Today is the Sunday of the word of God. It is a day specially made for us to study the word of God and understand its message in our era filled with dangers and threats to our Christian beliefs and humanity’s survival and freedom. Jesus is this word of God we celebrate, who enlightens every heart to understand the mind of God and how to survive in our time.
Today’s first reading mentioned the Land of Zebulun and Naphtali as places that were, for a time, humbled by God and plunged into darkness by external forces, but with a prophecy that in the end, the people will experience divine light and presence. The Responsorial Psalm exalted the Lord, who is our light and help. In the second reading, St Paul identified an issue of division within the Christian community of Corinth and preached against it. In the gospel, when Herod imprisoned John to silence him from preaching further, it was then that Jesus’ ministry took an exciting turn. He retreated to a place where he could build a fellowship of the word of God. He then started calling disciples and preaching the Good news. This place is the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. Here we see the fulfilment of the first reading because those people were able to encounter Jesus, the light and word of God.
Some challenges we face pose themselves as the voices shouting over our heads and deafening people from the word of God. They are like the “Herod” who wouldn’t want “John” to continue preaching the message of repentance. John’s death would appear as deterrence to any opposition to the status quo. But was that the end? Not at all. After John’s death, Jesus retreated to a safe zone, picked up from there, called more disciples and amplified the proclamation of the good news.
Today’s message is reassuring that God’s word endures forever and can’t be silenced. It reassures us that Jesus is present in our midst to shade the light of his glory on our darkness. Heaven and earth may pass away, but my word will not pass away (Mtt24:35)