THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL
Once upon a
time there was a small group of people who lived in a close-knit community
where they shared all the work and play except for one thing; there was only
one cook. No one could remember anyone
ever cooking except that person.
Each night the cook prepared a broth which was enriching and
nourishing and smelled wonderful. The
only problem was the broth never changed.
It wasn’t that the people didn’t like it, they did, looked forward to it
in fact, but still…..
Then one
day without a word the old cook was gone and another took the job as though he
had always been there. The first night when the people gathered for dinner,
there was the soup pot filled to the brim with the same broth but this time the
cook himself was standing by the pot with a ladle and the bowls. Instead of the
people serving themselves, he insisted on serving them. When the first person received her bowl she
looked up in surprise and even suspicion because in the broth was a chunk of
meat, a carrot and a potato with a little parsley sprinkled on top.
Soon the room was buzzing with conversation and finally one
person stood and called to the cook.
“Please, sir”, he said, “you have made the same broth our former cook
made but you added meat and vegetables to it. It isn’t that it isn’t good we
just wondered why you added them?” The
cook smiled and said, “I didn’t add them, they have always been part of the
recipe. It’s just that they sink to the
bottom and I think you are entitled to enjoy all of it, not just what’s on
top.”
That is what Pope Francis wants for us as we read
scripture. We could go our lifetime only
hearing the Sunday readings and never experience all the riches of the
Gospel. The Gospel is like a
multi-faceted jewel. Each Gospel
approaches the life and words of Christ from a different perspective; each
chapter of each Gospel places emphasis on different things. We should read, not just listen. Try putting yourself in the story. For example, if you were sitting on the hill
when Jesus said, “Unless you eat my body and drink my blood…” would you already
be over the hill before he finished the sentence?
Don’t hesitate to ask yourself these kinds of questions
because your desire to understand both the Gospel and yourself will bring you
the joy of the Gospel Pope Francis assures us is there.
With love,
Carol Lemelin OPA
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