The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to live the experience of prayer and contact with the Word of God in bringing peace to our day.
Peace in the Word
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah declares the Word of God shall not return to God empty.
* [55:10–11] The efficacy of the word of God recalls 40:5, 8.1
Psalm 34 is praise for deliverance from trouble.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22).2
In the Gospel of Matthew we learn the Lord’s Prayer.
* [6:11] Give us today our daily bread: the rare Greek word epiousios, here daily, occurs in the New Testament only here and in Lk 11:3. A single occurrence of the word outside of these texts and of literature dependent on them has been claimed, but the claim is highly doubtful. The word may mean daily or “future” (other meanings have also been proposed). The latter would conform better to the eschatological tone of the whole prayer. So understood, the petition would be for a speedy coming of the kingdom (today), which is often portrayed in both the Old Testament and the New under the image of a feast (Is 25:6; Mt 8:11; 22:1–10; Lk 13:29;3
Vivian Amu comments that there is power, comfort, and nourishment in the word of God. Our words can sometimes get us into trouble; our words can set us apart or bring us together because our words also affect others. God is part of us, and we are part of God, so yes, our words have power, our words can comfort, and our words can nourish others. We must then be mindful of the seeds our words plant in the souls of others.
It helps to know we are not separated from God ---- O, how painful that would be? We don’t even need to babble on in mindless prayers because when our words come from our heart, God already knows what we seek; God already holds our words dearly and closely. Even a few words from us become a powerful prayer. God is near when our words are a cry for help. God is near when our spirit is crushed and our heart is broken. God is near when our words are filled with gratitude or even disappointment. Our desire for joy is in line with God’s desire for us as well. During this first week of Lent, may our words be in line with God’s love, and may the word of God nourish our thirsty souls. We could find nourishment in the Lord’s prayer even more than ever as we call to our God to help us, forgive us, sustain us, and give us this day.4
Don Schwager quotes “Pardon your brother and sister,” by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Pardon, that you may be pardoned. In doing this, nothing is required of the body. It is the will that acts. You will experience no physical pain - you will have nothing less in your home. Now in truth, my brothers and sisters, you see what an evil it is that those who have been commanded to love even their enemy do not pardon a penitent brother or sister." (quote from Sermon 210,10)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Isaiah 55:10-11 comments that in today’s first reading, we hear about the life-giving power of God’s word. It’s like rain that waters the earth and causes crops to grow and bear fruit. You could say that lectio divina is an especially fertile environment for growth. In order to experience God’s written word through lectio divina, you need to “wall yourself off” from distractions for a time. This creates space for the four traditional stages of this practice: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation.
Unhurried reading of a short passage is the first step of lectio divina. This stage usually ends as you pause at a phrase—even a word—that catches your attention. Meditate as you invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate the truths in that phrase or word as you ponder it and turn it over in your mind. Next, bring your reflections before the Lord in the form of a prayerful conversation. Maybe you could thank him for a truth he has revealed. Or ask him whatever questions come into your heart. Then give him room to respond. In contemplation be still and open. Allow anything God has said or done to soak in. Let his word take root within you—even if you don’t immediately “feel” anything happening.6
Friar Jude Winkler explores the efficacy of the Word as he shares the ancient understanding of words making present that of which they speak. The words of Consecration make Christ present. Friar Jude interprets the radical message of the Lord’s Prayer.
Cynthia Bourgeault, an accomplished wisdom teacher in her own right, traces the movement of Wisdom from the desert to the monasteries and into the present moment, honoring it as one of the foundations of her own wisdom schools. Saint Benedict, in the fifth century, drew from an already well-established stream of transformational Wisdom that came out of the deserts of Egypt and Syria via a first generation of people who really wanted to practice what it means to put on the mind of Christ. Its brilliant and stable legacy of “Ora et Labora”: “Prayer and Work,” offers a fundamental rhythm for the balancing and ordering of human life, and for the growing of that beautiful rose of Wisdom. Joan Chittister, a vowed religious sister of the Order of Saint Benedict, explains how the Rule of Benedict provides an opportunity for transformation for everyone who chooses to follow its wisdom.
All in all, the Rule of Benedict is designed for ordinary people who live ordinary lives. It was not written for priests or mystics or hermits or ascetics; it was written by a layman for laymen. It was written to provide a model of spiritual development for the average person who intends to live life beyond the superficial or the uncaring. [1] . . . Benedict was quite precise about it all. Time was to be spent in prayer, in sacred reading, in work, and in community participation. In other words, it was to be spent on listening to the Word, on study, on making life better for others, and on community building. It was public as well as private; it was private as well as public. It was balanced. No one thing consumed the monastic’s life. No one thing got exaggerated out of all proportion to the other dimensions of life. No one thing absorbed the human spirit to the exclusion of every other. Life was made up of many facets and only together did they form a whole. Physical labor and mental prayer and social life and study and community concerns were all pieces of the puzzle of life. Life flowed through time, with time as its guardian. [2]7
Living and working in the world can seem to be distant from the aspirations of the Lord’s Prayer. Our practice of lectio divina and balancing “ora et labora” brings peace, compassion, and justice.
References
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