LET US REFLECT ON THE WORD: HOW DOES IT AFFECT OUR DAILY LIFE OR HOW DOES IT HAVE AN IMPACT IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHERS The Word In our Gospel passage today our Lord tells a parable which throws an immensely important light on something that is present throughout the entire Sacred Scriptures. Our Lord in his parable is commenting on the reception and effectiveness of the word of God. The word of God features from the very first page of the Bible when God spoke and things came to be. In the beginning there was simply the void and the Spirit of God hovered over it. Then God spoke and the universe, crowned by man, came into being. Such is the power of the word of God. From that point on, the Scriptures feature the word of God and the results of that word being spoken. Connected with this is another theme which also appears in the very first pages of the Bible, and it is the frustration of this word. God made man in his own likeness and set him in a garden with one stipulation that he was to observe the divine word. He was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was planted in the middle of the garden. But man refused to observe this word. He rebelled and all was ruined. This could be said to be the story of the Bible — God speaking and man either observing or disregarding his word. Our Lord in our Gospel today (Matthew 13:18‑23) takes up this central theme and sums it up in his parable, filling it with extra light. The word that comes from him is the word about the Kingdom of God long predicted and now being announced and established by Jesus the Messiah. That word is like seed that produces the harvest, but the harvest of the Kingdom which it promises depends also on it being truly received and then retained, and with “understanding”. It is often not understood, it is often received superficially, and it is often choked to death by other interests. If it is received after the manner of good soil, it will produce an abundant harvest. A danger we all too easily lose sight of is that of not appreciating sufficiently the power and the promise of the word of God. We forget or do not really believe that God’s word can indeed produce a harvest in our life, the harvest of personal holiness which is the flowering of the Kingdom of God in our hearts. If a person really believes that a goal is worthwhile and truly attainable, then he will be more likely to put a persevering effort into its acquisition. For instance, why are our prayers not heard? It could be that we are not really praying, but more deeply, it may be because we do not really believe that our prayers will be heard — which in turn implies that we may not be really praying to the God of Revelation at all but to a caricature of him. So too in the matter of the word of God bringing about the harvest in our life. Do we really believe that Christ can bring about this harvest of holiness in our life, or do we subconsciously think of this as just a pipe‑dream? If we do, then this will affect our reception and response to the word of God. So then, prior to the question of our persevering response to the word of God, we must deal effectively with the possibility that we do not really believe the promise that comes with God speaking to us. We remember Elizabeth exclaiming before Our Lady, her young kinswoman, “Blessed are you who have believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled”. Mary perseveringly put that word into practice, but first of all she believed it and entrusted herself to the Lord who had spoken to her. All through his public ministry our Lord was seeking faith and unmasking its counterfeits. The act of faith in God’s word is pivotal, and based on this faith a person then goes on to live it in everyday life. Let us place ourselves continually in the presence of Jesus Christ who lives in his Church and who speaks to the Church’s members and through the Church speaks to the world. Let us appreciate anew that all depends on the word of God and on our response to that word. If that response is forthcoming, the harvest promised by the power of the word will surely come. But our response in the first instance depends on our faith in that word. Let us then pray to be able to believe the word wholeheartedly, and then on the basis of this belief, to put that word into daily practice. (E.J.Tyler)
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:08:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015