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“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live.” (Dt 4:1)
By Chiara Lubich
A God who speaks with us as friends! The people of Israel were proud to have a God who was so close to them, who gave them such just laws and norms, as we read in this passage from Deuteronomy, which is part of the Old or First Testament (see Dt 4:7-8).
Precisely because the word of God is extraordinarily fascinating, there
is the danger of believing that all we have to do is to listen to it.
Instead, the word of God must be put into practice. That is the point.
In the New Testament as well, the apostle James warned the first Christians,
“Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves”
(Js 1:22). Moses taught the same thing when he addressed these words to
the Israelites:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live.”
It is clear then that we should listen to the word of God and live it
out.
Furthermore, Jesus himself is present in his words; they are Jesus himself.
His words are eternal, and therefore suited to all times. They are universal,
valid for everyone, beyond every race and culture. They are not simply
exhortations, suggestions or commands. His words contain and transmit
life.
At the end of his great Sermon on the Mount, Jesus left us a famous parable
in this regard (see Mt 7:24-27). He compared people who enthusiastically
listen to his words but then do not translate them into life to a house
built on sand. When the winds and rains come—that is, other easier
and alluring proposals, ideas that enchant and deceive with their passing
glitter—these people pitifully collapse because the Gospel message
did not become life in them.
Then Jesus compared people who put his words into practice to a house
built on rock: there might be trials, temptations, doubts, and confusion,
but these people remain steadfast along the way of the Gospel. They continue
to believe in the words of God because they have experienced how true
they are.
Living the word of God leads to an authentic revolution in our lives
and the lives of those with whom we share this evangelical life.
The words of Jesus should be lived with the simplicity of children! He
told us, “Give and gifts will be given to you” (Lk 6: 38). So
often we have experienced that the more we give the more we receive! We
have never been left empty handed, because each time we gave to someone
in need we found ourselves with a hundred times as much. And when we didn’t
have anything to give? Didn’t Jesus say, “Ask and it will be
given to you”
(Mt 7:7)? We asked, and our home was filled with all kinds of goods so
that we could continue giving to others.
When we are weighed down by a worry about something that we feel surpasses
our strength or by some worries that paralyze us, let us remember the
words of Jesus: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened”
(Mt 11:28), and, casting all our worries onto him, we will experience
that peace returns, and with it the solution to our problems.
The word of God eliminates our ego, it wipes out our selfishness, and
it replaces our way of thinking, desiring, and acting with that of Jesus.
By living the word, a divine logic takes over, a Gospel mindset enters
in, and we see everything with new eyes. Our relationships change. By
living the word of God together and sharing our experiences, we discover
that we are brothers and sisters, even though we didn’t know one
another before. We become a people, the living Church. When one single
word of the Gospel is lived by many people, it can change the course of
history.
When the word of God is put into practice, it works miracles. Our hearts are filled with a new, boundless trust in the love of our Father, who intervenes and helps his children every day. His words are true; if we live them, he too puts them into practice, to the letter, and he gives us what he promises: the hundredfold here on earth, the fullness of life, and the never-ending joy of heaven.
The commentary to the Word of Life is translated
in 90 different languages and dialects, and reaches more than 14 million
people worldwide, through the press, and radio and TV programs. If you
would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past
"Words of Life," they can be found in Living City magazine,
the monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. For information, or
to subscribe, write to: Living City, P.O. Box 837, Bronx, NY 10465. To
order the magazine, call: 1-800-462-5980.
E-mail: livingcity2000@att.net or info@newcitypress.com or visit
the website: https://www.newcitypress.com/livingcity.htm
© 2002 - Living City of Focolare Movement - P.O. Box 837, Bronx,
New York 10465
Presented here with permission of the publishers