eating the scroll - 33rd week friday 2014

Two things from our first reading today.

First, the little scroll that John ate was sweet like honey to the mouth but when it is swallowed it fills the stomach with bitterness.  In symbolic language this is what prophecy is all about.  It is filled with grace and blessing but it also contains judgment and condemnation.  Whenever we seek God’s will there will always be blessings and grace but there will also be dying, parting and cutting.  Be always prepared for that.  As they say you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

The second lesson is this, when the prophet is asked to eat first the scroll before he speaks about its content, it means that the medium of God’s message is always the written word.  God speaks to us through his written words, through the bible, through the readings – this is the medium of revelation.  First it is read, and only then can it be interpreted as to what God’s will is for us.  You have to read your life with the bible at hand.  This is the reason why we have bible sharing.  We can never understand our life apart from God’s word.