Word to the Wise
Tuesday, August 9, 2016 - Tuesday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Ezek 2:8-3:4 and Matt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14]TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016. TUESDAY IN THE NINETEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME [Ezekiel 2:8 - 3:4 and Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14] "He said to me: Son of Man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel." [Ezekiel] I once gave my dad a wall plaque that read: "Lord, help my words to be gracious and tender today, for tomorrow I may have to eat them." Ezekiel is handed a scroll with God's words on it and told to eat it. The words are those of lamentation and woe! But the image of eating God's words remains with me. One might say, "Isn't that what we do when we go to communion? Don't we eat the Word of God?" Yes, but not in the sense that I see in Ezekiel. Here the prophet is told to eat these words and then go and speak them to the house of Israel. When I give retreats for prospective preachers, I emphasize an intimate knowledge of the word of God in the scriptures. This is not obtained by receiving the Lord in the Eucharist. It comes from reading and meditating on the scriptures - something many Catholics are not accustomed to doing. We are more accustomed to devotions. But the most popular devotion of all, the Rosary, is designed to have us focus on the scriptures, and that purpose is often lost. Popes Benedict and Francis have recommended the practice of "lectio divina" which is a daily practice of reading a passage of scripture and meditating on it. A word I have heard in connection with this is "ruminating," which is a bit like chewing the cud! The prophet, Jeremiah, speaks of "devouring" the words of God. We may not have to chew up our bibles or misalets, but we can interiorize the word of God so that we can share God's words with others from the heart and mind which have "eaten" them. Pass the scriptures, please! AMEN
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