BREAKING THE WORD

This third Sunday in Ordinary time has been declared Sunday of the Word of God. One question we could ask ourselves is: what is my relationship with the Word of God and what is the impact the Word has on my life? St. Jerome in his famous dictum says “ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ”. If you agree that this is true, then I want to suggest five things we could do in order that we grow in the knowledge of scripture, and thus in the knowledge of Christ. 1.        READ the scripture! Everything begins with our encounter with the Word of God. To do so, we must read it. But how do we learn to read our bible? Let me offer three quick suggestions. First, set a specific time to read your bible. Procrastination is one of the greatest enemies of bible reading. And certainly, early in the morning is better than late at night when you are worn out. Second, have a fixed place. Lying on your bed is hardly the ideal place for reading your bible, and we both know why. Third, read with

There are three terms that emerge in this Sunday’s readings. The first is the Lamb; the second is the dove, the third is the Son. Each of these is significant; each reveals something about Jesus. It is John the Baptist who points Jesus out to his disciples saying, “Look, there is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. The mention of the term lamb is loaded with meaning. It goes right back to Exodus 12:3 and to the instructions which Moses gave the people of Israel concerning the preparation of the Passover Lamb. That was the sacrificial meal which would seal the death of the firstborns of the Egyptians and pave way for the liberation of Israel from Egypt. In the later celebration of the Passover among the Jews, it fell to the High Priest to take the blood of the sacrificial animal into the sanctuary and perform expiation on behalf of the people. To point out Jesus as the lamb of God was to indicate that he was to sacrifice his life for his people. But he was not

This Sunday, the church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. In St. Matthew’s brief account of the baptism of the Lord, there are three terms used which practically summarize the events described. First, there is the WATER in which the Lord was baptized. Second, there is the SPIRIT which descended like a dove on Jesus. Third, there is the VOICE which declared Jesus as the beloved Son of God.  Each of these terms is theologically charged. In the Old Testament, Water was the first sign of deliverance. The most significant act of Salvation in Israel was the Exodus event. Moses led the people of Israel dry-shod through the waters of the Red Sea (Ex. 14). This act of going through the waters of the Red Sea became also a symbol of what Christians went through in baptism as they also were immersed in water (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-4). That is why baptism remains for every Christian, the gateway to the life of Grace. As Christ says, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot ent

Epiphany celebrates the coming of the Magi who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant king born in Bethlehem. But is that the first time someone brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to Israel? By no means!  We could recall an episode in 1 Kgs. 10 in which a certain queen of Sheba having heard of the wise king Solomon also brought gifts to him. The passage recalls that she brought gold and a large quantity of spices. In fact, in Isa. 60:6, there is a veiled reference to this episode when it mentions that gold and frankincense will be brought to Jerusalem from Sheba. Again, in 1 Kgs. 10:25, myrrh is mentioned as one of the gifts brought to Solomon. So why gold, frankincense and myrrh? Gold is definitely a royal gift. Solomon was a King and a wealthy one too. Gold was an acknowledgement of his economic prowess and of his good fortune. Frankincense was also expressive of another reality. In 1 Kgs. 8, Solomon had just built a temple; one that had gaine