St. Mary's Church Elizabeth, IL

12/15

To hear and to understand

Those who have been called to preach God's word know, that to preach the Gospel authentically is challenging and responsible task.  It is a gift that only God can provide.  To be effective in preaching one must rely on the Spirit of God and his guidance, but the effectiveness of preaching depends also on the openness of those who hear the word.  Jesus exprerienced this in his time of preaching.  In Maththew's gospel, Jesus strongly challenges the religious establishment of his time: "they preach but ... do not practice"and "tie up heavey burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but ... will not lift a finger to move them" (Matthew 23:3-4).  Preaching through word and example, as Jesus did, is the only way to revitalize the faith of those who hear the word.  When we gather at Mass, we all come in search of Christ; we come because we want to grow spirtually, striving to live a life of holiness.

As importannt as the role on the preacher is - his spirituality, his closeness to Christ - so is the role of those who hear God's word.  When Jesus came to Nazareth, he placed himself to a very challenging test.  He came to his hometown, and he found himself facing those who grew up with him.  They knew him from childhood.  Now, he is standing in front of those who knew his as a young carpenter, growing up in that poor neighborhood, as a Rabbi, teaching in their synagogue.  So what happend? He is met with contempt: 'is this not the carpenter?  Is not this Mary's son?'  And the result of that was, that Jesus could do no mighty works in Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6).

The effect of preaching God's word depend on both, the preacher and the congregation.  Preaching needs prayerful atmosphere.  Those in the pews mush remember that they preach more than half of the sermon, by the atmosphere they create.  In wrong atmosphere can be no preaching.  In the atmosphere of expectancy even the poorest effort can catch fire, while in the stmosphere of criticla coldness, when we sit in the prews with minds filled with preconceived ideas, with what I want to hear, even the most-Spirit-filled words fall on lifeless ground.  If we gather together and refuse to hear and to understand in our minds and hearts, God's word will never be heard.

We continue our Advent season, the time the serves as turnign away from old ways.  Let's look at Mary.  She is the most authentic hearer and bearer of the Word.  As the Mother of God and the Mother of the Word Incarnate (Jesus, Son of God, becoming human), she can serve as an example to those who preach and those who hear it.  That is why St. Ephrem and St. Augustine could say that Mary conceived the word in her heart before conceiving thw Word in her womb.  Mary is the image of the Church that listens to the word of God, and then puts it into practice.  That is what to hear and to understand the word means.

Fr. Joachim