"Aperuit illis” - He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45)
“Dear brothers and sisters let us make room inside ourselves for the word of God! Each day let us read a verse or two of the Bible. Let us begin with the Gospel: let us keep it open on our table, carry it in our pocket or bag, read it on our cell phones, and allow it to inspire us daily. We will discover that God is close to us, that he dispels our darkness and, with great love, leads our lives into deep waters.” (Pope Francis, Homily, January 26, 2020)
Tomorrow, we will celebrate, the Sunday of the Word of God, announced by Holy FatherFrancis in the Apostolic Letter in the form of the Motu Proprio "Aperuit illis”, (please see attachment) to "increase the religious and intimate knowledge of the Scriptures in the People of God". For the next three days I wish to share with you my meditations and my entrustment to the Word of God.
We are entrusted to the word.
“And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of His that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.” (Acts 20: 32)
He probably says it to them in Greek, as Luke wrote it - the word commend -paratithemi(παρατίθημι) here means "to put into care", "to trust as a deposit".
It is extremely important to discover that we are given as a deposit to the Word of God, that we are entrusted to Him - to be looked after. We are committed to the strong and creative hands of the Word of God. We usually think the opposite: that this Word is God's deposit in our hands and entrusted to our message.
It is true: The Word is entrusted to us, but first we are entrusted to the Word. This is a message for everyone, but especially for the "elders", that is for those who have been specifically entrusted with responsibility for the message of the Word and for building the Church, and - as we say - for "guarding the deposit of faith". When undertaking this task, it is not difficult to forget that primary in faith is the attitude of the disciple. Very often, the attitude of the disciple is replaced by theattitude of the teacher and expert, or - even worse - the manager (owner) and administrator. It is then easy to confuse the Word with your own - after all limited - understanding of it: impose our own interpretation of faith on others as the only correct and binding one. It is easy to start organizing the Church our way. But only this Word has the power to build, not we. It is It that makes us heirs and coheirs. For the heritage must be given to us. Ourselves alone do not have rights to it and to demand it in our own way is usurpation and arrogance.(Lecture of Abp. G. Rys)
We are therefore entrusted to the Word which surpasses us. It is still ahead of us - as a great Reality to be known, to be explored. Paul invites us to submit ourselves to the discipline of the Word in obedience - to trust It in humility - rather than to our calculations and projects. It is not for me to "master the text" of the Bible; it is this Text that is to dominate me. Then true lectio Divina takes place: I allow God to "read my life to me" in the light of the Word, and I do not try to impose my own constructs on the Word.
Saint Paul makes it clear that he entrusts us to the Word of Grace. The Word of God is therefore not only "the Word of wisdom" and"knowledge." It is worth submitting to Him not only because God is smarter than us and that he just "knows better”. The Word of God carries with its grace - that is, saving power - a power that is ultimately nothing but an experience of love. Here I am discovering that I am a disciple whom Jesus loves - this experience enlightens me and enables me to act. In union with the Lord, in communion with Him, I can do things seemingly impossible.
God reveals extraordinary perspectives to us through the Word. He shows a beautiful reality - his intention in relation to creation, to us, to me, to you. But what would be for me from the perspective of such beauty if I were not able to reach for it? Meanwhile, with the Word that bears a promise, possibilities immediately come: armed with the Power from on high (Lk 24:49). To entrust ourselves to the Word means to entrust ourselves not only to Word Wisdom, but also to Its transforming power and love for us. The Word is not just a wise "book" once written; it is a dynamic reality, living and effective today - here and now. The Word is a Person. The Word is Jesus Christ
A word about today's Gospel - For they said, “He is out of his mind. Mk 3,21
In Orthodoxy there is a term "Yurodivy " which means: Foolishness for Christ. Yurodivy are people who live in such a way that others do not consider them wise, but fools, literally insane. This attitude, of course, has nothing to do with mental illness. This is a kind of asceticism, a renunciation that characterizes saints. Yurodivy were also St. Francis and St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is interesting that 1500 years after Christ, St. Ignatius will hear from his contemporaries that he has also lost his mind. He will hear it in the early stages of conversion. When he is merely fixed on Jesus and indifferent to anything that does not lead him to Jesus. They would say about him: Loco por Cristo - a fool for Christ.
In their radical conversion, they became mad about God, so much so that others saw them as out of touch with life. This detachment was not only apparent, because in fact they practiced a natural minimalism in attachment to material things. They spent all their time preaching the Word. Jesus’ relatives see similar behavior in Him today’s Gospel. Even though they know that He came precisely to do the will of God the Father, that the Word might be fulfilled. The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.
Why today in the Gospel, Jesus' contemporaries say that He is out of his mind? The answer is simple. Because Jesus was only interested in doing the Father's will. To show the world that God is a Good Father who cares for all his children.
If you truly live a spiritual life, you have probably asked yourself more than once: Does it all make sense? Is it all sticking together? Or maybe your loved ones, when they heard that you were going to retreat, said: Are you crazy? Or: What is this sect? Or: Why pray so much? Isn't it better to get on with ordinary life?
Until Tomorrow
fr. george