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THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD
Benny Thettayil
At the first touch of the rains, some of the African deserts like the Etosha burst into scenic
flower fields as the bones in Ezekiel’s valley (Ezek 37:5) were transformed with the first
touch of the prophet’s words which charged with divine authority. Here God does not
directly make the bones come alive, but through the speech of the prophet. It is the
authority of God that makes his spoken words powerful.
1. The spoken word
Generally, the spoken words, unless they are soliloquies, presuppose an interlocutor who is
able to understand and respond to the speaker. This is evident in the creation story in
Genesis. In the beginning (Gen 1:1; Jn 1:1) the Word and the Spirit joins in the creative work
of God (Gen 1:26). However, of all the creations that came forth as a result of the creative
activity for six days, the one that God addresses is the human (Gen 1:28). None of the other
creations are addressed by God.
2. The nature of human word
a. Destructive nature: Words can wound others, disrupt friendships that have been built for
years, they can cause confusion within families, and they can even ruin lives. A word
of blessing or a curse can have great consequences.
b. Constructive nature: Words can heal or build up others. Word of comfort, consolation
and encouragement are vital for a healthy development of the human being. Words
can sooth a sorrowing heart and infuse confidence and rebuild broken lives. Words
can help one open up and communicate, share mind and heart.
In the human realm, the powerfulnessof the word depends upon the power that one wields.
Analogically, the nature of the Word of the omnipotent God has to be omnipotent too!The
Word of God is infinitely powerful.
3. Characteristics of the Word of God
a. Vibrant: The word enters history, charged with explosive power. Those it touches cannot
remain indifferent. Hence Jeremiah feels the fire locked in bones! (20:9); it does not
return to God before it fulfils its purpose (Is 55:10-11).
b. Steadfast: Just as the rock that God is (Ps 18:2) so is the Word of God. It is trustworthy
that can be depended upon (Is 40:8).
c. Powerful: The Wordisfull of fire and power like a hammer which shatters rocks (Jer 23:29)
even capable of breaking the cedars of Lebanon (Ps 29:5).
d. Creative:By a Word God created this universe. Only in the second story of creation of
human being there is a reference to some manual activity on the part of God (Gen 2:7,
21-22). In the first story of creation, it is the Word that creates: “Let there be …” (Gen
1:3). Hence the belief of the Israelites: “By the Word the heavens are made.” (Ps 33:6).
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e. Salvific: The first historical words of God were words of liberation that God uttered from
the burning bush. The command that God gave Moses was to go and liberate (Ex
3:10). The subsequent wordsof liberation through Amos and Ezekiel, words of warning
through Jonah and words of judgement through Nathan, Elijah came as the Word of
salvation. Coming to the New Testament, the word of Jesus effected immediate
healing. The sinners were forgiven (sinful woman, Zacchaeus) brought total healing in
spirit and body(Samaritan leper). Caused an immediate response from the part of the
disciples at the call (Mk 1:16-20).
f. Revelatory: Word (whether human or divine) is “revelatory”. When we speak, our words
reveal who we are. When God speaks, his words reveal who he is. God reveals himself
to human beings who have the potentiality to respond (Gen 1:28). His Word is alive
and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul
and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires
(Heb 4:12).
4. Vatican II on the WORD
Dei Verbum, the dogmatic constitution on divine revelation (§ 21 and 24) instructs us to
study God’s Word not just for knowledge, but to change life, to know how to do God’s
liberative work in the world. Paul reminds us that the knowledge of the Word is useful only if it
leads us to do good to others (2Tim 3:17). Likewise James instructs us to be doers of the word,
and not hearers only (Jam 1:22).
5. God-Word correlation
The plural usage in Gen 1:26“let us make” and the fact that it is the Word that effects the
creative activity of God, points to Jn 1:3 where John tells us that it was through the Word
that all things were made and without him nothing was made that had been made. This
Word was with God in the beginning (Jn 1:1) and it was the same Word that entered into
our history (Jn 1:14). It is this Word that sustains (Mt 4:4; Jn 6:35).It is this Word that is the
light to my path (Ps 119:105) and the light of the world (Jn 8:12) in whom the revelations
finds its culmination (Heb 1:1-2).
6. Ongoing Revelation
Before the departure of Jesus, he promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of truth, to guide them into all truth (Jn 16:13). The Holy Spirit is active in the
Church, in the world, in the nature. Today, the Word of God is powerfully revealed in all
these. However, the Word is revealed most powerfully in the Holy Scripture when we read
and listen to it with the help if the Spirit.
7. Ministry of the Word
The Church was built up thanks to the charisms that various individual members of the
Church received from the Spirit, which we call the gifts of the Spirit (1Cor 1:10). A minister
of the Word by virtue of the gift that he/she has received from the Spirit, dispenses this gift
for the building up of the community. This gift comes along with one’s ability to proclaim
the Word of the Lord distinctly, clearly, humbly and in an edifying manner that the listeners
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are refreshed in their faith. If one cannot proclaim the Word in this manner, maybe, one’s
gift is different which calls one to a different ministry in the Church as valuable as the
ministry of the Word of God.
The objectives of the reader exercising his/her ministry is to make the recorded word of God
come alive, to make the written words the Word of God. In doing so, the characteristics of
the Word come alive as we read.
8. Performance and ministry
A reader’s act of reading is as much a performance as it is a ministry. As one is proclaiming
the Word of God, one is advised to perform from the heart. A performer might read aloud to
inform, entertain and persuade. A minister reads the Word of God aloud just as a performer
does, but with an additional motive to celebrate and to refresh the faith of the listeners. The
anecdote about the performer and the old minister reciting Psalm 23 would be in place.
After the performance of both of them, the performer would announce: “I know the Psalm,
he knows the shepherd.”
9. Ordination and ministry
Your priests too are ministers of the Word who consider that "It is not desirable for us to
neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.” (Acts 6:2). They receive no automatic
skills in ordination to make them better lectors. Hence, the lectors and priests face the same
challenge and same purpose of ensuring the Word of God achieve the end for which it was
sent by God. The challenge before both is to read the Word of God and make it heard as if
for the first time. God’s story and God’s involvement in our world are not an archaic
historical narrative, rather, it is an eternal act of love which is unending – ever ancient, ever
new.
10. Credibility and appearance
Serving as the ministers of the Word, we ensure that our life in the society is worthy of the
sanctuary. I do not let anyone in the pews raise an eyebrow as I rise to proclaim the word of
God from the sanctuary. Similarly, the manner of my appearance commands respect not
only for me, but also for the Word that I proclaim. I constantly watch and get feedbacks on
my manners to make them conducive to my ministry. Anything on my part that distracts the
audience from the Word would be counter-productive.
11. Sender of the message
Consider that the original sender (Jesus, the Apostles, their disciples) disappear in the text.
The act of reading brings the author alive. The original audience heard twoadditional
unspoken languages, namely, inlocutional language and perlocutional language. The
inlocutional language is the particular emphasis laid on a particular phrase, the intensity
with which a statement is made, the intonation and the gestures made in nonverbal
communication. Perlocutional language has more to do with the listeners. It denotes the
effect that is part of the message, which is generally not coded in the text. Consequently,
the nuances are lost to today’s hearers. Learning a bit of the background both of the author
and the community that the author addresses, will, to a certain extent bring back the
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inlocutional and perlocutional languages back and make the proclamation far more
effective.
12. Conviction and experience
Conviction of and in what we do enhances the effectiveness all that we do. When one
proclaims with conviction, one helps the listeners to confirm their conviction. Conviction
comes from experience. Hence, we find that the prophets who were sent to proclaim the
Word to the Israelites, narrate their experiences with the Word. The scroll eating prophet
(Ezek 3:3), the amber kissing prophet (Is 6:7), the prophet on fire (Jer 20:9) and many more
point to the experience that they had prior to the commission that they received to
proclaim the Word. This experience makes our proclamation credible. Without this
experience, we become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal (1Cor 13:1). Hence, let us know
both the Psalm and the shepherd.