I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
I grew up on pancakes slathered with syrup every Saturday morning. It still tastes sweet in my mouth but it now sours in my stomach as the "sugar high" plunges very low. Everyone knows the Seer's experience of sweet food and sour stomach; and so we understand the story of his relishing the Word of God. It went well until it didn't.
He was surely not surprised by that. The Prophet of Babylon had a similar experience, as he relates in Ezekiel 3 :
[The Spirit] 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. "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."
However, he tells us when he arrived among the exiles to announce the Lord's Word, "I stayed among them distraught for seven days."
The Catholic Church speaks prophetically to the world and it cannot pretend surprise when the Word is not welcome and its reception is hostile. If everyone should be concerned about nuclear weapons, climate change, unprecedented migrations of millions, staggering poverty and so forth, not many are. Most cannot be bothered.
Sometimes the slightest gesture or meekest homily is greeted with a sound rebuke. When I preached Penance and alluded to Critical Race Theory on Ash Wednesday, remarking that not all sins are personal and some are social, I was scolded by one customer. He wanted the ashes but not a reminder of what they signify.
Advent is about to begin. Let us remember the poverty of the Holy Family; and understand that consumerism consumes the world's scarce resources. We may not intend to deprive the world's poor of food, clothing, and shelter but it happens anyway. It may be too late to save the planet but it's not too late to change our Christmas customs.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.