DEVOURED BY THE WORD OF GOD


ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA, PRIEST

Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke 

Jer 15:10,16-21; Ps 59:2-5,10-11,17-18; Mt 13:44-46

The Inner Structure of the Wheat

The first reading gives us a window into the inner struggles of the prophet Jeremiah. We consider him one of the most successful prophets of the Old Testament. This conclusion comes from the fact that he committed himself to the vocation he received to the extent that he became one with the word of God he proclaimed to the people of Judah. As we have already seen, Jeremiah was called a young lad and even protested to God about his being young. He never had a wife and no family; he gave his whole life to the vocation he received from God. From his own words, we hear his commitment to the word of God. “When your words came, I devoured them: your word was my delight and the joy of my heart; for I was called by your name, Lord, God of Hosts.” Jeremiah lived on the word of God and made it his own. He proclaimed the will of God faithfully to the people. Though he devoured the word of God, he was the one digested. Unlike the food we eat and digest, which becomes part of our body, the word of God assimilates us and makes us part of the God we receive. Thus, the word of God is God; those who receive it are drawn into God.

The window that Jeremiah opened for us to peep into his heart reveals the struggle the one who devours the word of God goes through being digested into God. God sends his word to knock down and rebuild both internal and external structures that are not of God. The prophet is the middle ground for the internal and external struggles with the word of God. Concerning his external struggles, he cries: “Woe to me, my mother, for you have borne me to be a man of strife and of dissension for all the land. I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me.” Concerning the internal struggles, he says: “I never took pleasure in sitting in scoffers’ company; with your hand on me I held myself aloof, since you had filled me with indignation. Why is my suffering continual, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Do you mean to be for me a deceptive stream with inconstant waters?” These are glimpses of the external and internal processes of restructuring the human person into a heavenly wheat. To an onlooker, the processes look dreadful and fearful. No one would willingly accept to enter into the process unaided by divine grace and presence. Just as it was for Jeremiah, the word of God can foster the presence of God within us when we accept it with faith. This divine presence captivates us and draws us to give everything in exchange for its fullness.

The parable Jesus told in the gospel teaches and clarifies this truth. The incarnation of the Word of God makes the presence of God even more alluring and captivating to us all. Like Jeremiah, we are seduced into the divine presence and devour his word. The discovery of the sweetness of the Lord makes us want more and more, even when we are being crushed and rebuilt in pain. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which someone has found; he hides it again, goes off happy, sells everything he owns, and buys the field.” As the Lord states, buying the treasure hidden in the field will require selling everything we have. We are merchants trading our earthly possessions for the heavenly treasure of God’s presence. St. Ignatius of Loyola understood what this treasure meant. He abandoned his career as a soldier to embrace a life dedicated to God’s will and service. The sweetness he discovered in possessing heavenly peace was far beyond the earthly joys and pleasure he had. But once he tasted the divine, he was ready to endure all sorts of trials, pains, and persecutions to acquire it for eternity. He founded the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, known for their dedication to study and apostolate. May his prayers help us discern the will of God and dedicate our whole being to doing it.

Let us pray: O God, who raised up Saint Ignatius of Loyola in your Church to further the greater glory of your name, grant that by his help we may imitate him in fighting the good fight of faith on earth and merit to receive with him a crown of glory in heaven.  

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