Daily Retreat 07/04/08
2008 Jul 4 Fri: Ordinary Weekday/ Elizabeth of Portugal, mw
Am 8: 4-6. 9-12/ Ps 118(119): 2. 10. 20. 30. 40. 131/ Mt 9: 9-13
From today’s readings: “Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD.... Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.... Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”
Hunger for the Word of God
We all experientially know the meaning of the word “hunger,” but few, if any of us, have suffered the all-consuming starvation hunger of a land in the grip of famine. Just consider your most ravenous moments, when you hadn’t eaten for hours or perhaps even days, and realize that such torment is only a mild taste of the torture of starvation. Not pleasant to think of, at all!
And yet, the prophet Amos speaks of an even greater agony: famine for hearing the word of the Lord! Most of us take our food supply pretty much for granted - when you and I hear talk of drought, we might muse that bread prices will go up a few cents per loaf. And yet, with effort, we can at least vaguely imagine the personal effects of a severe food shortage so acute that we would be worried about where the next meal would be coming from. Under such conditions, it would be hard to think of anything else. Amos foresaw the day when the comforting word of the Lord, taken for granted far too long, would become similarly scarce, when, like starving scavengers, the people would search desperately for God’s word, but not find it.
This prophecy was fulfilled during the Babylonian exile, so much so that when the deportees finally were allowed to return, and the word of the Lord was proclaimed for the first time in years by Ezra the scribe, the people were moved to tears at finally hearing what they had so hungered for (cf. Nehemiah 8:9).
Like our food, you and I easily take for granted our ready access to scripture, so we can become picky about it, and even let it grow cold in our sight, only nibbling at it, instead of eating heartily of the nourishment of God’s word. But when we consider the plight of those dying from starvation, we become more grateful for the food on our plate, and are less wasteful, and even filled with a Christian resolve to share our blessings with those in need.
Likewise, when you and I call to mind peoples throughout history (and even many in our world today!) who are utterly deprived of the word of God, then the bountiful blessing of our biblical banquet which we feast on daily is better appreciated, and so, resolving to share the blessing of the word of God with all those in need, we prevent the generous helpings we have received from ever going to waste.
Am 8: 4-6. 9-12/ Ps 118(119): 2. 10. 20. 30. 40. 131/ Mt 9: 9-13
From today’s readings: “Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD.... Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.... Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.”
Hunger for the Word of God
We all experientially know the meaning of the word “hunger,” but few, if any of us, have suffered the all-consuming starvation hunger of a land in the grip of famine. Just consider your most ravenous moments, when you hadn’t eaten for hours or perhaps even days, and realize that such torment is only a mild taste of the torture of starvation. Not pleasant to think of, at all!
And yet, the prophet Amos speaks of an even greater agony: famine for hearing the word of the Lord! Most of us take our food supply pretty much for granted - when you and I hear talk of drought, we might muse that bread prices will go up a few cents per loaf. And yet, with effort, we can at least vaguely imagine the personal effects of a severe food shortage so acute that we would be worried about where the next meal would be coming from. Under such conditions, it would be hard to think of anything else. Amos foresaw the day when the comforting word of the Lord, taken for granted far too long, would become similarly scarce, when, like starving scavengers, the people would search desperately for God’s word, but not find it.
This prophecy was fulfilled during the Babylonian exile, so much so that when the deportees finally were allowed to return, and the word of the Lord was proclaimed for the first time in years by Ezra the scribe, the people were moved to tears at finally hearing what they had so hungered for (cf. Nehemiah 8:9).
Like our food, you and I easily take for granted our ready access to scripture, so we can become picky about it, and even let it grow cold in our sight, only nibbling at it, instead of eating heartily of the nourishment of God’s word. But when we consider the plight of those dying from starvation, we become more grateful for the food on our plate, and are less wasteful, and even filled with a Christian resolve to share our blessings with those in need.
Likewise, when you and I call to mind peoples throughout history (and even many in our world today!) who are utterly deprived of the word of God, then the bountiful blessing of our biblical banquet which we feast on daily is better appreciated, and so, resolving to share the blessing of the word of God with all those in need, we prevent the generous helpings we have received from ever going to waste.
posted by FrPitstick | 6/30/2008
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