HW: Sunday of the Word of God, 2026

A reflection for the Sunday of the Word of God, written and spoken by Kieran J. O'Mahony OSA.

Gentle piano music to close the meditation

Transcript

John’s Lane
D08 F8NW
25 January 2026
Sunday of the Word of God

Welcome
Welcome again, everybody. From today, we start listening to Matthew’s Gospel, story after story, until the feast of Christ the King, on the second last Sunday of November 2026.

Matthew is an expanded edition of Mark, with lots of extra teaching, written most likely in Antioch in Syria about the year ad 85 or 90. The setting of the faith community was very like ours. This Gospel was written for a community at a critical juncture: who is Jesus for us? what does it mean to be a disciple? how much of the previous tradition do we keep? how will the community function into the future? These questions are very much ours as well, as we go forward in the company of Matthew.

As it happens, this Sunday is also the Sunday of the Word of God, when we are invited to reflect again on the place of Scripture in our lives.

Topic
Pope Francis was an energetic promotor of Scripture, as we can see from several significant initiatives.

Steps
In his first major communication as bishop of Rome, The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis wrote the following words:

The study of the sacred Scriptures must be a door opened to every believer. It is essential that the revealed word radically enrich our catechesis and all our efforts to pass on the faith. Evangelisation demands familiarity with God’s word, which calls for dioceses, parishes and Catholic associations to provide for a serious, ongoing study of the Bible, while encouraging its prayerful individual and communal reading.

This strong invitation was followed by two initiatives. In 2019, Pope Francis established the Sunday of the Word of God, to be marked on the Sunday when we begin our consecutive reading of the Gospel for the year. In 2020, he set up the Synodal Pathway, a vast unlocking of energy across the whole Catholic world. This powerful and participative initiative — a reality in our diocese — is explicitly rooted in Scripture and prayer. While there are different voices, I am convinced the Synodal Pathway has to work if there is to be a church into the future. And if it is to work, it has to be founded on the Word of God.

There is no doubting the commitment of Pope Francis to the Word of God. We can always ask, why does it matter so much? Part of the answer lies in a poetic expression of Pope Benedict. He once described scripture as

The Book is the very voice of the pilgrim People of God, and only within the faith of this People are we, so to speak, attuned to understand sacred Scripture. 

In the Week of Prayer for Christianity Unity, it may be no harm to notice that an almost identical teaching is found on the website of the Church of Ireland. On scripture, there we read:

“The Bible tells of God's relationship with God's people through the centuries. This record always needs to be interpreted in the context of the church's faith, prayer and worship, and in such a way that what scripture said for its original audience is faithfully re-expressed for the modern world.”

A potential two-way dialogue opens us. We bring our story to open the Scriptures and,  in turn, the Scriptures shed light on our story. If I were to use a very Catholic term, the Word of God is a kind of sacrament, a way in which God is present to us and we can be present to God.

In practice, what could this possibly mean? Three actions come to mind. The first is this: every Sunday we hear a great deal of Scripture. I firmly believe that each reading requires a brief introduction — enough to enable people to listen intelligently and fruitfully — and that there is a place for silence. The second is like this. Every parish should offer on-going study and reflection on the Bible, as Pope Francis indicates.

Finally, it is clear today that each one of us has to own the faith in a quite personal way. Part of that personal ownership and journey will include actually owning a suitable version of the Bible, for prayer and guidance in our lives. We are all, in that sense, hearers of the Word. As we attend to the words of the readings, we hope that we may hear the word of life that each one of needs.

Conclusion
As we start on our journey with Matthew, an ancient prayer can help us: 

Lord, inspire me to read your Scriptures
and to meditate upon them day and night. 
I beg you to give me real understanding of what I read, 
that I in turn may put its precepts into practice.
Yet, I know that understanding and good intentions are worthless,
unless rooted in your graceful love.
So I ask that the words of Scripture may also be not just signs on a page,
but channels of grace into my heart. Amen.