THE DIVINE TOUCH

Meditation for Wednesday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(Col 1:1-8; Lk 4:38-44)

It is so beautiful that we are stepping into the new month of September with St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians. In this letter St Paul addressing a Christian community, which he did not evangelize directly. What prompted him to intervene in the life of the Church in Colossae? You can guess as much that there are some doctrinal issues at stake. Let us read along with the Holy Catholic Church as she leads us through St Paul’s letter to the Colossians for a week.

The letter begins by acknowledging the faith of the Colossians in Jesus Christ, “And of the love which you have for all the saints.” The gospel was preached to them by Epaphras, who also informed St Paul how the faith is flourishing in Colossae.

What Paul heard prompted him to ‘go’ to the Colossians through letter, just as Jesus heard about the sickness of Peter’s mother-in-law and went to her. In our meditation, we gaze upon Jesus standing beside the sick woman and bending over towards her. What does this gesture portray? This reclining gesture of Jesus towards human suffering, and my personal suffering in particular, is enough strength and courage to carry on! He rebuked the fever, “And it left her; and immediately she rose and served them.”

Afterwards, they brought many sick people, “And He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” Think about this physical contact that drove sickness away! Imagine the divine healing hand landing gently on the sick body…The feeling of such touch reassures of his abiding presence and inter-mingling with us even in our unworthy state. But, by going to a lonely place, Jesus shows us that ‘touching’ human lives is important, however, the most important thing is to be in touch with God!

That is why in THE SOUND OF SILENCE we re-live the gospel experiences through a contemplative gaze at Jesus. Those who follow Jesus to the lonely place in the silence of their hearts through the gospels, testify to His divine touch, which heals and uplifts. Amen.

St Giles, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Wednesday September 1^st, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE DAY OF THE LORD

Meditation for Tuesday of the 22^nd Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Thes 5:1-6; Lk 4:31-37)

St Paul gives his final exhortation to the Thessalonians about the end times and the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. “But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the darkness.” That day, when everything will surrender to the authority of Jesus, can only come as a surprise to those who are not already living under His authority. St Paul says, “Let us keep awake and sober”, avoiding works of darkness, for it is the will of God that we obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ and live with Him.

So, if we are already living with Him, we need not fear the end times or the endings of our undertakings and situations in life. Sometimes we are tempted to misuse time or misappropriate our time.

Think about the event that occurred at Capernaum. As the people felt the authority of Jesus, and were reclining their hearts to Him, the demon cried out in protest against Jesus. Imagine, he was protesting against Jesus with the truth about Him: “Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” Interrupting Jesus with such a loud voice is rebellion, no matter the truth he acknowledges about His person. It was the wrong timing; and a contradiction that the ‘Holy One’ has come to destroy! But Jesus rebuked this noise maker, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

For sure, the demon was afraid of surrendering to the authority of Jesus and decided to resist. Think about the empty noises and interruptions we face whenever we are inclined to enjoying some peace with Christ or when we feel the urge to pray. The devil can use truth like a bait to catch us into a bigger lie. And most of these temptations come at the wrong time, but they are usually loud and overpowering. Our victory is that we have the grace to live out today in full ‘the day of the Lord’ by inclining our hearts to His authority. For those who are already in Christ Jesus, who walk in the light of Christ, the day of the Lord will not take them by surprise, and the tricks of the devil will not take them unawares. Amen.

St Raymond Nonnatus, pray for us! Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Tuesday August 31^th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com