Man and the Word of God

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Father Dominic Emmanuel [1]

All of our religions have rich scriptures that contain profound thoughts and teachings. One would certainly find at least a few believers in every religion who, out of interest or out of love for God’s word, have learnt whole or parts of scriptures by heart. The scriptures, if read in their original languages such as Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew, Pali and so on, pose difficulties in comprehending their meaning. We then look at the translations or consult a commentary or even turn to a guru to understand the deeper meaning hidden behind the words.
There are, however, times when, while the reader understands every word of the holy book, s/he is either unable to abide by it or fails to integrate that its essence in one’s life. I am certain that you must have occasionally asked a fundamental question, as I have often done, as to why despite our chanting, reading of scriptures and devoutly praying, the lives of many of us remains unchanged or largely unaffected.
This question is more pertinent for us as we live in a country where religiosity is practiced quite seriously in public as well as in private and where much importance is attached to the Word of God. It is only in India that one finds temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras and other places of worship always full.
Jesus, through a parable, seems to offer an insight. He once said, “Behold, a sower went out to sow: And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth and they immediately sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up, and choked them. But others fell on good ground, and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13: 3-8)”.
Some of his listeners were a bit confused hearing this. So his disciples asked him for an explanation. Jesus clarified thus, “When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom (of God) and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, it is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns, is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (Matthew 13: 19-23)”.
Jesus offers an insight into why after we return from a religious ratri jagran (night vigils) or after listening to our religious gurus there is little or no impact on us. Our own experience is that at the moment of listening to our gurus preaching God’s word, our hearts rise up to God, the words burning inside us. We resolve to give up our negative habits and attitudes. We are fired with passion to undergo an internal conversion. But no sooner have we left the session than the inspiration begins to evaporate, much in the way the seed that fell either by the wayside or on the stony ground or among the thorns. Worldly worries, greed for wealth and power, attachments to passing pleasures or even lack of faith literally take away those firm and fine resolutions that arose from the depths of our heart while listening to the Word of God.
In the Bible, the Word of God is deemed as dynamic and transforming. That’s why St. Paul writes, “For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4: 12)”.
Similarly, Prophet Isaiah says on behalf of God, “For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth: It will not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11)”.

— Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church. He
was awarded the National Communal Harmony Award 2008 by the Government of India. He can be contacted at frdominic@gmail.com [2]