Những lời nói của Chúa Giêsu trong bài Tin Mừng hôm nay có thể đã gây sốc mạnh cho những người sống trong một truyền thống tôn kính và vinh danh cha mẹ và gia đình như những người Á đông chúng ta. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã không quay lưng lại với gia đình của Ngài; trái lại, Ngài đã mở rộng cái gia đình đó. Ngài đã xây dựng một gia đình vĩ đại bao là gồm tất cả nhân loại. Ngài nhấn mạnh: Từ nay trở đi, không còn giới hạn tình yêu của chúng ta, mà tất cả thân nhân anh em ruột thịt của chúng ta trong Thiên Chúa. Tất cả những ai đáp lại lời gọi và tiếp nhận Tin Mừng của Thiên Chúa, được coi như là người thân trong gia đình của chúng ta. Trong một nghĩa nào đó, gia đình của chúng ta đã phát triển và rất to lớn.
Những lời dạy của Chúa Giêsu là một thách thức cho chúng ta, để chúng ta biết phải mở rộng tấm lòng và tâm trí của chúng ta và để chúng ta có thể biết chấp nhận nhiều hơn không phải chỉ có những người gần gũi và thân yêu của chúng ta không mà thôi. Chúng ta hãy nhìn xung quanh chúng ta, Ai là những người thân cận trong gia đình của chúng ta? Nếu chúng ta làm được như vậy, liệu chúng ta có thay đổi thái độ và hành vi khi chúng ta đố xử với họ? Vũ trũ và thế giới này là nhà của chúng ta và tất cả mọi người trong nhân loại đều là những anh chị em hân nhân tiềm năng trong gia đình của chúng ta.
- Lạy Chúa, xin Chúa đừng để bất cứ hàng rào, ngăn cách nào có thể cản ngăn tình yêu của chúng con.
The words of Jesus sound a little harsh to our ears. He seems to dismiss them as he proclaims that those who do the will of God are his mother and brothers. The words must have been shocking to those living in a tradition that revered and honored parents and family. But Jesus was not turning his back on his family — on the contrary, he was expanding it. He came to build all of humanity into one family. From now on, he insisted, don't confine your love just to your blood relatives. All who respond to God can be counted as our family. In a sense, our family has grown enormous.
The words of Jesus are a challenge to broaden our hearts and minds and embrace more than just those who are near and dear to us. Let us look around — who can we count among our family? If we do so, will our behavior towards them change? The world is our home and all humanity is our potential family.
Lord, may there be no barriers to my love for others.
The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” Luke 8:19–21
The term “brothers” in this passage is obviously not to be understood that Jesus had blood brothers. It is a dogma of our faith that Jesus was the only Child of Mary. At that time, it was common practice to refer to one’s extended family as “brothers.” This would have especially applied to Jesus’ cousins and perhaps even those who were unrelated by blood but were from the same village.
As these relatives of Jesus stood outside and announced their presence, what did they expect Jesus to do? His “brothers” might have been there to try to talk some sense into Him. We know from other passages in the Gospels that some of Jesus’ extended family thought He was out of His mind. Therefore, it is possible that these brothers were there to resolve an extended family conflict that was erupting as Jesus began His public ministry.
Jesus’ response was not a rude response. This is clear from the fact that Jesus lived the perfection of charity. But true charity is always grounded in the truth. Jesus spoke a truth that cut through the merely human ties and conflicts that were driving these brothers. By saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it,” Jesus was challenging His brothers to stop looking at Him only in an earthly way. Everyone, including His relatives, needed to learn to see Jesus as the Son of the Father in Heaven. It was the act of accepting Jesus’ divine identity and submitting in obedience to the will of the Father that established a much deeper bond with Him. That is the relationship that Jesus desired with His earthly brothers.
The mother of Jesus, on the other hand, was also perfect in every way. She was free from the disorder of sin and even her mind was clear, being filled with perfect wisdom and understanding. Therefore, when it was reported to her what Jesus said, she would have understood and believed.
Saint Bede says that when we hear the word of God and obey it, we become Jesus’ “mother” by bringing Him forth into the world through our words and actions. This also makes us Jesus’ “brothers” because our obedience makes us all children of the Father in Heaven.
By the gift of the fullness of grace, our Blessed Mother would have fully understood that her unity with her Son was primarily the result of their shared obedience to the Father’s will. She not only experienced the Son of God being conceived within her womb, she also had the profound experience of conceiving Him in her heart through her obedience to the will of the Father. That “conception” of Jesus within her Immaculate Heart would have been unmistakably clear to her and the cause of her greatest joy. For that reason, she would have treasured this spiritual motherhood of her Son as the greatest gift of all, even more than the gift of natural motherhood.
Reflect, today, upon the fact that you are also invited to be the “mother” and the “brother” of Jesus. You share in these holy callings through obedience to the will of the Father. The more clearly you hear God speak and the more fully you obey all that He says will determine the depth of spiritual union you have with Him. Our natural selves must give way to the supernatural life of grace. Make the choice, with our Blessed Mother, to pursue the glorious life of grace so that you will conceive the Son of God in your heart, become a true child of the Father in Heaven, and become a spiritual brother or sister of our Lord.
My divine Lord, Your love for Your earthly mother was perfect in every way. That earthly bond was transformed and elevated by Your spiritual union with her on account of Your mutual obedience to the will of the Father. Please draw me into Your divine Family by helping me to listen to and to obey all that the Father speaks. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Jesus and the Path of Wisdom: Jesus teaches the path of wisdom in the Gospel. He calls us to the obedience of faith, to hear the Word of God and act on it. This is the way true sons and daughters of God act; this is the way the brothers and sisters of Christ act. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is blessed not only because she was chosen to be the Mother of God, but also because she walked blamelessly in the way of the Lord. She gave her complete yes to God’s Word and considered herself as the handmaid of the Lord. All generations call her blessed and seek to imitate her unconditional acceptance of God’s will.
2. The Second Collection of Solomon’s Proverbs: Today’s First Reading is taken from the Second Collection of Solomon’s proverbs (Proverbs 10:1-22:16). Many of these proverbs have to do with the two ways: the way of wisdom and life and the way of foolishness and death. The righteous are those who listen to the voice of wisdom and lead a life of prayer. They are urged to trust in the Lord and to be diligent in work, humble in spirit, open to correction, and committed to truthful and guarded speech (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, 14). The senseless, by contrast, are given to pride, laziness, drunkenness, and all manner of perverse and deceitful speech. They tend to be merciless, contentious, and quick-tempered. They have no qualms about perverting justice and conducting crooked business deals. What is worse, they despise correction from others that would lead them toward wisdom. “The way of folly is ultimately ‘the way of evil’ (2:12), and the one who follows it ‘dies for lack of discipline’ (5:23)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon, 14).
3. Empty Sacrifices vs. Works of Mercy: In particular, our First Reading sees the foolish as having haughty eyes and proud hearts. The fruit of their work is sin. Those who are wicked desire evil; those who are arrogant will be punished; those who are indifferent to the cry of the poor will not be heard when they cry out in their need. We are called in the Psalm to reject the way of the foolish and to walk in the law of the Lord. When we meditate on God’s deeds and seek to understand his precepts, we can be led by God along the path of life, the path of his commandments. What God desires, more than empty sacrifices, is for us to imitate him and do what is right, just, and merciful. The sacrifice of our lives – our self-offering – is not empty when it is united to that of Christ, empowered by divine grace, and full of works of charity.
Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you saved me from sin and death by following the humble path of divine wisdom. Teach me to follow in your footsteps along this path. Help me to know what to avoid, how to stay on the path, how to overcome temptation, how to persevere through trial, and how to finish the race.
1. The Father: Jesus was attentive to God the Father’s will and fulfilled it perfectly. And Jesus told us that those “who hear the word of God and act on it” become his family members. We are as important to Jesus as his own mother, his flesh and blood. In fact, he loves us so much he willingly died to save us from our sins. How grateful are we to God for our status as adopted sons and daughters?
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