah prophesied against the
Temple and the City. His voice unsettled the people’s temporary comfort in
evil. Thus, they threatened to kill him.
But Jeremiah quickly reminded them that the messaged he delivered came from
God. So killing him would not silence the voice because it’s actually God’s
word that he proclaimed. And God’s word is a living word that lives beyond the
messenger. In other words, whether they let him go or not, God’s word for them
must be fulfilled. And if they kill him, they would have only succeeded in
increasing their crimes, which implies more punishment. He urged them to accept
the message irrespective of him.
Jeremiah’s readiness to die for
God’s word becomes a veritable platform that enabled the people to receive the
message for what it is, God’s word and not some human thinking (cf 1Th 2:13). Interestingly,
it is within this same platform that
the messenger becomes effective and successful. In other words, a preacher who
removes martyrdom from his catalogue of witnessing for the Word, will most
likely trade off the word to save his life. And his list of compromising will begin to increase.
From Jeremiah’s experience in the
first reading, it becomes easier for us to understand why Herod and his illegal
sweet heart, Herodias, rejected the message of John the Baptist. Deafened by political
and royal exuberance, they failed to recognize John’s warning as coming from
God. Instead of allowing God’s word to arrest him, Herod arrested John and
imprisoned him. ‘‘But God’s message cannot be chained up’’ (2 Tim 2:9). Hence,
he was perturbed at the voice of John the Baptist sounding from the prison and from the grave!
Our duty is to recognize and
accept God’s word for what it is. This is a life-long project. But it must be fulfilled
at every moment and every situation of our lives. We must therefore pray for
the grace to fulfil this responsibility.
Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
National Shrine of Our Mother Perpetual Help,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu, Nigeria.
Saturday, 2nd August, 2014.
National Shrine of Our Mother Perpetual Help,
Ugwogo-Nike, Enugu, Nigeria.
Saturday, 2nd August, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment