What are you fueling your body with?

Be sure to READ and/or LISTEN to today's readings.

Our first reading today, from Ezekiel, takes the expression "what goes in must come out" to a new level!

In this passage, God is telling the prophet to take what He is about to give him and eat it. No big deal if we are getting mana, but God gave him a scroll!  Ezekiel unrolled the scroll that was covered in writing and ate it!

"Son of man, he said to me, feed your stomach and fill your belly with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth." Ezekiel 3:3 (NABRE)

We know when it comes to food, what goes in is going to come out. The better we feed our body with, the better it will perform! 

I love the image of Ezekiel literally eating God's Word. God's Word is living and breathing. 

"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw this glory, the glory as of the Father's only son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14 NABRE). 

The eating of the scroll makes me think of the Eucharist and how we literally take Jesus into our body! 

I also love this image because we must take in God's Word daily as nourishment! We must internalize God's Word so that it may dwell in our hearts and minds and come out of our mouth. 

"How sweet to my tongue is your promise, sweeter than honey to my mouth." Psalm 119:103 NABRE

I do not want to move on today without also touching on our Gospel reading out of Matthew. 

I can so relate with the disciples in this passage. They are human and had been with each other and with Jesus day and night. Naturally they each wanted to be special and seen as the favorite! They asked Jesus who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

How does Jesus answer them? He uses a child as an example letting them know that in order to enter the kingdom they had to become like children! He is not saying to be like children when they are misbehaving and making you crazy, he wants you to be acting like children at their core.

Before the world gets ahold of children, they are trusting, believing and have faith! They believe what their parents tell them because they love, honor and respect them. They are humble and totally dependent on their parents.

Jesus is telling us we need to be humble and dependent on our Father. We must have faith, hope and trust in Him and His Word. On top of that, he continues that we must not only seek the lost, and those that have fallen away, but we must not cause any of God's children to stumble. We must not cause anyone else to sin.

When we are following the example in Ezekiel and "eating" God's word daily, meditating on it and praying through it, we are better equipped to face the day. We are better able to do the will of God and live in our purpose. When we are properly nourished we can face the day and all circumstances with strength and confidence.

Humble yourself, find your inner child and live the way you did before the world go ahold of you and tainted your spirit! Become totally dependent on your Father in Heaven.