(School Homily): Friday, November 19, 2004

Our first reading today from the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, is very strange. John, the author, wrote that he heard a voice from heaven. This meant that God was speaking to him. God told John that there was an angel holding a scroll in his hand. A scroll is a long piece of paper with writing on it, all rolled up. That’s what people wrote on before they had books.

And then—are you ready for this?—God told John that he should eat the scroll. It would taste as sweet as honey or candy in his mouth—but it would then turn sour in his stomach. In other words, John would get a bellyache.

What could this possibly mean? Why would something like that be in the Bible?

The Book of Revelation is a very special kind of writing with a funny-sounding name: apocalyptic. In this kind of writing, the message is written in a secret code that only Christians could understand. So the events in the Book of Revelation didn’t really happen. They’re just part of a story that’s meant to be decoded.

So let’s see if we can figure out what the message is.

First, John heard the voice from heaven—which we said meant God was speaking to him. Does God speak to people? You bet He does! As Catholics, we know that. He speaks to us in the Bible and at Mass… He speaks to us when we pray and He puts good desires in our heart… He speaks to us when our parents or teachers ask us to do something… and in many other ways, too.

OK, so we understand the first part. What’s next?

Well, God asked John to take the scroll and eat it. That’s still pretty weird, don’t you think?

But how about this: God sometimes asks us to do something—and maybe, He even sometimes asks us to do something that we wouldn’t normally think to do, or even want to do, ourselves!

I know that’s very true for me. I never thought about being a priest. But God asked me, so I thought about it and prayed about it for a long time and then I said “yes.” Maybe God gave you an opportunity to join a club or a team but you weren’t sure you’d fit in… or be a leader… or stand up and defend your faith… or have to say no to friends if they tried to make you do something bad. Maybe these are the kinds of things that we’d rather not have to do… like eating a book or a scroll!

Yet the next thing we hear is that God said that the scroll would taste sweet! That means that we would feel good about listening to God. It should always make us feel happy inside when we do what God asks us to do.

But then God says that the scroll would give John a stomachache. How come? Because in the early days of the church, when John lived, it was very hard to be a follower of Jesus. So if you did what God wanted, you’d be very special in God’s eyes and very blessed, but you might have to suffer… maybe even be a martyr.

Many of you have already learned that doing the right thing is sometimes not easy. It’s not always easy to listen to your parents when your friends are trying to pull you in another direction. It’s not easy to be the one person who stands up for someone getting picked on unfairly.

But thanks to our faith, we know that God will bless us for following His will. Yes, He reminds us that to be obedient to God, even when it seems hard, is the best thing we can do.

Some people think that obeying God is as bad as eating a rolled up scroll of paper! Why? Because they prefer to do what they want rather than what God wants. They think doing what they want gives them freedom, but doing what God or anybody else wants is like being a slave.

But actually, that’s not quite true.

Think about a bird. When a bird is in the air, flying around, it’s free. But if you put a bird in water, it has lost its freedom.

Now a fish, on the other hand, is free in the water, able to swim all around. But put it in the air on the ground, and he’ll die, because it’s out of the normal place a fish needs to be.

In exactly the same way, Christian people are free only when we listen to God and do what He tells us. This is as natural and necessary for us as water is for a fish, or air is for a bird.

The really wonderful thing about listening to God and doing what He says is that lots of times, He has great surprises for us. Some people might think they just got lucky when good things happen, but we know better. We know that it’s God who’s sending down His extra-special blessings on the people He loves and who love Him back.

So pray today that you will always listen for God in your life. And never be afraid to do what He asks, because He promises to take wonderful care of you always!