Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 17, 2009 - St. Anthony, abbot
[Hebrews 4:12-16 and Mark 2:13-17]The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.
When my siblings and I complained to our mother about what one or the other of us said that we objected to, she often would reply, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me." I'm afraid that adage has never convinced me! Words can cause all kinds of effects, some of them harmful, some wonderful and some uncomfortable and some consoling and some enraging! The power of human words spoken in the right way has been demonstrated over and over again! This is one reason why these words were written down by the author or by his/her students or disciples! In the Middle Eastern culture in which Jesus and the early church preached - an "oral" culture - a word could be the equivalent of the reality that it signified - like a name does. The language of the first scripture for today from the Letter to the Hebrews speaks to an even more powerful "word" - the word of God. In this case, it means the reality of God, either as known from writings or preaching. This is the revelation of the reality of God and is able to touch anyone anywhere anytime. That idea would be less bothersome in a "collective" culture like the Middle East. But in our individualistic, privacy-oriented, culture the thought that the word of God is "watching" and "judging" every moment can be very discomforting. The fact in faith is that God is more intimate to us than we are to ourselves, and it is the denial of God's presence within us and within others that leads to destructive behavior, whether on an individual, communitarian, national or international level. As long as we believe we are not subject to the word of God, we will do whatever pleases us and worry about the consequences later (maybe by saying, "How could God let this happen?"). I personally do not find the idea oppressive but rather a safeguard of wisdom and love. That word can say to me: "This is the way. Walk in it." AMEN
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