Saturday of the 27th week in ordinary time year A
Joel 3:12-21 Luke 11: 27-28
Theme: The word of God
The power in the word of God cannot be overemphasized. Today in the gospel reading, Jesus said Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. As against the assertion of the woman in today’s gospel that said, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast that you sucked”. Jesus politely shifted the praise away from himself, and encouraged others to embrace what will be best for all of us. Interestingly, majority of us, if not all of us, can hear the word of God from time to time, and read it. So, Jesus is simply saying that we activate the word of God that we listen to and read in our daily lives.
This is very important in our lives as children of God. It is in the word of God that we understand him more and encounter him in a very special way. Jesus is saying to us today that “Hearing the word of God and keeping it, is two sides of the same coin” Hearing the word of God without acting on it will not make any difference in our lives.
In view of this, we are all encouraged to make conscious effort to put into practice the word of God that we hear in our lives. The more people that will begin to activate the word of God in their lives, the better our lives, families, and the society in which we live. This is because the word of God is built on love of God and neighbours, and this is one of the major things that is needed in our lives today as a people. When the word of God begins to guide our word and actions, all the fighting, hatred, bitterness will be greatly reduced, if not eliminated from our lives completely.
Let us reflect on this wonderful invitation presented to us today by Jesus himself and do what we can to begin to practice it in our personal lives. Let the change that we seek in our world today begin with you as a person, and in no distant time we will notice the change in our lives, families and in the world at large. Complaining without doing anything will not take us away from where we have placed ourselves now. It is my prayer today that God will grant us the grace to make that bold step, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.