Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Piety
Jesus, we think we want to make you happy. You tell us exactly how to do that. You give us examples like Mary to show the way. You even model that exact behavior for us. Yet, we continue to go off in another direction. Give us ears that we may hear your Word. Give us a heart that will give your Word someplace to dwell. Give us the resolve to act on that which comes into our life. When we complete your work, may we celebrate with you always. Amen.
http://www.usccb.org/nab/092507.shtml
The family of Jesus is not constituted by physical relationship with him but by obedience to the word of God. Last week, we read about the two important acts Jesus commanded repeatedly and here again we read and meditate on that dualism: first, listen to the word of God and second, act on it.
Today’s pronouncement echoes that same theme but on the surface it sounds harsh. Jesus’ own mother Mary is cast as an outsider, coming to see Jesus – or trying to see him. Just like she could not get a room at the inn during his birth, here she could not even get a direct meeting with her own Son. Yet, even that did not shake her faith.
Hear. Act.
Why was Mary outside? As Jesus stressed these two commands – Hear and Act – he was also turning his back on the old way of telling who a family member was…through genealogy or blood lines. Matthew’s Gospel opens by tracing the ancestors of Jesus back to the line of David. However, in Luke’s account, blood relationships are trumped by relationships based upon obedience and action.
Hear. Act.
Why was Mary outside? She had very little to do or say during Jesus public ministry. After he was born, presented in the temple, lost during the caravan, and blessed the wine at
Hear. Act.
Why was Mary outside? Maybe Mary was becoming concerned about how Jesus was starting to sound in his public teaching. We have already heard how Jesus challenged the Pharisees with his confrontation about working on the Sabbath and Jesus’ lecture to the Pharisee about the authentic faith of the woman who was anointing his feet. So maybe she was coming to plead with Jesus to tone down the confrontational aspects of his ministry.
Hear. Act.
Why was Mary outside? Maybe because Mary already modeled the behavior Jesus wanted the rest of us to follow. She did not need the lecture. Mary has already set that gold standard with her acceptance of God’s wish for her. (“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38) Yet, here she was, the single person who least needed to hear Jesus’ message, yet she continued to seek Him out to hear what he had to say.
Hear. Act.
Why was Mary outside? We have already heard Jesus lament, “"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command?” (Luke 6:46) Maybe this story places Mary outside because Jesus wanted to reach others and become a part of our lives in the same way he was a part of Mary’s life.
The elders of the Jews were physically rebuilding the
Hear. Act.
It does not matter what material goods we possess.
It does not matter how much money we have.
It does not matter in what nation we were born.
All that matters is praying so we can put our selves in a place to hear what the Lord has to say to us. And then, once we hear the message, we must ask ourselves, “What are we going to do about that?”
Jesus doe not just want us to help our family and people like us but also to help those who are not like us. In Ezra, we read how King Dairus helped the Jews in exile. Who is in exile in today’s world? How do we reach out to those exiled from the
Maybe we are called to support those in exile from our health care system – people and especially 4 million children who do not have money to access our system because they lack insurance. As our representatives in
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