Posted on 08/31/2016 6:21:31 AM PDT by Salvation
In the first reading from today’s Mass (Wednesday of the 22nd Week) St. Paul warns that the faithful should not esteem the preacher too highly. Esteem the Lord, who was able to speak through Balaam’s donkey. If God can use a donkey to preach, then one should not be too enamored of the particular human instrument the Lord uses to preach.
Pope St. Gregory taught that the preacher goes ahead of the Lord, announcing Him, as it were, and then the Lord comes in to “close the deal”:
Beloved brothers, our Lord and Savior … sends his disciples out to preach two by two. … Rightly is it said that he sent them ahead of him into every city and place where he himself was to go. For the Lord follows after the preachers, because preaching goes ahead to prepare the way, and then when the words of exhortation have gone ahead and established truth in our minds, the Lord comes to live within us. To those who preach Isaiah says: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. And the psalmist tells them: Make a way for him who rises above the sunset. … Therefore, we make a way for him who rises above the sunset when we preach his glory to you, so that when he himself follows after us, he may illumine you with his love.
Think over, my beloved brothers, think over his words: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest. Pray for us so that we may be able to labor worthily on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, that after we have taken up the office of preaching our silence may not bring us condemnation from the just judge.
(from a homily on the Gospels by St. Gregory the Great, Pope (Hom 17, 1-3: PL 76, 1139))
This is an important insight that can help preachers to avoid both pride and an exaggerated sense of responsibility. Yes, the preacher goes before the Lord, who then follows after to quicken the Word that has been planted.
First of all, this is a remedy for pride, because the preacher is not the Lord. Although it is the Lord’s own Word he preaches, the preacher cannot completely express what God alone can effect in the human heart. The preacher can but sow the seed of the Word; only God can bring forth the harvest. As St. Paul wrote,
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow (1 Cor 3:6-7).
The preacher can propose, but the Lord must come after to “close the deal.” The Samaritan woman was rather abruptly but truthfully told this by the townsfolk:
We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world (Jn 4:42).
Every preacher should delight to hear this. It is a valuable lesson for the preacher to remember his place. He goes before to announce the presence of God, who alone can heal and bring in the truest harvest by His grace.
The preacher is like the best man at an ancient Jewish wedding, to whom St. John the Baptist equated himself.
He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease (Jn 3:29-30).
St. Gregory’s insight also helps preachers to avoid an exaggerated sense of responsibility. Sometimes preachers may think too much rests on them, on their eloquence, on finding just the right analogy or the perfect wording. He may also lament his flaws. And while every preacher must work to hone his skills, Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain (Ps 127:1).
Thus the preacher can help to lay a foundation, but it is the Lord who must build the house. It is both helpful and freeing for the preacher to remember that he merely goes before the Lord; the Lord will follow after with every good grace. The preacher must do his part in proclaiming the authentic word of God, but only the Lord Himself can perfect the message in every soul. He must preserve knowledge and prepare the way for the Lord, who causes the seed to grow in the hearts of the faithful and who will ultimately judge the living and the dead.
This is both freeing and reassuring. Most of us who preach realize this from time to time, particularly when someone recounts back to us something we have said, but does so in a way that surprises us. This demonstrates how the Lord helps people to hear something that our feeble words could only suggest.
In the end, every preacher must trust the Lord, who comes after him to complete what is lacking and to bring forth the fruits that he can only point to. The Lord causes His truth to shine forth—in consolation for the faithful and in judgment for the wicked. The battle is the Lord’s; so is the victory and the harvest.
This chorus from Handel’s Messiah says, “The Lord gave the word; great was the company of the preachers.”
Monsignor Pope Ping!
Bkmk
Is not doctrine but an explanation.
What does that even mean?
"Yes, the preacher goes before the Lord, who then follows after to quicken the Word that has been planted."
The Word is ALREADY quick (Heb 4:12) and is not "followed by God".
God has already given a quickened word and the Preacher proclaims it.
Yes, it is in fact planted, but not as a doctrinal necessity by a man that is followed by God.
Pope's explanation says a preacher should be careful of pride but also says the preacher precedes God ... and THAT negates;
"In the beginning, God ... "
Where to start? If what you said were anywhere near true, then Jesus would not have needed to give the Great Commission. John the Baptist would not have had to precede Jesus on his first coming, but he did. Elijah will not have to precede Jesus on his second coming, but he will.
Now, if you can’t see this and understand it, then you are stuck on a mobius strip of your own making.
Pope is referring to the word as an entity that is followed by God
You cite MY point that a man may precede the salvation of another by proclaiming the Word, but the Word is already complete unto itself (Himself) and IS God.
God does not "follow" the Word, He IS the Word.
And if you can't follow THAT, you're welcome to ride my Mobius strip
Amazing! We are back to where we started without turning around!
Ticket, please ....
“The Lord Must Follow the Preacher – A Reminder of Where Preaching Really Gets Its Power”
Kind of an anthropomorphic perspective...
I prefer,”The Lord Guides the Preacher, A Reminder of the source of the preaching.”
But it’s a Bible quote.
So you believe it, right?
Yes, it is and yes, I believe it
Signs and wonders follow the pure preaching of The Word. I believe that God is all in all. He precedes, is in, and also follows the preaching of His Word. He is, after all, The Beginning and The End, The Alpha and The Omega and everything in between. Nothing good can exist nor profit without Him.
I always looked at it as meaning that everyone has a job to do and it’s different for everyone and each part is important to the overall result.
I garden a lot and each part of the growing part is necessary. NO plants without someone planting them. Someone has to care for them to grow and reach maturity, and then someone has the of of harvesting if you are going to reap the benefit of the fruit.
But ultimately, even though we do the physical labor, without God giving it life, all that work is for nothing.
The priest is not giving the full accurate sense. While on earth the Lord restricted himself to being in one place at one time (even though Caths believe that He was in the stomach of the apostles while yet sitting with them), and thus He anointed and sent forth His disciples before Him. There is also a sense in which God "shows up," as in manifestly doing a certain work. However, the Lord, by His Spirit goes before His own, and they follow Him, and also is their "rereward."
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27)
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: (Exodus 13:21)
For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward. (Isaiah 52:12)
What is your recipe for a spray on squash leaves with some leaf mildew?
You’re wet enough for mildew? That’s impressive.
Powdery mildew is the least of the problems I’ve had with my squash but I found this online and it sounds cheap enough to be worth a try. Let me know how it works.
My issue has been squash beetles, cucumber beetles and worst, squash vine borers.
I am seriously considering taking a zucchini holiday next year to not provide the bugs anything to live on and hope they move on or die off.
I’m killing what I can as I see them but it seems like a losing battle.
ooops....
Forgot the link.....
Preventing Powdery Mildew On Cucumbers, Squash & Melons
http://www.veggiegardener.com/preventing-powdery-mildew-on-cucumbers-squash-melons/
No, but the last rain did it, and contrary to all the "rules," due to limited space, my approx. 40 plants along the West side of the building are somewhat close together, and most only get about 4- 5 hours of sun, but have going well, and so they are now very crowded. But little problem with bugs so far. Hope to get a neighbor to take a picture of the plot.
I read different formulas for spray, and so i wondered what you found. So i made my own yesterday, using about green tea, baking soda, some milk, a little pure-Castile liquid soap, and some hydrogen peroxide. After one day it seems to be helping, but some rain is forecast for tonight.
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