OF mentions the word of God at the beginning of today’s liturgical reading (which you may have already listened to or may have listened to live at St. Mass in the church). It is an essential theme of the Acts of the Apostles. Peter and John boldly preached it (Acts 4,31); The twelve did not want to neglect him, therefore they appointed seven deacons, and it then spread (6,2.7). Later, Samaria received the word of God (8,14), and pagans in the person of Cornelius and his house also joined (11,1). God’s word goes further and further on its way from Jerusalem, touching different people and changing their lives. God’s word spreads and flourishes (v. 24) because it is alive.
is that actually God’s word? God enters into communication, he echoes. He speaks through creation, through events in history, through the Holy Scriptures; he speaks to man. But the big secret that is revealed to us is, as Benedict XVI writes. Verbum Domini exhorts that God „ from eternity utters his Word in the Holy Spirit…“ (Verbum Domini, 6). God himself is the communication of love that takes place between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is the specificity of Christianity. The Son of God, who became man, the Word made flesh, invites us to enter into this constant communication of love.
The Holy Ghost says in our excerpt (v. 2), and Barnabas, with Saul and others in Antioch, hear him. The Word of the Spirit found a soil prepared by fasting and prayer in them. It is not that God is subject to these elements of piety, but that he arouses them. But there is always the listener’s responsibility not to dull the organ of hearing that makes it possible to capture God’s message. Barnabas and Saul went on an apostolic mission, during which they preached God’s word (v. 5), because the word had already taken root in them and was growing.
Now, when we again have the opportunity to be personally present at St. Mass and receive the Eucharist (even if in a limited mode), let’s make sure that the entirety of God’s word does not fall on the earth“ due to our inattention. May God’s word bring us an abundant harvest.
