Reflection on the Gospel of the Sunday Of The Word Of God(Christian Unity Week) |
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 |
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”– It is a Mission Statement and each of us is called by God to participate in His mission of building the Kingdom of God. Today’s Gospel draws our attention towards finding our own Christian Mission Statement. So how do we know what we are called to do? Does God really speak to us in words? – The truthful answer is … Yes, He does.
I can recall many instances in the very few years since my transformational encounter with Jesus at a retreat. I have literally wept when just a single verse or a few verses of the Bible were able to discern the inner struggles buried deep within my heart. In my weakest moments I have found strength. In my hopeless situation I have found hope, because I realized that God was actually speaking to me, comforting and healing me through the verses of the Bible. You can binge watch YouTube testimonial videos of believers and non-believers who have encountered the power of God’s Holy Words. You can read the stories of Saints who have wept just listening to or reading the verses from Holy Scripture. In the Old Testament itself while Ezra was reading the scriptures, the crowd wept bitterly when they heard the scriptures being read out aloud (Neh 8:9). ‘Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ (Heb 4:12)
The foundation of our faith relies on our relationship with Jesus and a relationship is developed when time is invested in it to build an effective means of communication; talking (praying) and listening (reflecting on scripture). However, most of us our easily distracted with the voices of the world – money, vices, work, social media, Netflix and many more that drown out the voice of God’s Words. It is therefore time to attentively listen to God’s voice in scripture. For some of us, it may be the first time that we make an attempt to read through the pages of the Bible while for some others it may be time to restart, recalibrate, detox from the distractions and continue the spiritual journey since our last milestone.
We are invited to open our hearts and listen to the promptings of the Spirit through the words of scripture, reflect and discern our mission statement before acting upon it.
