sweet and sour
"Here, take it and eat it! It will be sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey." —Revelation 10:9
Many of you have come to appreciate reading the daily eucharistic readings and the teachings on them in One Bread, One Body. Many times the word of God is as sweet as honey for you (Rv 10:9). You can proclaim: "How sweet to my palate are Your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Ps 119:103)
However, if you keep reading the Bible and this commentary on it, God's word will become "sour in your stomach" (Rv 10:9). God's word will bring you face to face with the cross and its sufferings, rejections, forgivenesses, and sacrifices. God's word will become the "sour wine" of Calvary (see Lk 23:36).
Nonetheless, persevere and drink in God's word even when it turns sour, for as it changes, it will change you into the image and likeness of the holy God. Pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemani: "My Father, if this cannot pass Me by without My drinking it, Your will be done!" (Mt 26:42) If you drink the cup of God's word gone sour, then, with Jesus, you will see the sour wine transformed into His saving blood (see Jn 19:30, 34).
Prayer: Father, when I receive Holy Communion from the cup, I commit myself to drink in Your word no matter what.
Promise: "My house is meant for a house of prayer!" —Lk 19:46; Is 56:7
Praise: Cecilia led her brother-in-law and her husband to Jesus.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, April 2, 1996
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 3, 1996