February 7, 2019
Thursday, 4th Week in
Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Heb 12:18-19, 21-24
Gospel: Mk 6:7–13
Jesus called the Twelve to him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over evil spirits. And he ordered them to take nothing for the journey except a staff; no food, no bag, no money in their belts. They were to wear sandals and were not to take an extra tunic.And he added, “In whatever house you are welcomed, stay there until you leave the place. If any place doesn’t receive you and the people refuse to listen to you, leave after shaking the dust off your feet. It will be a testimony against them.” So they set out to proclaim that this was the time to repent. They drove out many demons and healed many sick people by anointing them.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
My most memorable Cebu Sinulog experience as a media practitioner was the year I went “on air” literally because I was up in the air on board a chopper to observe the street dancing for ABS-CBN. But let’s talk about the Sinulog dancing some other time. I would like to focus on what the pilot told me for purposes of going deeper into today’s Gospel reading.
As I was about to board the chopper I noticed an empty seat that could have accommodated the technician we left behind. “Carrying too much load is bad for flying”, the pilot explained. “Moreover, the technician is not really necessary for now”. The pilot’s explanation is a rich source of moral lesson.
Just as too much load is bad for aviation so is undue preoccupation with material provision bad for the mission. This concept finds support in what Jesus did in today’s Gospel reading. In commissioning his disciples as evangelizers he advised them to travel light.
By our baptism we too have received the commission to be witnesses to faith. Faith basically consists in this: that we embrace God as our only Master by loving our neighbors. We are supposed to tell the world that this life is meaningful only when it becomes conducive to embracing God in others. How can we become true witnesses if we wallow in materialism and despise our neighbors in defiance of God’s desire that we love him in others?
Witnessing is like a helicopter ride. Just as flying places one above the rest, witnessing urges one to rise above all others in terms of material detachment and excel in the art of love. While flying means going up in order to observe others down below, witnessing means going down below in order to raise others up. By so raising others up, we also soar high till we get to the bosom of God, our only Master. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M. Email: [email protected].
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