Meditation
for Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
(Tobit 2:9-14;
Mk 12:13-17)
How easily words can slip off our mouths and result to
consequences we never intended. Dishonesty in speech comes when what we say is
different from what we have in mind or when we say what is not true. Words can
communicate the best of our virtues. Also, they can easily sell out our pride and
arrogance. Often times, words are handy tools of provocation and revenge. This is
obvious in the first reading, where the wife of Tobit took revenge at him for
provoking her by angrily making jest of his charitable works.
The Pharisees and the Herodians set trap for Jesus to entrap
Him in His own talk. They knew those addressing the public can easily err in answering
questions or in their own teachings. This is usually the case when one speaks to
impress people and boast his ego. Also, one can easily be trapped in his own
speech if he is speaking falsehood or when what he is saying does not edify or
glorify God. Thus, Jesus escaped the trap, saying, “Render to Caesar the things
that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” At the end, the
Pharisees and the Herodians fell in their own trap.
Let us learn from the example of Jesus and speak truth with
humility and love, and to the glory of God. In this way, no one can entrap us in
our own words. “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of
trouble” (Proverbs 21:23). Amen.
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
