Take it and Swallow It

Take it and Swallow It

Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

"Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land." So, I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, "Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth, it will taste as sweet as honey." Revelation 10:8-9

And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words. Luke 19:47-48

Piety

Tradition or Catholic Action by Peter Maurin

The central act of devotional life in the Catholic Church is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Sacrifice of the Mass is the unbloody repetition of the Sacrifice of the Cross.

On the Cross of Calvary Christ gave His life to redeem the world.

The life of Christ was a life of sacrifice.

The life of a Christian must be a life of sacrifice.

We cannot imitate the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary by trying to get all we can. We can only imitate the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary by trying to give all we can.

Study

Perhaps everything in Revelation is not so mysterious and symbolic.  After all, the roots of today’s first reading were planted by Ezekiel 600 years earlier:

He said to me: Son of man, eat what you find here: eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So, I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. a Son of man, he said to me, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey* in my mouth. Then he said to me, Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. (Ezekiel 3:1-4)

Perhaps the small scroll was sweet because it predicted the final victory of God’s people. Perhaps it was sour because it also announced their sufferings. Perhaps it was sweet because it teaches what God demands of us.  Perhaps it is sour because it teaches us what God demands of us.

Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

Those demands are for faith and action as expressed by our love of God, our neighbors and ourselves.

This faith does not demand entrance to some secret society.  Sorry, Faithful Brother Knights of Columbus or Knights of Malta.  The rules are cast right out in the open for all to know and for all to choose whether or not to follow.

They are as open as Jesus was preaching in the temple every day.

Action

Discovery is the purpose of monastic life, Christian life, and your vocation. We all must discover that the “possession of God” was far sweeter and satisfying than anything we could receive from family or friends or society.  This frees us from the consumerism that dominates this weekend’s shopping orgy.  If we totally consume the Good News (“eat the scroll and make it a part of us), then we can be enriched far beyond anything offered by Wall Street, K Street, Madison Avenue, or Hollywood and Vine.

We live in a culture that sees having things as the measure of our success. We strive for a life that sees eliminating things as the measure of internal wealth. “Enoughness” is a value long dead in Western society. Dependence on God is a value long lost. Yet, “enoughness” and dependence on God may be what is lacking in a society where consumerism and accumulation have become the root diseases of a world in which everything is not enough and nothing satisfies. (Sr. Joan Chittister, OSB)

The people following Ezekiel or Amos or Jesus out into the desert lived a subsistent life in ancient Palestine.  They were farmers.  They were sheepherders.  They were fishermen.  They were contented with what they had and the gifts they got. They were totally dependent upon Jesus. Whether Jesus was handing out loaves and fishes, the wisdom of the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, or his very body and blood, he gave them (and us) what we do not even seek.  Take it and swallow it.  It will taste sweet.

On this latest edition of “Black Friday,” can we be like these desert people, contented with what we have and turn our backs on what Walmart, General Motors, Apple or Amazon.com are selling us?

Eat what you find here.