Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 10, 2015 - Saturday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Joel 4:12-21 and Luke 11:27-28]While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." [Luke]
One aspect of Jesus' teaching that can make many people squirm is his attitude toward those who were biologically or ethnically kin to him. He seemed to regard these powerful bonds as irrelevant! At one point, his immediate family wanted to "seize him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind.'" [Mark 3:21, 31-35] When they arrived and he was told that his family was outside and wanted to see him, he simply pointed to whoever was in the group in front of him and said that "whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." In today's gospel passage, Jesus responds to the cry of a woman who had to have been a mother herself to use the image of pregnancy and nursing, and says, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." One could almost wonder what his mother thought!
It does come down to a matter of ultimate beliefs and relationships. Even the most intimate and natural of those relationships must take second place to the kingdom of God if "push comes to shove." One prays that will never happen. After all, God did create the human family and it is the school where most of us learn how to love. It is not easy to view these very natural and everyday realities through the prism of Jesus' life and teachings. We tend to do it the other way around. That's why the Holy Spirit has to work hard with human beings! AMEN