Let us consider some themes of this Third Sunday of Ordinary Time: the themes of passing from darkness into light, of moving from factions to unity, and the theme of call, the call of the first Apostles. Today is also the Sunday of the Word of God.
The first reading, from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, speaks to us of people that had walked in darkness, and are now seeing a great light. Today is the Sunday of the Word of God: perhaps it would be helpful for us to consider how much the Holy Scripture, the Bible, “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105, RSV). In facing the different situations of life, in making decisions, great or small, how much do we rely upon the Holy Scripture, particularly the Gospel? Dei Verbum, Vatican II’s constitution on Divine Revelation, states that “in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them” (Dei Verbum, 21). Yes, it is indeed the Father who wants to encounter us, to meet us, and to speak to us in His great care and compassion for every single human being.
The question for most of us is not “do I want to read the Scriptures,” but “how do I read more of the Scriptures?" Following the daily readings from the missalette is one way to do this. Attending daily Mass is yet another way to introduce more Scripture into our lives. Another way to become more Scripturally-based is praying the Breviary. The Breviary prayer is made up of Scripture readings. Applications on electronic devices exist which can read out passages of Scripture, as, let’s say, you’re getting ready for the day, or even when you’re driving. Many times I have been surprised by how a certain passage from the daily readings, or from the Breviary, suddenly “speaks” to a situation. The word of God is truly the living word.
Our second reading, from the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, is an appeal to not have divisions or dissensions in the Church, in Greek schismata. As we hear the words of St. Paul addressed to the Corinthians, we should remember to not look at the Church as a political organization, where different factions are in conflict with each other. “I belong to Cephas,” or Paul, or Apollos, or Christ. St. Paul puts it pretty bluntly in asking, “Was Paul crucified for you?” St. Augustine, commenting on this passage, mentions that St. Paul is a “friend of the Bridegroom…He wills not to be loved in the place of the Bridegroom, that he may reign with the Bridegroom” (The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, M.F. Toal ed., vol. 3, pg. 30, 1959). In other words, St. Paul wants to take the attention off of himself, and give it to Christ, where it properly belongs. This is helpful for us as well, as we evaluate the various movements and groups within the Church, and as we evaluate those who claim to have received extraordinary graces and visions – in the end, are they getting attention for themselves, putting themselves on center stage – or are they truly concerned with the Body of Christ and saying, “don’t pay attention to me – Christ should be your main focus of attention?”
Despite the power politics that at times demonstrate themselves in the Church, the Church is a living body, made up of different members, with Christ as the cornerstone. Despite human failings, the Church is always drawing upon the supernatural power, the unitive strength, of Jesus Christ, Her founder, which is coupled with the generative strength – as the Church continually gives birth to new members, through baptism. The unitive goes along with the generative. It is Christ who gives the apostles and their successors, especially Peter, their strength and authority. Pope Francis, in his document instituting the Sunday of the Word of God, says, “The Bible is the book of the Lord’s people, who, in listening to it, move from dispersion and division towards unity” (Pope Francis, Aperuit illis, 4, 30 September 2019). The Word of God, the Holy Scripture, is also a means of unity. This is because the Scripture has a healing quality to it: it speaks to our sinfulness and woundedness, as it heals us. Meditating on the words of Scripture has a healing character. As we are healed, we are able to be in deeper union with other members of Christ’s Church.
Finally, in the Gospel, we have the beautiful call of two pairs of brothers – Jesus asks Peter and Andrew, James and John, to follow Him. Family ties between brothers and sisters, parents and children, these are not made obsolete by the Gospel – instead, they are transformed. Perhaps we too can ask Jesus in prayer – help me to transform my family relationships, so that they are more conformed, more in line, with the Gospel. This transformation is effected, is started by, an encounter with the Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed Virgin Mary, you are the mother of the Word made Flesh. We encounter this living Word also through the Holy Scriptures. May you help us to understand the Scriptures, mother Mary, and apply them to our lives.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, Jan. 22, 2023)