“My words will not pass away”

THIS was what Christ said, reassuring us that even if he went away and the world itself would disappear, he would still be with us, guiding and directing us to our ultimate destination. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Lk 21,33)

Let’s remember that Christ’s words are no ordinary words that would just come and go. His words are eternal, effective and ever relevant to everything that happens in our life. His words will always shed light and give meaning to every event, situation and predicament we can have in this life.

The Letter to the Hebrews says as much: “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (4,12)

The Letter to the Hebrews continues by saying: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (4,13)

We have to realize that we need to be guided by God’s words rather than by our own thoughts, reasoning and estimations of things. No matter how brilliant and clever we are, we can only go so far in understanding things in this world, many of which are very mysterious to us.

We have to develop a fondness for the words of God. This we can do as long as we exert due effort and continually ask, with humility, for the grace of God. Without these requirements, we can easily be swept away by the many alluring ideologies in the world.

It’s when we listen and live by God’s words that we attain our human and Christian maturity. And as St. Paul would say, we would then be like infants no longer, “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of the people in their deceitful scheming.” (Eph 4,14)

It’s important that we spend time developing a liking and an intimacy with the words of God. We have to read and meditate on them daily, and use them as the spirit behind all events, activities and concerns that we have during the day.

We have to understand that God’s words are not meant to give us the technical solutions to our problems. They are meant to be the soul and the spirit of all our concerns and activities.

Christ himself did not have all the technical solutions to the problems during his stay here on earth. In the end, he had to offer his life since he could not anymore find the solution to the extreme case of injustice inflicted on him. But his death was not actually a defeat. It occasioned the supreme victory over sin and death with his resurrection.

This is how we have to look at God’s words. They contain natural truths and can give natural solutions to our natural problems. But what they have are, first of all, supernatural and redemptive truths that can ultimately solve our humanly insoluble problems with sin and death and that can bring us to our eternal destination where we truly belong.

Let us promote a culture of gospel-reading and meditation everyday. A few minutes with the gospel daily can go a long way in putting our life on the right path. We should not miss the great treasure we have in the gospel. We can use the new technologies to promote this culture.