If You Want The Mercy Of God Ponder His Word In Sacred Scriptures

Pope Francis signs his third Encyclical Fratelli Tutti on Oct 3, 2020 in Assisi Italy.

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he common thread in all readings on this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time which is also called Sunday of the Word of God is that of "urgency." "After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). On 30 September 2019, the liturgical Memorial of Saint Jerome, on the inauguration of the 1600th anniversary of his death, Pope Francis declared this Sunday as “a Sunday given over entirely to the Word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people” (Aperuit Illis [AA] 2).

What is this sense of great "urgency" that the readings are telling us today? It is as urgent as the urgency that is brought about by the Coronavirus in our world. Having no time to lose, everyone is being urged to go back to the source, that is, the Word of God. What does the Word of God give to us? To the one who meditates on the Word, he or she receives God himself, and his unfailing mercy.

In an Apostolic Letter "Aperuit Illis" the Holy Father asks that various communities "find their own ways to mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity. It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word. On this Sunday, it would be particularly appropriate to highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord and to emphasize in the homily the honor that it is due. Bishops could celebrate the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a similar commissioning of readers, in order to bring out the importance of the proclamation of God’s word in the liturgy. In this regard, renewed efforts should be made to provide members of the faithful with the training needed to be genuine proclaimers of the word, as is already the practice in the case of acolytes or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of lectio divina’" (AI 3).

Three Movements Of God's Mercy Through His Word

1. Movement from God to self: It was at the closing of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy when the Sunday of the Word of God was finally conceived and in response to the many requests received by the Holy Father from the people of God. Mercy is the pervading theme of this celebration and to contemplate the Word of God to contemplate the "Face of Mercy" who is Jesus Christ.

To feel God's mercy, we need to go to his words in Scripture. The Word of God is the bedrock of God's unfailing mercy. During the opening of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis wrote in Misericordiae Vultus, “'It is proper to God to exercise mercy, and he manifests his omnipotence particularly in this way'. St Thomas Aquinas’ words show that God’s mercy, rather than a sign of weakness, is the mark of his omnipotence. For this reason the liturgy, in one of its most ancient collects, has us pray: 'O God, who reveal your power above all in your mercy and forgiveness …' Throughout the history of humanity, God will always be the One who is present, close, provident, holy, and merciful" (Misericordiae Vultus 6).

2. Movement from self to God: “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Lk 24:45). How did God communicate himself with us? "Jesus appeared to the assembled disciples, broke bread with them and opened their minds to the understanding of the sacred Scriptures. To them, amid their fear and bewilderment, he unveiled the meaning of the paschal mystery: that in accordance with the Father’s eternal plan he had to suffer and rise from the dead, in order to bring repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Lk 24:26.46-47). He then promised to send the Holy Spirit, who would give them strength to be witnesses of this saving mystery (Lk 24:49) (AI 1).

"The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our minds to them, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his Church in this world would remain incomprehensible. Hence, Saint Jerome could rightly claim: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Commentary on the Book of Isaiah, Prologue: PL 24,17B) (AI 1).

To know who we are deeply, we need to go to his words in Scripture. The Word of God is the way, the truth and the life.

3. Movement from self to all brothers and sisters: Last October 3, 2020, Pope Francis published his third encyclical Fratelli Tutti which, similar to the Sunday of the Word of God, has an important ecumenical value. Pope Francis affirms that "Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity... to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity" (AI 3). Jesus looks at human bonds as having no walls and boundaries. He said, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice” (Lk 8:21). This has important consequences for the understanding of true Christian family. It is not the blood element that ties up families but those who hear God's word and live by it.

"The sweetness of God’s word leads us to share it with all those whom we encounter in this life and to proclaim the sure hope that it contains (cf. 1 Pet 3:15-16). Its bitterness, in turn, often comes from our realization of how difficult it is to live that word consistently, or our personal experience of seeing it rejected as meaningless for life. We should never take God’s word for granted, but instead let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with him and with our brothers and sisters" (AI 12).

Fr JM Manzano SJ