ON ACCEPTING THE WORD OF GOD
⏰Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time 2 (14 August 2018 – Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe)
📖Ezek 2:8 – 3:4; Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131 (R.v.103a); Matt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The word of God is instructive, corrective and redemptive. It may not come to us the way we expect or like, and that is why it is at times painful. But its purpose is always for our own good. Some other times, it may be very sweet to our hearing but its demands, very painful to us.
Consider that in the light of the experience of the prophet Ezekiel in Ezek 2:8 – 3:4. The prophet was told to eat the scroll containing the word of God on woes and suffering. Yet, this scroll was sweet in his mouth. The mixture of the two opposites, sweet and sour, in the same scroll confirms the corrective and redemptive nature of the word of God. Through the sufferings that people encounter in life, God intends to bring them into the joy of his own community.
Remember that Jesus is the Word of God personified (cf. John 1:1-3). He faced opposition especially from the Jews (cf. Matt 11:1 – 13:58) because his teaching brought pains them.
To be able to accept Jesus, the Word of God, and follow him well in building a harmonious community of God’s people, Jesus teaches his disciples on the importance of humility and forgiveness of one another (Matt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14).
If we can really overcome our ego and embrace those two virtues, we shall assist in building up a community of love for God. In this way, we can really heed God’s call to us today to be different from the world (cf. Ezek 2:3).
We can see an example of that in the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose memorial we celebrate today. While in Nazi prison, a young man who had a young family was chosen to be executed in place of another man who had escaped from the prison. Considering the pain this would bring to the family, Kolbe opted to take his place in death. Like Christ, he offered his life for others.
May God give us the grace to accept his word always and use it to build up our life and that of others for God.
Have a loving and grace-filled day ahead. Peace be with you.
