Humbly Welcome the Word

Dear Friend,

As I write this, shock, grief, and anger are the dominant currents in the emotional atmosphere here in the U.S. and around the globe. The withdrawal of Americans and our allies continues to unfold in Afghanistan with news of lives tragically lost amidst the violence and chaos. In Haiti, the death toll from the earthquake has risen to more than 2.000. As one parishioner put it to me this week, “I feel like the world is on a ‘spin cycle’ and I don’t know what to do.”

The first reading from Deuteronomy this week speaks of a nation being taught by God and challenged to absorb the wisdom of God’s decrees. The reference of course is to the people of Israel, whom the Lord called and nourished with the law. As our friend Father Jude Siciliano points out, this wisdom was to serve them over time, through changing circumstances, in times of prosperity and in times when their fortunes brought them low, even in times of exile and radical displacement.

The Letter of James points to Christ as the embodiment of this wisdom and asks us to “humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.” Authentic religion, he says, is “care for orphans and widows in their affliction.” In the gospel, Jesus points us to our hearts which become the key site for God’s transformative grace and our conversion.

In some sense, all of us, through our baptism are “ministers” of God’s word and wisdom. In these times which make us all more vulnerable - with the wounds of the body of Christ on full display - we are called to make God’s wisdom the framework for every conversation we are engaged in and God’s word the compass for every action we take.  

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan ofm, Pastor