“Word” of mouth

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 20: JANUARY 20, 2022]

Mark 3:7-12. Jesus avoids the crowd after his stories of healing spread

“Word” of mouth

Jesus has mentioned to His disciples, those Who he has healed, even towards unclean spirits: do not tell others about Him. Yet, the amazed public are compelled to tell stories about Him.

The challenge with word-of-mouth is that there could be misperceptions and miscommunications. But then, if an ordinary person witnesses an extraordinary or supernatural event, can we blame that person from spreading stories and narratives?

Thus, perhaps the calling for us is to be critical; to postpone judgement, and to seek evidence beyond hearsay. To personally witness actions and miracles, and not merely accept the stories of our friendly Marites.

Jesus understood that people have misconceptions about what a “messiah” could be, and this is relevant in today’s politics. We keep on hoping for “saviors” in the form of politicians or personalities.

But isn’t the message of Jesus to not just blindly follow Him? His message is to pursue the Word, the Truth, to love God, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The apparent ambiguity of the parables is a challenge for us to engage in our own personal journey.

Like stories and mangas, we know the ending of the story: the hero struggles, but ultimately vanquishes the enemy. The goal is clear, but the journey still needs to be undertaken. For fans of One Piece, we know that Luffy will be the Pirate King. He had opportunities to have the One Piece treasure be spoiled to him at the middle of his journey, but he refused shortcuts.

What makes the destination meaningful is the personal journey.

Let’s go beyond word-of-mouth and seek for ourselves the Word.