One of the things that amazes me about reading Sacred Scripture, is that no matter how many times I’ve read a passage something new comes to light. It never gets old. For me, the Sacred Scripture is the seed that’s planted in my heart as I listen to it at the Liturgy of the Mass or reading it privately. Hopefully, that seed is growing and producing much fruit through my daily blog posts and in my relationships with my wife, our kids and grandkids, extended family members, friends, and colleagues.
The three readings I reflected on today look at what we do with the Word. In Deuteronomy, Moses is encouraging the people to follow the words of God’s statutes and decrees, commandments; these help the people to become closer to God and allow them to become a “great nation” full of “wisdom and intelligence” because they put their trust in the commandments of God (Deuteronomy 4:1-8). The flip side of this is found in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus is calling out the Pharisees for becoming so caught up in the Law that they ignore what’s in their hearts. Over time the people have forgotten what the Law was really for, growing closer to God (Mark 7:1-23). In the Letter from James, we learn to “be doers of the word and not hearers only.” That the word is not just to hear but to put into action (James 1:17-27). What do I do with what I hear in Scripture? What is God calling me to do? How is it helping me to grow closer to God?
When we read Sacred Scripture and “humbly welcome the word”, something is planted in us and it’s up to us to nurture that seed and to wait and see what plant comes forth. Is it Faith? Hope? or Love? Gratitude, fortitude, or acceptance? It may be forgiveness or the willingness to forgive. Many gifts await us when we plant many seeds in the garden of our heart and tend to it.
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