January 04, 2016 Monday, After Epiphany
1st Reading: 1 Jn 3:22–4:6
Gospel: Mt4:12–17,23–25
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to settle down in Capernaum, a town by the lake of Galilee, at the border of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali crossed by the Road of the Sea, and you who live by the Jordan, Galilee, land of pagans, listen: The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone. From that time on Jesus began to proclaim his message, “Change your ways: the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus went around all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, and curing all kinds of sickness and disease among the people.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Messiah as light for those living under the shadow of death. He said, “The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone.” Aptly was the Messiah associated with a star glowing in the night! People who cultivated inner longing for the coming of the Messiah noticed His star. Would we notice it too if He were to come again to our generation? Probably not! Technology has invented for us too many “artificial lights” that compete with the light of the star of Jesus.
The downside with technology is that it can lessen our need for God. When our need for God diminishes, the orientation of our hearts also shifts, and the direction is always away from Him. A very simple experiment established how selective the heart could be. It was found out that despite the drowning noise in a marketplace people still noticed the dropping of a coin, but not the dropping of other things. Where your heart is, there your attention will be.
Technology need not take us away from God. In fact, it improves the quality of our life for better service of God and neighbor. Our spiritual problem lies not in the advancement of technology but in the fact that we assume a passive stance as technology develops by leaps and bounds. Our growth in spirituality should move in synchrony with technology such that as technology advances our thirst for God also increases. Let us cultivate deep longing for God so that despite the “attractive lights” technology has invented, we may recognize God’s light promptly when it shines once more in our midst. —Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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