Embrace the Word in Its Entirety
“Every
Word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Add nothing to his words, lest he reprove you, and you be exposed as a
deceiver” (Proverbs 30:5).
One
time, I was celebrating Mass. The Gospel then was Matthew 18 where
Peter asked Jesus whether one should forgive as many as seven times. In
response Jesus said, “No, not seven times, but seventy times seven!” I
was hurting that time from an offense a trusted friend inflicted on me. I
must confess, I didn’t feel like reading Jesus’ response. I even felt
like changing Jesus’ response to “forgiving once is enough, Peter.”
There
are days like that when God’s Word makes real demands on you and you
feel like adding or subtracting or changing altogether God’s Word. But
the Word of God is the Word of God. As today’s First Reading emphasizes,
“Every Word of God is tested... add nothing to his words....” A
temptation to all believers is to domesticate God’s message — to make it
convenient, less demanding, non-exacting. The Israelites of Moses’
times complained about the “demands” Yahweh was expecting from them.
What did they do? They carved their own god, a molten calf — a god that
they can manipulate, a
“mute” god who will not make demands from them.
We
still have that mentality in our day and age. Instead of conforming
ourselves to God’s image, we want to conform God into our image. Be it
in the area of religion, work, public life, or sex life, we manipulate
God’s Word to our own convenience. Yes, God became man. But it did not
stop there. God became man so that man might become like God. Let us not
invert the process. God is to be trusted. He is Father and everything
He proposes is all to our best interest. Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: As
a hearer of God’s Words, do you sometimes add or subtract something
from the words of Scripture? In what area of your life do you usually
“edit” the efficacy of God’s Word? Pray for healing in that area.
“Every Word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Amen.”
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