“When the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to His people, and Christ, present in His word, proclaims the Gospel.”
These words from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal set before us a profound truth that we need to ponder and make our own. The words of Sacred Scripture are unlike any other texts we will ever hear, for they not only give us information, but they are also the vehicle God uses to reveal Himself to us, the means by which we come to know the depth of God’s love for us, and the responsibilities entailed by being Christ’s followers, members of his Body. What is more, this Word of God proclaimed in the liturgy possesses a special sacramental power to bring about in us what it proclaims. The Word of God proclaimed at Mass is “efficacious,” that is, it not only tells us of God and God’s will for us, it also helps us to put that will of God into practice in our own lives.
Pope Francis has decreed that this Third Sunday of the Church’s year be observed as The Sunday of the Word of God. For more: http://www.word-sunday.com/
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Some more “food for thought” on this Sunday’s Scriptures:
“Living with their heads in the clouds” is no compliment to anyone living in this world of ours. How realistic is St. Paul’s advice in First Corinthians (7,25-31), to live as though the ordinary events and concerns of life did not matter? As if business, planning, bereavements, possessions, and the rest were of no fundamental importance? Well, first of all he does not mean that people should withdraw from all these things, or neglect the practical life. What St. Paul does mean is that we should get our priorities right, and get a proper balanced view of things, so that what is of lasting importance can play its part too — namely, the question of our eternal destiny, and how we stand in the sight of God.
Under the influence of a brush with death — a near escape, a battle with illness, or a recent bereavement — we come to realize how trivial are the usual concerns that engross us, when compared to the abiding mystery of life and death. Does our life have a purpose? Is our life going anywhere, or is it simply an absurd farce, poised between comedy and tragedy? St. Paul’s advice is to maintain the conviction that God holds each human life securely in His hand, so that death is just a passing-over into His direct presence. In the Biblical view, we should not worry about death, nor about anything in life, so much as to turn to God, and obey His Word. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His glory” says Jesus. If our first desire is to fit in with God’s plan for us and not make God fit in with our plan, then everything else will fall into place; life and work, marriage, successes and failures, sickness, and even death itself.
All of us, no matter how long we have been living in the faith, are encouraged to reawaken an attitude of trust. We need conversion, no less than the people of Nineveh, or the people of Galilee. “Repent and believe,” says Jesus today, to each of us. Do we believe that God is our Father? Do we believe that God is near at hand, and that He is merciful? Do we realize that God’s will for us is that we be saved — and that includes the need to live by His Gospel? “Repent!” — yes, the challenge is as fresh today as when the Lord first spoke it. Can we hear this Good News of the Kingdom of God as if for the first time and make an act of total trust and total submission to God’s love?
Taking Jesus at His word, being converted to genuine faith in God the Father, does not mean living with our head in the clouds. Genuine Catholic-Christian devotion certainly fixes our ambition away, above the passing things of life, but also keeps us aware of everyday duties towards other people. Hearing the Gospel, welcoming and following it, keeps us with our feet well grounded in reality, more keenly involved than ever in carrying out the tasks that have to be done here and now, because now is the day of salvation; now is the time, given us by God to pay Him our debt of gratitude – through generous and loving service.
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Recommended viewing from the 1956 classic “Moby Dick.” Fr. Mapple’s Sermon on the Prophet Jonah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DAQ8Az5Gpc
