{"id":955,"date":"2013-01-28T08:27:34","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T13:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=955"},"modified":"2013-01-28T08:27:34","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T13:27:34","slug":"the-value-of-the-word-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/the-value-of-the-word-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"The Value of the Word of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C<\/a>
\nNehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
\n1 Corinthians 12:12-30
\nLuke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
\nJanuary 27, 2013<\/p>\n

The first verses of our gospel today are the very first verses of the Gospel of Luke.\u00a0 Here Luke tells us why he writes the gospel, \u201cto provide an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that Luke\u00a0 and the evangelists took the time to write down the gospel is a gift for us.\u00a0 Without this and the other gospels we would not have this record of Jesus\u2019 ministry and teaching that is so important to understanding who we are as Christians.<\/p>\n

The first reading today begins with Ezra bringing the law before the people and reading out of it.\u00a0 He then interprets it so that all might understand it.<\/p>\n

We can parallel this to what we are have are doing.\u00a0 We just heard readings from the Bible and now break open the Word.\u00a0 We spend half our Mass on it and we call it the Liturgy of the Word.\u00a0 As Catholics, the Bible as the Word of God is important to us.<\/p>\n

But there is a little more to the story with Ezra and Nehemiah that should help us appreciate the written Word all the more.<\/p>\n

The people had not heard the Law read to them in a long term.\u00a0 When we say \u201claw\u201d we are referring to the writings of Moses and what God prescribed through the writings.\u00a0 It had been a long time since it had been read.\u00a0 Without the written Word, the law may have been lost forever.\u00a0 This is why we should be grateful that Luke and the other evangelists wrote down the gospels so that we might still have them today.<\/p>\n

It is God\u2019s Word that helps bind us together in our faith.\u00a0 Because we have a universal lectionary used in every Catholic Church across the world, as we celebrate Mass today, we are hearing the same words that every other Catholic who comes to Mass today hears.<\/p>\n

It also binds us across time with everyone who has shared the Bible.\u00a0 The Bible is not just God\u2019s Word written down for people who lived 2,000 years ago.\u00a0 It is a living breathing document.\u00a0 Some say we just need the Gospels (and the rest of the New Testament).\u00a0 They think the Old Testament is no longer relevant, superseded by Jesus.\u00a0 But the Old Testament is vital to understand the story of God\u2019s relationship with his people throughout the ages.<\/p>\n

Their story is our story.<\/p>\n

Paul writes of how we are one body in Christ.\u00a0 We are different.\u00a0 I already commented on how every Catholic Church will use these same readings today.\u00a0 But the readings will be done in many different languages and broken up in many different cultures.<\/p>\n

In the homily, the words from scripture will be broken open (interpreted) according to the community in which they are heard.\u00a0 A community facing a tragedy this week may hear the beginning of Jesus\u2019 ministry and think about how they are praying that Jesus come into their community to bring healing.\u00a0 Meanwhile, another community may have celebrated a joyous event and give thanks for all that Jesus has done for them.<\/p>\n

To me one of the great gifts of our Catholic Church is the unity we share through our bishops and pope, celebrating a common Mass rather than everyone doing their own thing.\u00a0 I went to a Mass once in Vietnamese.\u00a0 I do not know a single word of Vietnamese but because of our common Mass, I knew throughout the whole Mass what was going on.<\/p>\n

We live in a world that teaches us to focus on ourselves and the accumulation of material goods.\u00a0 What\u2019s in it for me?<\/p>\n

In this thinking, there is no common truth.\u00a0 Everyone is out for themselves.\u00a0 We look for people who agree with us.\u00a0 In this way of thinking people develop their own \u201ctruth.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not what our faith teaches us.\u00a0 Our faith does not look for us to prove ourselves right or develop our own truth.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t have to develop truth for ourselves.\u00a0 We can find lots of facts (science) about how things we work.\u00a0 We can know facts of history and dates.<\/p>\n

This is not the truth we are called to seek in our hearts.\u00a0 The truth that we are called to is not a matter of the brain but of the heart and soul.<\/p>\n

Jesus brings us the \u201cTruth\u201d that really matters.\u00a0 It is \u201cTruth\u201d with a capital \u201cT\u201d.\u00a0 It is a Truth that never changes because it comes from God.\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus tells us that he is the way and the truth and the life.<\/p>\n

We have only begun to understand what the Truth really is but the Truth has been set by God from all eternity.<\/p>\n

Through the Spirit we are united in the Truth of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 May we always seek and follow his truth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21 January 27, 2013 The first verses of our gospel today are the very first verses of the Gospel of Luke.\u00a0 Here Luke tells us why he writes the gospel, \u201cto provide an orderly sequence for you, most excellent …<\/p>\n

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