SWEET TO THE TASTE, BITTER TO THE STOMACH

Feasts of Saint Columban/  Pope Clement I / Blessed Miguel Pro

Reflections on Revelation 10:8-11 / Luke 19:45-48

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

In our first reading from the Book of REVELATION, we read:  John heard a voice from heaven speaking to him.  "Go, take the scroll (or book in some versions) that lies open in the hand of the angel ...” Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey." 

There is simply something strange visualizing an image of the evangelist John taking a scroll or pieces of hard paper ... cardboard ... and eating them as the angel instructed him.   We see babies or toddlers ... sometimes tearing pieces of paper and putting such in their mouths.  HAVE YOU EATEN PAPER ... at least once in your life?    It may be true perhaps to think that doing so can give anyone a stomach upset.

We would like to think of the book or the scroll mentioned in our first reading as representing the words of God.  Eating and consuming it thus speak of the probable effects of God’s word on us.  Thus, God’s words may be SWEET to the TASTE ... SWEET IN THE MOUTH ... but BITTER or SOUR to the STOMACH.  What do we mean? 

We celebrate the life and witness of at least a dozen saints whose memorial we remember today.  How is God’s word for them SWEET IN THE MOUTH ... but BITTER or SOUR to the STOMACH?

SWEET in the MOUTH.   Today is the feast and memorial of ST. COLUMBAN – an IRISH monk and missionary who at one time found himself in the middle of a pack of wolves.  Holding the Holy Bible in his hands, he prayed  "Deus in adjutorium" (God come to my assistance) ... and the wolves reportedly smelt his clothes and left him.  Incidentally ... some church historians think of this Irish monk as very attractive (guapo) and had problems with his relationships and attractions with women.  The word of God reportedly came to him through the words of a reclusive OLD WOMAN who suggested that he fly to a region where girls are less beautiful and seductive than those in Ireland. "Save thyself, young man, and fly!"  Because of such words, Saint Columban found himself moving around ... moving around ... setting up communities wherever he went ... the beginnings of his missionary activity.  Isn’t this what we mean by:  THE WORD OF GOD IS SWEET TO THE MOUTH ... the same kind words we perhaps receive when we are so consoled in our prayers and retreats.  And we know that this is true because we had experienced so ... you may agree. 

The WORD OF GOD is SWEET in THE MOUTH – Pope Clement I – 2^nd/ 3^rd pope after Peter (whose feast we also remember today) may have realized this all to well ... as he preached firmly to strengthen the pillars of the Church which Christ had established.  He wrote letters to the communities of Corith affirming the authority of presbyters as rulers of the church, on the grounds that the Apostles had received God’s word and appointment as shepherds of the flock. 

In our Gospel today, Jesus himself also preached everyday in the temple area.  And isn’t it ... isn’t it simply consoling to hear the word of God preached ... how inspiring it is to hear the dramatic stories of saints who followed the word of God.  THE WORD OF GOD is indeed truly SWEET to CHEW and  MUNCH in the MOUTH. 

But even in the life of Pope Clement ... we know that he was incarcerated and sentenced to work in a marble quarry ... thus becoming the patron of marble-makers.  While serving his time, the Pope managed to secretly preach and proclaim the faith which eventually irked his captors.  As tradition tells us, the Pope was thrown alive into the sea with a huge anchor  attached to his neck.  The WORD of God is indeed SWEET to HEAR ... inspiring to LISTEN TO ... but it also presents the reality that once ingested or taken into the mouth ... it will need to be digested ... and for some ... it becomes difficult to DIGEST.  Should we eat the WORD OF GOD ... can it also cause INDIGESTION ... Na—IMPACHO tayo sa salita ng Diyos!   What do we mean??? 

The word of God consoles us ... YES ... but it also calls us beyond mere self-conscious consolation.  It calls us to the BITTER-SWEET REALITY of committing ourselves to the work of God ... much as our saints generously offered their lives for God’s work.  The Word of God is SWEET to the MOUTH but we are asked to anticipate that it takes GRACE to bear with the BITTER and SOUR realities that go with faithfully subscribing to the WORD. 

Given our own examples ... we may ask ourselves, how easily do we give up in seeking God ... when things do not work our way?  How are our original fruits of prayer --- telling us to be good as God wishes us to be good --compromised when NEW DATA in our environment simply proved SWEETER? 

Friends today we also remember the life of  a JESUIT BEATO by the name of BLESSED MIGUEL PRO a priest  who lived during the time of  anti-Clericalism and the persecution of the Church in Mexico .   To proceed with his ministry,  he apparently disguised himself  a la JAMES BOND – double “O7.”   Reportedly, he would come in the middle of the night dressed as a beggar to baptize infants, bless marriages and celebrate Mass. He would appear in jail dressed as a police officer to bring Holy Viaticum to condemned Catholics. When going to fashionable neighborhoods to procure for the poor, he would show up at the doorstep dressed as a fashionable businessman with a fresh flower on his lapel. His many exploits could rival those of the most daring spies.  We went around preaching that the WORD of God is indeed SWEET.   But ... eventually he was falsely accused in  an attempt to assassinate the Mexican president.  He was sentenced to death without the benefit of fair legal trial.  On the day of his execution, Miguel Pro forgave his executioners, prayed, bravely refused the blindfold and died proclaiming, "Viva Cristo Rey", "Long live Christ the King!" 

Friends, our Gospel today also tells us how the scribes and the chief priests couldn’t put Jesus to death ... simply because many were hanging on to his words.  Today, as we remember the lives of Saints Columban and Clement and Blessed Miguel Pro ... let us truly be consoled by the SWEET WORDS which we receive always from God.  We pray as well for the grace to continually HANG ONTO HIS WORDS even amidst the bitter realities of our lives.