The Synod of Bishops approved a final "message to the People of God," as the October meeting came to the end of discussions on "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church." In their final full day of deliberations, the 235 Synod participants will discuss amendments to a set of propositions that they will deliver to Pope Benedict XVI, as the basis for an apostolic exhortation that will conclude the work of this Synod.
The final message of the Synod, released on October 24, explains the Church's understanding of the Word of God by using four images: "the Voice, the Face, the House, and the Road of the Word."
The full text of the Synod's statement is available on the Vatican web site.
The Synod fathers use an unusual set of images to convey a main theme of their October discussions: the understanding that the Word of God is not restricted to the Scriptures. Arguing against a fundamentalist approach, and emphasizing the Catholic respect for Church authority and tradition, the Synod message notes that "the Word of God precedes and goes beyond the Bible."
The first image of the message is the Voice, which "sounds at the origin of creation." During the Synod's early discussions several prelates had compared the role of the Word of God to that of Wisdom, as depicted in the Old Testament. This Wisdom, this Voice, the message says, "descends into the pages of the Sacred Scripture which we now read in the Church with the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
The Face to which the Synod alludes is the face of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God. Through Christ we have access to 'the complete and unitary meaning of Sacred Scripture," the message says. This passage of the message underlines the point that Christianity is not really a religion "of the Book," but a faith centered on the Person of Christ.
The House of the Word is the Church, the message continues. Through her teaching, her liturgy, her prayer, and her solidarity of fellowship, the Church brings the Word of God to life in our day. The Church carries out the mission of evangelization throughout the world, bringing the Word of God to those who have not yet received or accepted it.
The Road of the Word refers to this task of evangelization, and the Synod's message stresses the need to use every available means by which to spread the message of the Gospel. A prayerful reading of the Bible should become part of the life of every believer, the bishops write. Strengthened and guided by the Word, the faithful should bring renewal to "a world often disfigured by ugliness and brutality."
The Word of God, the Synod fathers write, brings comfort to the oppressed, particularly because it leads them to Jesus. "At its summit is the Cross where Christ, alone and abandoned, experienced the tragedy of atrocious suffering and death. Precisely because of this presence of the Son of God, the darkness of evil and death is irradiated with Paschal light and with hope of glory."
The Synod's message concludes with the same commendation that St. Paul used to the Ephesians: "We commend you to God and to the message of his grace."
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