Sunday Reflection | “The Word that comes forth"

While Christ remained in the desert for forty days and was tempted by Satan, he rebuked the devil with the words we find in this Sunday's verse before the Gospel, “One does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

During our 40 day observance of Lent which is patterned after Christ’s forty days in the desert, we should seek to embrace this message. Lent is a time for fasting or abstaining from the various things in life that we sometimes mistakenly think we need to live, in order to remind us that we do not live on bread alone. However it is not enough if our lenten observance simply reminds us of what we do not need to live. This lenten journey must go farther, reminding us that we can only truly live if we allow ourselves to be sustained by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. During Lent, we turn away from what we do not need, in order to embrace what we truly need.

But what is the word that comes forth from the mouth of God which can truly sustain us? The answer is given in the prologue of the Gospel of John. “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” The Gospel of John reveals that the Word which comes forth from the mouth of God is the second person of the Trinity, the Son, who became flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and dwelt among us. So the Word which comes forth from the mouth of God with the power to sustain us and give us everlasting life, is not a what, but a who! Jesus reveals to us that he is the true bread of life who has the power to give everlasting life. It is only Christ who is the way, the truth, and life. Christ is the Word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

As we begin this lenten season, we should realize that it is a time to withdraw from all lesser attachments that are not sufficient to sustain us, so that we can become fully attached to Christ, the Word of God. The structure of the Mass gives us the formula for how we are to allow Christ to nourish us and sustain us. During the Liturgy of the Word, Christ is proclaimed in the Sacred Scriptures and we are nourished at the table of the Word. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Christ is made truly present in the Eucharist, body, blood, soul, and divinity, and we are nourished at the table of the altar. At these two tables, the table of the Word and the table of the altar, we are fed in different manners the same Word which comes forth from the mouth of God, Jesus Christ.

During Lent we are called to fast from the table of the world in order to become free to feast at the Lord’s table. The less we are attached to passing things, the more we can become attached to eternal things. While the table of the world often runs empty and we are left hungry, the table of the Lord is an everlasting fountain that will not run dry. Every time we break open the scriptures, the Lord is there waiting for us. Every time we come before the Eucharist, the Lord is there waiting for us. It is true that we must allow this Lent to be a fast from passing things, but it is also true that we must allow this Lent to be a great feast where we allow ourselves to be nourished by God himself in the Scriptures and in the Eucharist.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Mr. Matthew Harrington, 4th Year Theology, Archdiocese of Boston