THE WORD OF GOD.
January 28, 2024.
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - B.
“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among
their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I
command him.” Deuteronomy 18:18
A Native American 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.” A Moroccan proverb adds: “One who is not moved by
words is not moved by the stick.”
The word of God has the power to convict us of sin, to teach
us truth, and to lead us in righteousness (Psalm 119:9-11). It is living and
active. It is before all things, and through it, everything came into being.
The world and all it contains are fruits of the Word of God.
The Evangelist John, in his prologue to his Gospel, says it
right: "In the beginning was the Word... Through him, all things came into
being, not one thing came into being except through him." (Jn 1:1.3)
We are celebrating today the Sunday of the Word of God, and
unanimously, all the readings point to the powerful and authoritative side of
the Word and our task to listen to it and abide by it. For us Christians, this
word of God is well received and lived in Christ. He is the word made flesh,
and his teachings and deeds are expressions of the power of the word. About
him, the Catechism says: "Christ's whole earthly life - his words and
deeds, his silences and sufferings, indeed his manner of being and speaking -
is Revelation of the Father. Jesus can say: "Whoever has seen me has seen
the Father", and the Father can say: "This is my Son, my Chosen;
listen to him!" Because our Lord became man in order to do his Father's
will, even the least characteristics of his mysteries manifest "God's
love. . . among us"." CCC 516.
God gave us his word to lead and direct us in our journey of
life. To the people of Israel in the Desert, the Lord promised through Moses:
"I will raise up a prophet and I will put my words into his mouth."
The mission of that Prophet is to lead the people through the authority and the
power of the Word of God.
On the people's side, they are firmly recommended to listen
to God's Word. And the Lord warns: "Whoever will not listen to my words
which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it."
Listening and abiding God's word is not an option, it is the
purpose and the source of our life. We live by the word because we are created
by it. The book of Genesis is clear on it: "God said... And so it
was." (Gn 1:1-31) Everything came to be through God's Word. Therefore, we
owe our lives to the Word of God.
The word of God has immense power, Pope Francis stated in
his homily on January 21, 2024. It can do and transform everything, even man's
life. As we heard last Sunday, God said a word through Jonah, and the life of
the people of Nineveh changed. Jesus said a word, a John, James, Peter, and
Andrew's lives changed. The word of God is powerful.
Unfortunately, we live in a world filled with so many words,
and sometimes, in contrast or contradiction with the Word of God, we grow deaf
and inactive to what God says. This is the observation of Pope Francis,
"overwhelmed by a barrage of words, we let the word of God glide by us: we
hear it, yet we fail to listen to it; we listen to it, yet we don’t keep it; we
keep it, yet we don’t let it provoke us to change." Celebrating today the
Sunday of the Word of God, we are challenged to be attentive to what God says
and let it bear fruit in us.
The Lord Jesus shows us in the Gospel how authoritative his
word is. With a simple word, he rebukes unclean spirits, and they obey him. He
teaches with authority to the amazement of the people. Through his words, he
brings about the starting of the kingdom of God.
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