GOD’S PRESENCE IN HIS WORD.
January 23, 2022
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – C.
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.” (cf John 6:63c)
An Amerindian proverb says: “The words of God are not like
the oak leaf which dies and falls to the earth, but like the pine tree which
stays green forever.” And a Malagasy proverb adds: “Words are like the spider's
web: a shelter for the clever ones and a trap for the not-so-clever.”
Every time that we gather to celebrate the Word of God and
the Holy Eucharist, we experience God's blessed presence in our midst. For, the
Lord is present where His Word is proclaimed. This divine presence is made more
manifest and effective through the reception of the Holy Eucharist. Thus, the
saying of the Church about the Eucharist: it is the highest form of worship. It
is the source and summit of the Christian life (Catechism of the Catholic
Church 1324).
To reach the summit, one must start at the foot. Those who
like hiking or biking in the Mountains know this truth. No one can reach the
summit if he does not begin at the foot of the mountain; unless you are
parachuted there. Our discovery of the Lord's presence starts also that same
way. We first contemplate him in His Word before receiving him in the
Eucharistic Body.
I do always feel sad where people attend the Holy Eucharist
late. They miss the Liturgy of the Word and feel shameless coming to the
Communion. The Mass is a composite celebration, Liturgy of the Word preparing
us to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We could say, two chambers intimately
linked. Therefore, he who does not pass through the first door is not worthy to
enter the second. God who is present in His Word is the one you receive in the
Eucharist.
Today's readings point clearly to the importance of the Word
of God. We are called for a genuine celebration of the Word. In the first
reading, with the priest Ezra, in the Book of Nehemiah, we see a community
gathered to celebrate the Word of God. Like Priests and Pastors do today, Ezra
stood at the wooden pulpit and proclaimed the Word of God. The people listened
and acclaimed the Word with great, “Amen, amen!” Because, they saw in these
words, signs of God's presence, that his words are Spirit and life.
We too, when we gather on our Sundays’ celebration or at any
Eucharistic celebration are invited to listen to God's Word and acclaim it for
what it is, Word to give us life.
In the Gospel, another proclamation of the Word. This time,
it is not done by a Prophet, nor a Priest, but by the Word made flesh, our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the Word who proclaims to us the word of life.
This proclamation is done at the beginning of his public ministry. After his
baptism, the time of spiritual preparation and temptations in the desert. And
the Lord chooses as a place for this proclamation, his hometown. Luke puts a
special emphasis on the content of his proclamation, the Prophet Isaiah,
particularly the chapter 61 where the Prophet describes the supernatural
ministry of the Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
The Lord goes beyond the simple proclamation and explanation
as Priests, Scribes, and Pastors do. He identifies himself to the Messiah long
awaited: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The Word of God is called to be fulfilled at our hearing
today. The Lord is present in our midst as we are gathered in his name and to
listen to Him. As a community gathered in prayer, we are a constituent body,
the Body of Christ, nourished by His Word and preparing to be fed at His Body.
As such, as many as we are, we have become one body in Communion. Paul tells us
through his address to the Corinthians that we are one body, the Body of Christ,
and individually members of it. The accent here is on the unity in the
diversity. Just as "the body is not a single part, but many," so too,
we, as many as we are need each other. Complementarity, interdependence, unity
in our diversity. May we feel our dependence on our brothers, our need of them,
and vice-versa, if we truly want to be a community.
It is sad to say, but our world and our societies have
plunged today in the critical indifference and individualism where man thinks
to be self-sufficient and in no need of others. Egoism, narcissism,
selfishness, here are what we value the more today. Everyone wants to be a DIY
expert, Dot It Yourself. You do not need others, so do not bother them. One
thinks maturity means auto-dependence. We have missed the real meaning of
independence and confused it with egocentrism where your life is your solo
enterprise, do not let others dictate or decide for you what you should do. We
speak of freedom, but what we mean is libertinage. Children want to be
independent vis-a-vis of their parents. Husbands and wives want to be
independent vis-a-vis each other. We decide on our orientations and even our
sexuality and gender. And in all these chains of freedom, the Word of God finds
no room in us.
Comments
Post a Comment