Scripture:
Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10
Matthew 13:1-9
Reflection:
The Word Came to Us
The beautiful phrase in today’s liturgy “the word of God came to me” Jer 1:4 appears many times in Old Testament. At its best a word comes from our heart and mind, the deepest and most intimate function of our nature! God’s word comes right from His heart! It comes to us with unimaginable power. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made” Ps 33:6
I was looking at the spectacular photos from NASA Webb of the spiral galaxy NGC 5468 which is 130 million light years from earth. Since light travels at 186.000 miles per second it is quite overwhelming to try to conceive of the immensity and magnificence of God! God’s word is extremely creative and powerful! “Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Ps33:8 Our prayer might be weak because God’s word is not part of our conversation with Him!
The thought that He speaks to us in the Scriptures is utterly awe-inspiring! We encounter God’s creative and unspeakable power when we listen to His word! How often Jesus tells us to listen! “He who has ears to hear let him hear!” Mt 11:15 This exhortation appears 15 times in NT. Jesus also said: “My sheep hear my voice.” In Revelation 3:20, He says: “Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.”
Not only are we exposed to the incredible power of God’s word, but even more importantly by it we are privileged to an intimate relationship with Jesus! On this earth communication is a very deep way to be intimate with God! St Gregory the Great puts it beautifully: ““To know the Heart of God through the Word of God” Jesus puts it this way: “If a man loves me, he will keep (tereo-treasure) my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23
If prayer is intimacy with Christ His word to us in Scripture is vitally important! The ancient description of this is the Latin word: Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) i,e, holy reading of Scripture. We must be very sensitive to Christ’s word to us, if we ever hope to be close to Him! Otherwise, we might find ourself talking to ourself rather than to Jesus! Christ is the ultimate Word the Father speaks to us! “The Word was make flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.