Love God's Word, And Listen To It Proclaimed During Mass
Church teaching challenges us to love God’s word and to listen more intently to it when proclaimed during the Sunday Liturgy. A story may emphasize one man’s love for God’s Word.
Once there lived an aged Jewish rabbi. He had served his people for many years in a small Russian village, but now he was confined to home because of his failing mind. One Sabbath, his family decided to bring him to the Synagogue service. So they carried him on his mat to the front of the assembly. The lector began from the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming, “God has spoken to his people.” The old rabbi began talking aloud “GOD has spoken;” “God has spoken His word;” “God’s Word has been spoken;” “God speaks His Word;” “To us God speaks His Word.”
The aged “demented” rabbi was completely caught up in the truth that “God had spoken to His people.” He was caught up in loving the God who continues to speak His Word in every generation. What love of God’s Word! What faith in God’s Word! What a homily he preached to the assembly that night! However, thinking he would disrupt the rest of the service, his family quickly carried him out of the Synagogue.
Do we have that awareness when we come to Sunday Mass? Do we listen attentively to God’s Word when the readings are proclaimed? Lectors, priests and deacons: do we proclaim God’s word in a way that it inspires the faith of God’s people so they are moved to live a more Christian life than when they entered?
We are so blessed to hear God speak His Word to us – “God has spoken to us!” Although all the readings are important, the Gospel is primary. During Ordinary Time, Jesus tells us how we are to live as His disciples in this world with an eye on the world to come.
Jesus’ message is sometimes difficult. Who of us enjoys hearing about forgiving others as often as they hurt us? (I can be like Peter sometimes – “Lord, don’t you think seven times would be enough?”) Loving our enemies and praying for those who curse or insult us is a piece of cake, isn’t it?
Sharing our financial blessings with the poor flows easily from our hearts and pocketbooks, right? Or do we think, “we worked hard for what we got, they should do the same!” Try not judging others for their faults, failures or sins just for one day. Each Sunday, God’s Word is placed before us and Jesus says, “This is the way that leads to life. Follow Me.”
If people never come to Mass, when do they ever hear Jesus’ words of everlasting life? How do they ever know what to practice in their daily lives? How do they grow in love of God’s Word? How do they witness their lives as Christians to others during the week?
Examining the Liturgy of the Word during Sunday Mass was necessary before making possible connections with the Catechumenate. Remember, God’s Word is proclaimed at Mass so that we may praise God for His love in the Eucharist and live as Christ’s disciples in our daily lives.
Are we who hear God’s Word each week an attractive force in the world today drawing others to the Jesus we love?
