RBWords

     Liturgical tradition, in the absence of a particular feast day, dedicates Saturday to the devotion of the the Blessed Virgin Mary.  So, it is a bit strange to hear the words of the gospel scripture today which place even the most intimate family relationships secondary to discipleship.  Hearing God's word and observing it comes ahead of everything else. Yet, Mary is presented earlier in the gospel as someone who does exactly that.  She is portrayed as the model disciple who ponders everything about her son and follows him.  This portrait is more sympathetic than the one in the Gospel of Mark, from which Luke borrows considerably, and reflects the longer period of reflection about all aspects of Jesus' life.

     In our individualistic western society, we raise children to become "independent" of parents.  In Middle Eastern and oriental society, children are raised to be members of a group and family ties come before all others.  An understanding of this social reality is helpful for understanding Jesus' words in today's gospel.  The word of God and its observance is so important that even the closest physical and emotional ties are subordinated to it.  In our own society, we have to look to something else and that something else is the precious individualism/independence that shapes us.  The word of God and its observance is more important than our personal fulfillment apart from it.  We are challenged to put ourselves in service to the word of God and not the other way around.  True devotion to the mother of Jesus means looking to her son and his teachings the same way she did.  AMEN