Dominica III post Epiphaniam

These words are taken from the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel that is read by the priest at the end of every Mass. Silently at a High Mass, aloud at a Low Mass, but either way, it is the Last Word that is spoken every time the Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered.

It’s a constant reminder to us not to lose sight of an important fact. When we hear Gospel accounts of Our Lord preaching, teaching, healing the sick and so on, we can forget that this is not only the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity become man, but it is the very Word of God made flesh. Everything he does, everything he is, is God’s revelation in its fullness.

In his Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio, “Aperuit illis”, Pope Francis designated this Sunday as Verbum Dei Sunday, the “Sunday of the Word of God”. A day which is to be devoted to the “devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God.”

However, the Word of God is not just text on a page, it is something living and active, as St. Paul say, because it is not a something, but rather a ‘someone’. The Word of God contained in the Scriptures is not just a message from 2000 years ago, for a people that existed 2000 years ago. It is ever new, and for everyone, because that Word desires to enter into communion with each one of us.

ILLUSTRATION: God wants dialogue

The Judeo-Christian religious tradition is truly unique among the world’s religions for many reasons, but for our purposes today, perhaps the most unique feature for us to consider is that our God, is a God who enters into dialogue with His people. God is not aloof and distant, but rather speaks personally to his people, and in the fullness of His revelation, His Word becomes one with His people.

Pope Benedict is his Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, says this:

Verbum Domini God in Dialogue

The novelty of biblical revelation consists in the fact that God becomes known through the dialogue which he desires to have with us.[14] The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum had expressed this by acknowledging that the unseen God “from the fullness of his love, addresses men and women as his friends, and lives among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company”.

Hans Urs von Balthasar was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest in the twentieth century, and in his writings he reflected on this unique aspect of our faith, a God who enters into dialogue with His people.

Balthasar speaks of the three “speeches” of God, or the three ways God has revealed himself to us. The first is in creation, which as St. John reminds us, came about through God’s Word, “All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made.” Unfortunately, throughout history, and even today many have distorted this Word of God, and made creation into a god itself.

The second speech is Sacred Scripture, which is a record of God’s slow but progressive revelation of Himself to His people, through the Patriarchs and Prophets. However, the People of God continued to reject that Word as well and rebelled against God again and a again.

The third and final speech is the fullness of God’s revelation, the very Word of God become man in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, there were still many who rejected that Word, and many who still do so today.

APPLICATION: Dialoguing with God

Our God is a God who desires communion with His people, and He seeks to enter that communion through dialogue. Of course, dialogue requires two participants, and so we must enter into that conversation.

One of the best ways that the Church recommends to us, and has since the very beginning, is the practice of Lectio Divina. Again, Pope Benedict in Verbum Domini says:

Verbum Domini The Prayerful Reading of Sacred Scripture and “lectio divina”

The Synod frequently insisted on the need for a prayerful approach to the sacred text as a fundamental element in the spiritual life of every believer, in the various ministries and states in life, with particular reference to lectio divina.

Verbum Domini The Prayerful Reading of Sacred Scripture and “lectio divina”

As Saint Augustine puts it: “Your prayer is the word you speak to God. When you read the Bible, God speaks to you; when you pray, you speak to God”.

The practice Lectio Divina which has enjoyed a great resurgence in popularity in recent decades is a simple but powerful way to prayerfully read and pray with the scriptures. Traditionally, it contains four steps:

Lectio: simply choose a passage and read it.

Meditatio: prayerfully reflect on the passage and what it says to you.

Oratio: prayerfully respond to what God has said to you in the passage.

Contemplatio: silently reflecting on the loving exchange you have just shared with God.

In closing, I will give the last word back to Pope Benedict, who here is quoting from the Church Father Origen:

Verbum Domini The Prayerful Reading of Sacred Scripture and “lectio divina”

In his Letter to Gregory, the great Alexandrian theologian gave this advice: “Devote yourself to the lectio of the divine Scriptures; apply yourself to this with perseverance. Do your reading with the intent of believing in and pleasing God. If during the lectio you encounter a closed door, knock and it will be opened to you by that guardian of whom Jesus said, ‘The gatekeeper will open it for him’. By applying yourself in this way to lectio divina, search diligently and with unshakable trust in God for the meaning of the divine Scriptures, which is hidden in great fullness within. You ought not, however, to be satisfied merely with knocking and seeking: to understand the things of God, what is absolutely necessary is oratio. For this reason, the Saviour told us not only: ‘Seek and you will find’, and ‘Knock and it shall be opened to you’, but also added, ‘Ask and you shall receive’ ”.

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