Why Did God Give Us His Word?
by Fr. Erasto Fernandez
Communication is very important among humans especially when it is a question of building a relationship between people. Solitary confinement all along in a prison cell is about the worst punishment a person could receive for his misdeeds. And in the art of communication which has several aspects to it, perhaps the most important and tricky one is the art of listening. As we are often reminded: "I cannot tell you what you have said! I can only tell you what I have heard." This statement simply underlines the truth that whether we are aware of it or not, we all have filters over our ears and we hear only what we are programmed to hear. Now this procedure can be extremely dangerous when dealing with other humans who communicate with us. And what shall we say about our communication with God?
As it is we are reminded in prophet Isaiah, that "My ways are not your ways. As far as the east is from the west, so far are My thoughts from your thoughts." So then, since God's ways are so radically different from ours, wouldn't we need special skills when seeking to listen to God's message to us. Add to this a centuries-old training among most Catholics whereby we listen only to the moral angle of the Word of God. The moment we hear a passage of Scripture read for us in the Liturgy, our first (and often only) thought is: 'what does this require me to do? How do I put it into practice? Where do I stand with regard to this message?' But it seems reasonable to demand that before we can attend to the how to practice the truth, we must first understand 'what' is the truth we are being told.
Some further difficulties
On top of all this is the fact, often un-noticed, that the Scriptural authors wrote as people of their specific historical circumstances: time, place, culture and the rest of it. So, when we try to understand and interpret their message from a 21st century point of view, the message will inevitably be different, if not distorted. To take a simple example: When calling his first disciples, Jesus tells them: "I will make you fishers of men." Most people who listen to this understand it as saying that the apostles are being called to go out and attract people into God's Kingdom.
While this meaning is certainly valid and useful, yet it becomes different and a lot richer when we hear these words 'fishers of men' against the backdrop of Jer. 16:16. In this exilic context, with his chosen people suffering in the foreign land of captivity, God says through the prophet that he will engage 'fishermen' and hunters to collect all his scattered people and bring them back to their homeland! The idea behind this is that in his great love, God doesn't want even one of his chosen ones (no matter that they have been unfaithful and had rejected his love) to be left behind but every one of them is precious enough to be sought out carefully. Now fishermen and hunters are noted for their keen and sharp vision and alertness; nothing escapes their attention. They would be the best instruments to ensure that every single person is found and enabled to return to safety and freedom. Thus, the apostles are being called to this function: to ensure that 'all the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God!'
This kind of imagery and idiom is largely foreign to our way of thinking today and hence we would need the help of experts and their commentaries to guide us discover this rich layer of meaning. This kind of discovery becomes a lot easier when it is done in a group: what one person misses another might be able to catch and thus the whole group benefits. Besides, there are other peculiarities of language and expression which we need to note if we are to get the deeper meaning of the Word of God.
Proclaiming the Word
Another factor often missed is that if one doesn't understand the real meaning of the Word oneself, one cannot proclaim it effectively to others! This is actually self-evident, for as the saying goes: 'One cannot give to another what one does not have!' Yet, most of those who come up to proclaim the Word during the Liturgy would see their function as consisting simply of reading the printed words, not so much of conveying their meaning which most often is dependent on inflection of voice, proper pauses and grouping of words and phrases, proper emphasis where it is due and so on.
Thus, not only to listen to the Word profitably, but also to proclaim it effectively, one would need to take the time and trouble to delve into its deeper meaning. From this angle one general principle would help: Every passage of the Scriptures is primarily intended to reveal something about God, and not about ourselves. So, both proclaimer and listener would need to be on the lookout for this: what does this passage tell me about God's love?
With these few reminders we present to you a new series in which we offer some insights into the Word of God in the hope that they will alert you to the riches it contains. Evidently, having read these suggestions, one would need to practice the principles involved before becoming adept in picking out the meaning effortlessly during the reading itself. For generally, there isn't much time that we get during the Liturgy to sit back and relish the Word. One has to be quick and attentive if one is really going to commune with the Lord through the Word. Also, the more we practice listening to others around us all through the day, seeking more for the meaning than the mere sound of their words, the better will we be able to deal with God's Word in the Liturgy.
This year dedicated to the Word would be a good occasion for all to do some serious reflection on how they usually listen to God's Word and improve ourselves to some degree at least. We wish all our readers a fruitful listenin
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Copyright © Fr. Erasto Fernandez. All rights reserved.
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