Word of LifeWord of Life

March 2012March 2012

««Lord to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.»»

(Jn 6:68)

To the crowds that followed him, Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God. He used simple

words, parables taken from everyday life, and yet his words had a special fascination. People were struck by his teaching because he taught

with authority, unlike the scribes.

Even the temple guards who went to arrest him,

when asked by the chief

priests and Pharisees why they had not carried out

their orders, replied: ‘Never

has anyone spoken like

this!’

John’s gospel also tells of

conversations full of light that Jesus had with

individuals, such as

Nicodemus and the Samaritan

woman.

Jesus explained things still more deeply to his Apostles and he spoke openly of the Father and

of heavenly things, without using figures of speech. His words convinced them and they did

not draw back even when they did not fully understand or when his words seemed too

demanding.

‘This teaching is difficult,’ some of his disciples remarked, when they heard him

say that he would give them his body to eat and his blood to drink.

Seeing that many of his disciples

pulled back and no longer went with him, Jesus said to

the Twelve Apostles: ‘Do you

also wish to go away?’

Peter, who by now was tied to him forever and who

had been fascinated by the

words he had heard from Jesus

since the day they met, replied on

behalf of them all:

««Lord to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.»»

Peter had understood that the words of his

Teacher were different from those of other teachers. Their

words came from the earth and

returned to the earth; they

belonged to and had the destiny of

the earth.

Jesus’ words are spirit and life because they come from heaven: a light that comes down from Above

and has the power of Above. His words have a quality and a depth that other words do not have, whether they be philosophical, political, or poetic.

They are ‘words of eternal life’, because they contain, express, communicate the fullness of the life that never ends since it is the very life of God.

Jesus is risen and lives, and his words, although spoken in the past, are not

merely a memory, but words he addresses today to all of us and to each person in

every time and culture: they are universal, eternal words.

The words of Jesus! They must have been his greatest art, as it were. The Word

who speaks in human words: what content, what intensity, what expression,

what a voice!

Basil the Great tells, for example, how ‘once upon a time, like a man

roused from deep sleep, I turned my

eyes to the marvellous light of

the truth of the Gospel, and I perceived the uselessness of “the wisdom of

the princes of this world.”’

Thérèse of Lisieux in a letter of 9 May 1897 wrote: ‘Sometimes,

when I read books in which perfection is put before us ... my poor little head is quickly fatigued. I close the

learned treatise, which tires my brain and dries up my heart, and I turn

to the Sacred Scriptures. Then all

becomes clear and light – a single word opens

out infinite vistas, perfection appears

easy’.

Yes, divine words satisfy the spirit which is made for the infinite; they give inner light not only to

the mind, but to the whole of our being, because they are light, love and life. They give peace – the

kind Jesus calls his own: ‘my peace’ – also in moments of anxiety and anguish.

They give complete joy, even in the midst of the pain that at times torments the soul.

They give strength, especially in the face of dismay and discouragement. They set us

free, because they open the path to Truth.

««Lord to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.»»

The Word of Life this month reminds us that

the only Teacher we want to follow is Jesus, even when his words may seem hard or too

demanding. This means to be honest at work, to forgive, to be at the service of others

rather than think selfishly of ourselves, to remain faithful in

our family life, to help a terminally ill person without yielding to the

idea of euthanasia…

There are many ‘teachers’ who invite us to adopt easy solutions, to make compromises. We want to

listen to the one Teacher and follow him, who alone speaks the truth and who has ‘words of eternal life’. Like this we too can repeat these words of

Peter.

In this Lenten season, as we prepare for the great celebration of the

resurrection, we must truly join the school of the one Teacher and become

his disciples.

A passionate love for the word of God must come to life in us too.

Let’s be ready to welcome it when it is proclaimed in church, let’s read it, study it,

meditate on it…

But above all we are called to live it, as scripture itself teaches: ‘Be doers of the word, and

not merely hearers who deceive

themselves’. That is why each month

we focus on one word in particular, letting it penetrate us, mould us, ‘live

us’.

By living one word of Jesus we live the

entire Gospel, because in each

word of his he gives the whole of himself, he himself comes to live in us. It is like a drop of the divine

wisdom that belongs to him, the Risen One, which slowly

sinks into the depths of us and

replaces our way of thinking, wanting

and acting in all the circumstances of

life.

««Lord to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.»»

(Jn 6:68)

Text by Chiara LubichText by Chiara Lubich