WORD 2day: Wednesday, 22nd week in Ordinary time
September 6, 2023: Colossians 1: 1-8; Luke 4: 38-44
Today's first reading sounds more like a loving letter of a member of a family to the family than a formal sharing of the Word of God. In the mind of Christ, this is true proclamation - he goes to Peter's family, shares his care and love there, cures Peter's mother in law, the rest of the sick in the neighbourhood and spreads love and joy! This is what true proclamation means, unlike what some accuse the Christians of, specially in countries like India - a stealthy way of increasing numbers, or what even some Christian groups themselves feel - an itching aggression to add to their number and increase the membership of their so called church.
Speaking to the people of Mongolia a couple of days ago, the Holy Father said, "the Church is not bent on conversion!" It does not mean that the Church does not care about proclamation or announcing the Good news but it means that the Church is not worried about winning people over to itself or increasing its numbers, instead seeks to share the experience of the goodness, the love and the care of God.
Spread love, you spread the Word automatically and powerfully. You strive to force the Word on people, but fail to truly love, you block the Word from really spreading. When you spread love, and spread the word about love, you spread the Word, your spread the Good News. Because, Good News is Christ and Christ is love!