HUNG UPON EVERY WORD
Today's
reading from the Book of Revelation talks about John's encounter with an angel.
The angel gives him a scroll and instructs him to "Take and swallow it. It
will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as
honey" (Rev 10:9). Consuming the scroll is a symbol used to describe
John's vocation and, of course, that of Jesus Christ. God calls them to deliver
the Divine message, considering it to be an honor, and leaving the words they
would speak tasting "like sweet honey" (Rev 10:10). However, the
message itself is often demanding and unwelcome to those who hear it, making
the "stomach sour."
Even the
Son of God, in His human nature, must have found a prophet's task fearful at
times. The Agony in the Garden, among other things, shows us that Jesus Christ
feared and trembled before the implications of His vocation. In the Gospels we
see Jesus being led by physical force into Jerusalem knowing He would meet certain death
on the cross, but also victory for our sake. His act of judgment in the temple
is meant to be a sign and warning to the people that our heavenly Father takes
our worship very seriously. In this incident we see Jesus' startling and swift
action in cleansing the temple of those who were using it to exploit the worshipers
of God. The money changers took advantage of them and forced them to pay much
more than what was expected. And on top of all this they did it in God's House.
Not good!
The leaders
of the people found Jesus to be a great threat. In addition to the chief
priests and scribes, we can also be resistant to anything new, including the
teaching of our Lord and Savior. This is often related to our perception that
it will threaten our status or the comforts of our modern day. Jesus Christ was
usurping the authority of the religious leaders in the House of His Father and
despite the objections of their leaders, the people who listened to Him
teaching daily in the temple regarded Him with great respect. St. Luke tells us
that "They hung upon Jesus' Words" (Lk 19:48).
Let us pray
that we, too, will approach God's Word with a humble, attentive heart and with
a willingness to be taught by Him. Allowing God's Word to change and transform
us in His likeness so we can continue to grow in holiness.
How hungry
are we for the Word of God?