The first words we hear this Sunday in the Liturgy of the Word are an important question from the Book of Wisdom: “Who can know God’s counsel, or who can conceive what the Lord intends?” Wouldn’t life be easier if we knew more clearly these divine things!
That is why we gather Sunday after Sunday to hear anew from the Bible about God’s mind and heart. The Vatican II document Dogmatic Constitution On Divine Revelation reminds us that “[the Christian faithful] should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through instructions suitable for the purpose and other aids.” By growing in familiarity with how God speaks we are able to follow Christ more whole-heartedly as he expects us to do in today’s gospel.
How is growing in familiarity with the Bible part of your spiritual life? How does it help you to know what the Lord intends?