Sunday, October 7, 2012

10/13/2012 – SATURDAY of 27th week in ordinary time– Luke 11: 27-28


        A woman in the crowd is very impressed with Jesus’ ability to heal, with his teachings & the way he enthralls the crowd.  She tells Jesus: Blessed is the woman who carried him in her womb, who nursed him & raised him.  She thinks of how proud his mother must be to have a child that has grown up to be a man such as Jesus.       
But Jesus tells her that those who hear God’s word & observe it are the ones who are blessed.  Jesus, like the other devout Jews of his day, prayed the Shema prayer from the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  This Shema prayer & the summary of the covenant of life we have with God are reflected in Jesus’ response to this woman: That she should hear the word of God & live out this word in her life.  And Jesus’ Mother, Mary so exemplified hearing God’s word & resonating it in her life, as she responded to the word of God that is expressed in the Torah, the Holy Scripture of the Jewish people.  Mary’s response to the word of God, the way she reflected this word in her life, is what enabled her to successfully become the Mother of our Lord. 
         May we imitate Mary by hearing and following Jesus.. Indeed, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

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