The Word of the Lord
We have moved into what is called ordinary time in the liturgical year, and we could probably say that for those of us back at work or at school it’s ‘ordinary time’ in the everyday world too. Over the last few Sundays the gospel readings have given us stories of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. As the writers of the gospels put them together they looked to familiar scriptures to make sense of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Often, they drew on the Prophets to show that Jesus was the fulfilment of Israel’s hopes. We know, too, that Jesus was well familiar with the Prophets as well as the Law, and the Psalms were part of daily life.
Pope Francis seemed to like setting aside days to commemorate or celebrate a particular theme or topic. One such we observe today – Sunday of the Word of God. Francis hoped that we would appreciate, not just today but every day, the riches of the Bible.
Thinking about that raises a number of points for me. Most of us will have favourite parts of the Bible. Perhaps there are some parts that are difficult, or at least prone to misuse. But even some of the parts that might seem less relevant can be looked at with fresh eyes (I recently was given a very interesting book of ecological reflections, by two rabbis, on the detailed religious laws in Leviticus and Numbers).
Some Biblical themes do not change much after a couple of thousand years. St Paul’s injunctions to forget about our faction fights and cliques is still right on point for a church community as it is for a workplace. In so much of the world today, people still walk in darkness, and the light of which Isaiah wrote seems far away. When Isaiah writes (in ch 58) about the sort of fasting that pleases the Lord – sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing those who need it, and so on – it is still fresh.
In encouraging greater appreciation of the Bible, Francis said that regular reading of sacred Scripture and the celebration of the Eucharist make it possible for us to see ourselves as part of one another. As Christians, we are a single people, making our pilgrim way through history, sustained by the Lord, present in our midst, who speaks to us and nourishes us’. I might add that the bonds of connection extend across the three Abrahamic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – for we are all People of the Book, all children of Abraham.
Jim McAloon
