Posted by The WORD in other words (2010) by Father Nestor Sibug SVD – Divine Word College of Legazpi
Saturday 25th Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes people can look at the very same thing and yet see something completely different.
A story is told about a criminology professor who was about to administer the final examination to his students. Suddenly, two men armed with handguns burst into the classroom and dragged one of the students from his seat. After roughing him up, they pulled him out of the room, shouting, “We warned you what would happen if you failed to pay your debt!”
When calm was restored, the professor informed the class that what they had just witnessed was, in fact, their final examination. Their task was to describe in detail everything they had seen and heard.
The results were astonishing. No two reports were exactly alike. Some students claimed that there had been three or four assailants. Others insisted that a woman, not a man, had been taken away. Very few remembered why the victim had been dragged out. Almost none had noticed the professor briefly holding up a sign that read: “THIS IS JUST A SIMULATION.”
Everyone had witnessed the same event, yet no one had seen everything that had happened.
The same can be true in our spiritual lives. God constantly reveals Himself through Scripture, through daily events, through other people, and through the circumstances of our lives. Yet, like the disciples in today’s Gospel, we sometimes fail to grasp the deeper meaning of what we see and hear. We hear the words of Jesus but miss the message. We witness His works but fail to recognize His presence.
Even the disciples often misunderstood Jesus. They saw His miracles and heard His teachings, yet they struggled to understand who He truly was. After witnessing so many wonders, they were still astonished and confused because they had not fully connected Jesus’ deeds with His identity as the Messiah. As Jesus would usually said, “But they did not understand…” (Luke 9:44).
As Christians, therefore, we are called to pay close attention to what God is telling us. We must learn not only to hear His Word but also to understand and live it. This requires three important steps:
- Recognizing the Word of God in our lives.
- “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9).
- Internalizing the Word by reflecting on it and allowing it to transform our hearts.
- Like Mary, who “kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Luke 2:19).
- Externalizing the Word through our actions and way of life.
- “Be doers of the word and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
The challenge of the Gospel is not merely to listen but to discern. Not merely to admire Jesus but to follow Him. Not merely to understand His words intellectually but to allow His message to shape our lives.
May we pray for the grace to see beyond appearances, to recognize God’s presence in the ordinary events of life, and to live faithfully the message of Christ. For when we truly recognize, internalize, and externalize the Word of God, we begin to see reality not merely with human eyes but with the eyes of faith.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, open my eyes to recognize Your presence, my mind to understand Your Word, and my heart to live it faithfully. Help me not merely to hear Your message but to allow it to transform my life. May Your Word become a light for my path and a guide for all my decisions. Amen.
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