Reverence for God’s Word

I am going to tell you three little stories, all true.

At my University Chaplaincy, there was a library that doubled as a dining room, particularly on formal occasions.  There was a lovely old Victorian dining table with brass castors on the legs.  One evening, as several of us were gathered for dinner, one of those casters gave way.  Some of us desperately held up the heavy table as our chaplain told the other students to get something to prop up the leg.  They ran back with a book – a copy of the Holy Bible!!

“NOT THE BIBLE!” exclaimed the incredulous chaplain.

Compare that to an interview with Salman Rushdie that I saw many years ago.  He described how in his family, all books – not just Scripture – were so revered that if one fell to the floor, they were taught to pick it up, kiss it, and put it back in its place.

One final anecdote: some months ago, my father died.  As I trawled through his stuff, I came across the last bus pass of his mother, my grandmother.  Holding that bus pass in my hand, I was surprised at the emotional affect that it had on me.

I saw her face in the photograph looking up at me and I recalled the times that we spent together and the things that she said to me.  In a very real sense, it made her present to me and I cherish that buss pass still.

We honour and revere the Bible, as well as the Lectionary and Book of the Gospels that we use in Holy Mass, because in the words contained God is truly present, eager to communicate of himself with us through his Word – the Word that gives life.  Through it, he reveals himself to us, we can come to know him.

So, when the Reader announces, “The Word of the Lord,” let us respond in grateful confidence: “Thanks be to God.”