The Word of God
This Sunday is the ‘Sunday of the Word of God’. And this year the injunction of Jesus — Remain in my word — is our theme [John 8:31].
The Word of God that we encounter in the Scriptures is not just words on a page. When we say that God uses the ‘Word’ we are saying that God speaks. God breaks the silence and, in his love, addresses us, the whole of humanity. What God intends is to communicate something intimate and vital for each of us. Without this communication we will never be able to come to a full knowledge of God or the mystery of God. It is through this Word — when we read it, reflect on it, pray it — that we are having a personal conversation that can touch us in our innermost being, involving us in a loving relationship.
What is amazing is that, in Jesus Christ, God speaks fully and definitely to humanity. We are encouraged by Jesus to ‘remain in him.’ Let’s look at this verb ‘to remain’. It’s an invitation not to scatter, but to remain in him, in a deep and radical unity like that of the vine and the branches (see John 15:1-7). In the excellent Vatican II document, Dei Verbum, it says: ‘Out of the abundance of His love (He) speaks to humankind as friends.’ [Dei Verbum 2]. God not only speaks to us, but remains with us for a long time — just as if we were close, longstanding friends.
Pope Francis asks that ‘every Christian community, on one Sunday of the liturgical year, could renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known and more widely.’ What does this mean for us at St Thomas of Canterbury and St Dunstan’s, Hersden?
• We need to realise the importance of being a reader at Mass, to attend to our liturgical formation, so that we equip ourselves to have some grasp of the meaning and structure of the liturgy of the Word, and the significance of its connection with the liturgy of the Eucharist.
• Pope Francis suggests: ‘May you have the habit of always carrying a small Gospel in your pocket, in your bag, to be able to read it during the day.’
• We can easily have the Bible on our mobile phone so we can consult it at any time. There are different apps and websites.
• We have a Thursday Scripture group that meets after midday Mass and reflects on the following Sunday’s Gospel.
As it says in St John’s Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 1:1] Take some time to let God into your life and your heart.
