Nothing diminishes the word of God

Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.

A reflection on the daily readings, for the Memorial of St. Benedict, abbot, by Father Perry.

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor

+ We continue with our scriptural cycles, including Hosea and Matthew. We also realize that there are additional optional readings for the memorial of St. Benedict; but here we will continue with the readings of the day, that is, Thursday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time.

The themes we have been hearing since we began with Hosea and continue with Matthew definitely intensify.

God laments almost tearfully as he speaks of all of his gestures of love for Israel. God painfully speaks —

“When Israel was a child I loved him,
out of Egypt I called my son.
The more I called them,
the farther they went from me.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms.”

Ephraim.

God personifies Israel and Ephraim, and finally laments —

“My heart is overwhelmed,
my pity is stirred.”

Then when God admits he has a “blazing anger,” he also proclaims that he would not “give vent to” that anger or express it against Israel or Ephraim.

But then finally we hear what we now believe about our God — who is love — as God describes why he would not (and I would say, could not) get angry.

From God’s own lips (so to speak), God says there would be no anger because —

“For I am God and not a man,
the Holy One present among you.”

Amen! Now that’s the God I know! He is not like us; but he invites us to become like him. Quite frankly, it appears as though the word of God (as selected and collected here) furthers this notion in the responsorial psalm response we repeat several times today, as we say or sing —

“Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.”

That, all should recall, is the exact opposite of what the Jews believed so firmly in the time of Moses; for even they told Moses he should not go up onto the mountain of the Lord. And God forbid he would ever look at God’s face, for if he did, he would surely die! Of course, that didn’t happen. But what did happen is that when he came down from the mountain, his face was shining with that light that came from the inside of his face and head, and it startled the Jews.

And so they said, “When Aaron, then, and the other Israelites saw Moses and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become, they were afraid to come near him.”

Not that is what you call fear or awe of the Lord.

But now our psalm proclaims our desire to look upon the face of the Lord our God.

The Gospel intensifies also as Jesus gives multiple instructions as to what and how the new apostles were to go into the towns and villages to proclaim the kingdom of God.

They were to pour themselves into service and not for money. They were to be like Jesus.

In the last verses today, Jesus talks about people unworthy of the peace being offered to them and who would not listen —

“Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words — go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.”

Yikes! This was the time that had been awaited; and some just wouldn’t see it, and they wouldn’t get it. But there could be no diminishing the word of God, the Gospel of the Lord!