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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