Friday in the Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time

“[The scroll] will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth, it will taste as sweet as honey” (Rev. 10:9). This reading brought to mind how a mysterious voice saying, “Tolle! Lege!” sparked Saint Augustine’s conversion. Responding to the voice, he picked up a bible and opened to a random text from Romans: “Put on the Lord Jesus, and make no provision for the flesh” (Rom. 13:13). While reading the text with the playfulness of a child, Augustine’s eyes were opened and his soul was filled with sweet delight. When we read God’s Word, we too can experience its sweetness. But as we digest and sit with it, we experience its challenge and life-changing bitterness. God’s Word contains both a sweet message and a bitter reality. Tolle! Lege! We pick up the Word and read it. Ruminating on the Word, we take it into ourselves. We digest it so we can share the message with others. The longer we sit with it, what began as sweetness in the mouth turns into a painful challenge and gut-wrenching heartache.

The Gospel is God’s Good News. However, it cannot be read casually. It has to be thoroughly chewed and digested so that it can be assimilated. As the implanted Word takes root in our hearts, it will transform our lives. As we savor the Word, we delight in its sweetness because the truth is good and the gospel liberating. Interestingly, what was sweet in the mouth is upsetting in the stomach. The gospel is not intended to be one’s secret treasure. It is designed to be shouted from the housetops. The gospel will not let us rest until we have proclaimed it to the ends of the earth (CF Ps. 19:4). Let us pick up God’s word and be taught by it. Let us ponder his word and be fed by it. Having eaten the Word of Life let us boldly proclaim the message that has consumed us.