Living the Word

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite contemplation of the role of the Word to develop life giving actions.

 The little ones

The reading from the Prophet Ezekiel contains instructions to go to the house of Israel and speak the Word to them. Psalm 119 praises the glories of God’s Law.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches true greatness in the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Candice Tucci, O.F.S. comments that the sense of God’s own humility is poured forth in God emptying Godself out of love for a relationship with the world, in Jesus, even to emptying himself on the cross. She thinks, to set a child before us as an example is to remind us that we, once a child, have a lifetime to live up to the expectation of emptying ourselves in the care and service for others. Don Schwager quotes “What it means to become a child a God,” by Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century). The Word Among Us Meditation on Ezekiel 2:8–3:4 comments that the Lord certainly didn’t want Ezekiel to gloat about delivering a harsh message, and neither did God take any pleasure in it. He never rejoices in our sins or the consequences they bring about. No, whenever he warns, rebukes, or chastises us, it is always because he wants to heal us and restore us. His one central goal is to bring us back to himself—and he often uses his word to do it. Friar Father Jude Winkler, provides a daily audio reflection. A Post by Franciscan Media reflects on Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint of the Day for August 11. Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the transition from innocence to knowledge is always perilous and fraught with hazard. There is something very comforting and reassuring about innocence. To dwell in innocence is to inhabit a region where storms do not come and where all the breezes are gentle and balmy. It is to live in the calm of the eye of the hurricane. It is to live in a static environment which makes upon the individual no demands other than to be. All else is cared for; is guaranteed. We grow in response to the promptings of the Spirit through difficult times in our attention to the needs of the little ones.