One Great Fold, One Holy Family

MEMORIAL: SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN, MARTYRS

Ezra 6:7-8,12,14-20
Luke 8:19-21

Whenever we wake up in the morning and whatever we do throughout the day, we must always give praise and thanks to God our Father for all his blessings and favor upon us. We should also acknowledge those who do good to us. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ praises his mother for hearing and doing the word. As we all know, Mary was first presented to us as hearing and receiving the word in Luke 1:38; Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word. Again in Luke 2:19; 51, we find Mary treasuring all these things in her heart. She pondered about the word of God in every event that she encountered.
It means that prayer is vital to hear God’s Word just as hearing and doing God’s Word is at the heart of following Christ-Word incarnate.

The salient question is where do we encounter God’s Word and our best can we appreciate it. Firstly, God speaks to us in so many ways. We start with the creation account. In Genesis, God speaks his word and all creatures came forth and he found them very good. Psalm 33:6 tells us that by the word of God, the heavens were made. Even now, the overwhelming beauty of nature eloquently speaks to us of the power and wisdom of its creator. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans1:20.

More importantly, God’s word is especially experienced in Scripture.  It is the most precious and authentic way of hearing God’s voice. Jeremiah 15:16 says, Your words were found and I ate them. As someone would say, “We must always have a big appetite when we encounter His Word”. We must have a passion to digest His word by studying and pondering upon it to know what He is speaking to us!

In the faith that we all share, we encounter God’s Word, especially in the Church, the sacraments, and his faithful people, God constantly speaks to us. Scripture also warned us of our hardness of heart and it is only through our repentance, the life of grace, and prayer that we can turn things around for good. The best way to appreciate God’s Word is by doing what he has commanded us to do and that makes us remain in him. Let us allow the word of God to get to our hearts and transform us just as Mary did.

Fr Joseph Osho