Ai là người may mắn ơn phúc trong mắt chúng ta? Trong văn hóa Do Thái, chính chữ này chỉ người mà chúng ta được ra (vì một người đàn ông) và người mà chúng đã đã sinh ra (cho một người phụ nữ) điều đó đã quyết định sự may mắn của chúng ta. Đó là lý do tại sao trong bài ca Ngợi Khen ‘Magnificat’ Đức Maria đã nói, “Này từ đây mọi người sẽ khen tôi có phúc.” (Lc 1:48).
Who are the blessed in our eyes? In the Jewish culture, it is from whom you descended (for a man) and to whom you gave birth (for a woman) — that determined your blessedness. That is why in the Magnificat, Mary says, “from now onwards all generations will call me blessed” (Lk 1:48).
However, Jesus, not only acknowledged what the woman in the crowd said about His mother Mary, being blessed to have been His mother, but pushed the boundary of the Jewish understanding of blessedness to a new horizon. He said, more blessed are those who “hear the word of God and keep it”. Whom do we know who is more blessed as to “hear and obey”? Mary of course! She not only heard the word of God but obeyed it, when she said to the angel Gabriel (at the annunciation) — “let what you have said be done to me” (Lk 1:38).
The Greek word for “obey” (phylassein) carries the meaning of “guard” or “value greatly”. So, when we obey God, we are saying to God that we “guard” and “value greatly” whatever God has spoken to us.
Jesus takes this obedience to God’s word further by saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice” (Lk 8:21). To be in Jesus’ family is to “hear” God’s Word and “practise it.”
May we seek always to hear God’s word and keep it!
Lord, train me to observe Your word, to keep it with my heart.
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 11:27–28
Any loving mother would understand the sentiment expressed by this woman in the crowd. We can reasonably infer that she was likely a mother herself, one who took great joy in her children. After being deeply moved by Jesus’ words and presence, she looked upon Him with maternal admiration, expressing the thought that His mother must be truly blessed to have borne and nurtured such a holy man of God. Perhaps, in her heart, she imagined how wonderful it would be to have had the privilege of being the mother of the Messiah.
Jesus, however, gives a surprising response to the woman’s touching and sincere exclamation. Rather than simply accepting the compliment or returning a kind word of thanks, Jesus redirects the focus. He shifts the emphasis from the natural to the supernatural—from biological motherhood to spiritual discipleship.
On a natural level, it is indeed true that the Blessed Virgin Mary is uniquely blessed for being the Mother of the Son of God. As the woman observed, motherhood is a great gift, and to be the mother of the Messiah is an incomprehensible grace. Though Jesus does not deny this, He instead reveals the deeper source of the Virgin Mary’s true blessedness. It was not only that she carried Him in her womb or nursed Him at her breast, it was that she heard the Word of God and observed it with perfect fidelity.
It may be that Jesus’ response to this kind woman arose out of His burning love for His own mother. He loved her because she was His mother, and love was due her for that reason alone. However, His love also flowed from His infinite gratitude to her for her perfect cooperation with the divine plan of salvation. As God, Jesus looked upon His mother as the New Eve, the new mother of all the living. He saw her Immaculate Heart, which she kept pure and free from every sin throughout her life. He foresaw her eventual Assumption into Heaven and her coronation as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Jesus also looked upon His mother from the perspective of human nature. She was His mother. She perfectly cared for Him, nursed Him, fed Him, played with Him, and loved Him with all her heart. Her graced virtues forged a sacred bond with her Son that we can only try to imagine.
Therefore, when this woman cried out, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed,” we can also hear in Jesus’ response an immediate defense of His mother’s honor and dignity. Yes, she carried Him in her womb and nursed Him, but Jesus saw her for who she truly was. She perfectly listened to the Word of God and conformed to God’s will without any deviation. Hence, it might have been Jesus’ human love, united with His divine love, that compelled Him to immediately proclaim His mother’s true dignity and blessedness.
By honoring His mother this way, Jesus also expands that honor to all who follow her example. He invites everyone to share in her blessedness by hearing the Word of God and observing it with faith and fidelity. In doing so, He reveals that true spiritual kinship with Him is not based on blood, but on obedience to the will of the Father. This teaching not only affirms the unparalleled holiness of His mother, but also opens the path of blessedness to all who, like her, wholeheartedly say “Yes” to God.
Reflect today on Jesus’ quick and passionate response to this loving mother in the crowd. Hear in His voice a sense of urgency directed to your own soul. He desires to include you in His spiritual kinship and to count you among the blessed, those who hear His Word and faithfully observe it. Imitate the Mother of God, and you, too, will share in the blessings that such a life bestows.
Living Word of God, You continuously speak to us the dictates of love, calling us to Yourself and conforming us to Your will. Please open my ears to hear You and strengthen my heart to obey You. May Your Blessed Mother be my intercessor and model of such a life, and may I share in the blessedness she enjoys. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, bless me today as I hear your Word and strive to observe it. I am your child, and I desire your fatherly blessing with all my heart. Teach me to be an obedient child who seeks to please you in all that I do today.
Encountering the Word of God
1. Hearing and Observing the Word of God: Throughout the Gospels, Jesus reveals that he is establishing a new family of God and inaugurating the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, membership in God’s people was closely associated with Israel’s covenant lineage. One needed to belong to the people of Israel, the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah and the house of David, and the priesthood was entrusted to descendants of Aaron and Zadok within Israel. The woman in today’s Gospel recognizes the extraordinary privilege of being related to Jesus according to the flesh. She praises the woman who gave birth to such a Son: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” Yet Jesus directs her attention to something even more fundamental. The deepest source of blessedness is not merely physical proximity to him but a response of faith to God’s Word: “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Jesus is not denying the blessing of his mother. Rather, he reveals why Mary is truly blessed. She did not simply give birth to the Son of God; she first received God’s Word in faith and surrendered herself to it: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). The family Jesus establishes is therefore characterized by those who hear God’s Word, welcome it in faith, and allow it to shape their lives.
2. Praise of the Queen Mother: The woman’s words also recognize the extraordinary dignity of Jesus’ mother. If Jesus is the promised Davidic King, then Mary is his royal mother, the Queen Mother of the restored kingdom. In the Davidic monarchy, the king’s mother occupied a position of particular honor. She could sit upon a throne beside her son (1 Kings 2:19), wear a crown (Jeremiah 13:18), and exercise a significant role within the royal court. As Proverbs 31 illustrates, the queen mother could offer counsel to her son concerning justice, the care of the poor, and the responsibilities of kingship. This background helps us appreciate the woman’s exclamation in today’s Gospel. She sees the greatness of Jesus and naturally concludes that the woman who bore and nursed such a Son must be extraordinarily blessed. The Gospel of Luke confirms this insight. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, calls Mary “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43), echoing the language of Israel’s royal tradition. Yet Jesus leads us deeper. Mary’s blessedness does not rest simply on her biological relationship to him. She is blessed because she received God’s Word and faithfully lived according to it. Her royal dignity flows from her faith-filled relationship with the King.
3. A Faithful Disciple: This is why Mary can be understood not only as the Mother of Jesus but also as the model disciple of Christ. As Luke makes clear, the true family of Jesus consists of those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice (see Luke 8:19-21). Mary embodies precisely this kind of discipleship. She heard God’s message through the angel, believed what was spoken to her, and entrusted herself completely to God’s plan. She continued in that faithful response throughout her life, even when following her Son led her to the foot of the Cross. Mary’s discipleship reaches from the Annunciation through the Passion and into the life of the Church. Mary receives God’s Word with faith, perseveres in that faith, and follows her Son even through the suffering surrounding his death. Thus, Mary’s blessedness in Luke 11 is not something Jesus diminishes; it is precisely the kind of blessedness he wants his disciples to understand. Mary is blessed because she heard the Word, believed it, welcomed it, and persevered in living according to it. And Jesus promises that those who remain faithful to him will ultimately share in his reign. The disciples who persevere with him will receive a share in his kingdom (Luke 22:28-30), and those who suffer and die with him will also reign with him (2 Timothy 2:11-12). Mary, having perfectly followed her Son as a faithful disciple, fittingly shares in his glory. We, too, are invited into this same family. We do not belong to Christ merely by association. We become faithful members of his family by hearing his Word, believing it, and putting it into practice. Mary shows us how. Her life teaches us that the path to blessedness begins with a simple response to God: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” If we imitate her humble faith and obedient discipleship, we, too, can hope to share in the Kingdom of her Son.
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 11:27–28
This short Gospel reading reveals much about what makes one “blessed” in life. Specifically, Jesus considers those truly blessed who do two things: “hear the word of God” and then “observe it.” Though this seems quite obvious at first read, it is often harder than it seems.
The first step to a blessed life is hearing the Word of God. To “hear” implies that we do much more than become familiar with the Gospels. Hearing means we are not only aware of all that our Lord has revealed, it also means that we have truly internalized it, understanding all that our Lord requires of us.
Have you heard our Lord? It’s important to understand that the Gospel is alive. In other words, becoming familiar with the Word of God is not the same as reading some ancient book of lessons. Rather, hearing the Word of God means we hear a Person: the Son of God, speaking to us and guiding us each step of our lives. God’s Word is something that must speak to us every moment of every day, inspiring us to do this and avoid that. It is accomplished through a lifelong habit of prayerful communion with our Lord through which we are attentive to His voice always.
Hearing the very Person of the Son of God, the Word made flesh, necessarily implies that we also observe all that He speaks to us. In fact, failure to follow His continuous and gentle command to love will result in us being unable to clearly hear Him at all. We will become confused and will easily become directed by the many other voices in our world, unable to discern the glorious path chosen for us by our Lord.
Reflect, today, upon whether or not you struggle in any way with both hearing and observing the voice of God. If this is your struggle, then recommit yourself to a time of humble and wholehearted discovery. Tell our Lord that you are sorry for not being attentive to Him and set yourself on a mission to seek and find Him. Reject the confusion and anxiety of life, reject the many other voices of “wisdom” within our world, and listen for His gentle but clear voice. He is always speaking. He is always calling you. He is always present. Open the eyes of your soul and give Him your full attention. And when you sense Him speaking to you, respond with the utmost generosity and obedience. Doing so will result in you discovering what it means to be truly blessed by our Lord.
My blessed Lord, You are glorious beyond all things, and You invite me and all Your creatures to share in Your very life. Give me the grace I need to turn from the confusion and deceptions of life so that I will hear only You and respond only to Your voice. I commit myself to Your holy will, dear Lord. As I do, please bestow upon me every blessing You desire to give. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Hearing and Observing the Word of God: Throughout the Gospels, Jesus teaches that he is inaugurating a new family of God and a New Covenant. Much attention was given in the Old Covenant to physical bloodlines. To be an Israelite, you needed to descend from one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The king and future Messiah could only come from the tribe of Judah and the line of David. Priests needed to descend from Aaron. The High Priest needed to descend from Zadok. The woman in the crowd represents the idea that divine blessing was attached to your bloodline. But Jesus teaches that, in the New Covenant, what counts is not your lineage, but your observance of the Word of God. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is blessed because she believed that what was spoken to her from the Lord would be fulfilled. Jesus is not rebutting Mary’s blessedness, but offering her faith, her welcoming of God’s word, and her observance as an example of those who are truly blessed by God.
Bài đọc thứ nhất là một phần của lời cầu nguyện chung của cộng đồng người Do Thái thời kỳ đó. Qua những lời nguyện này dân Do Thái đả được Thiên Chúa Yavê của họ đảm bảo với họ rằng những chiến tranh và đau khổ mà họ đang trải qua sẽ được chấm dứt.
Thiên Chúa đã hứa ban cho họ sự phục hồi trong tương lai. Và chẳng bao lâu nữa, phước lành cuêa Thiên Chúa sẽ tuôn đổ ra trên những người Do Thái và trên xứ sở của họ. Trong thời gian này, lời cầu nguyện của hoọ cũng Thiên Chúa dang tay hành động trừng phạt trên những kẻ thù của Dân Do Thái.
Thiên Chúa Yavê sẽ tập hợp tất cả các quốc gia này để phán xét tại "Thung lũng Giô-sa-phát", ngôn ngữ dược dùng để chỉ đến cụm từ tiếng Do Thái (Hebrew) "sự Phán xét của Thiên Chúa".
Những hình ảnh trong bài đọc này được sử dụng cho sự phán xét của Thiên Chúa Yavê như là hình ảnh của một trận chiến. Các danh từ được dùng liên quan đến việc thu hoạch mùa màng hay đó là hình ảnh trong mùa gặt hái, chẳng hạn như "đặt lưỡi liềm vào" và "đến và bước đi" được sử dụng để xác định cuộc chiến khốc liệt của Thiên Chúa đối với kẻ thù của người Do Thái.
Kết hợp những điều này thì đây là ý tưởng về ngày sắp đến của Thiên Chúa, khi Chúa "rống lên từ Sion" và "làm cho tiếng của Ngài được nghe vang dội từ Jerusalem". Bằng cách này, Thiên Chúa đã bảo đảm với dân Do Thái là sự an toàn của họ khi họ biết rằng Chúa là "Thiên Chúa của họ". Bởi vì như lời hứa của Ngài, Ngài sẽ phục hồi dân tộc Do Thái dân riêng của Ngài.
Với sự trở lại của Chúa Jêsus, lời hứa với người Do Thái đã được Thiên Chúa thực sự đã được thực hiện.
Khi một người phụ nữ trong đám đông kêu lên với sự ngưỡng mộ của bà đối với những việc làm và trí tuệ của Chúa Giêsu bằng cách khen ngợi người mẹ, người đã mang Ngài vào thế giới của chúng ta, Chúa Giêsu nhắc cho bà ta và tất cả chúng ta là sự may mắn và phúc lành thật sự đến trong việc nghe lời Chúa và giữ biết giữ lời Chúa . Sau cùng, phước lành và sự an toàn của chúng ta không phải được bắt nguồn từ nơi con người, mà được đến từ nơi Thiên Chúa Yavê.
REFLECTION Saturday 27th Ordinary Time
The passage in the first reading is part of Jewish communal prayer of that period. Through it, the people are assured that the sufferings undergone by them will come to an end. God has promised them a future restoration. Soon, new blessings will pour forth on the people and on the land. At this point, the prayer also invokes God’s action on the enemies of Israel. God will assemble all these nations for judgement at the “Valley of Jehoshaphat”, a term connected with the Hebrew phrase “Yahweh judges”.
With the coming of Jesus, God’s promise to Israel has indeed come to fulfillment. When a woman in the crowd cries out her admiration for Jesus' deeds and wisdom by praising the mother who had brought him into the world, Jesus reminds her that true blessedness comes from hearing the word of God and in keeping it.
Ultimately, our blessings and security come not from human sources, but from God Himself.
Now we can give thanks to our Lord Jesus for helping us depend on Him alone because He is God Himself..
Vì điều này mà mọi người chúng ta được mời gọi ngợi khen Thiên Chúa là Đấng trung thành với lời hứa của Ngài, vì Ngài đã hành động và đưa dân Ngài về đất hứa của họ. Không có gì ngạc nhiên trong đoạn Tin Mừng hôm nay khi Chúa Giêsu, đáp lại lời khen ngợi của người phụ nữ, khen ngợi cho người mẹ của Ngài, người đã đưa Ngài vào thế giới của chúng ta. Nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã chỉ chúng ta biết là chỉ có hạnh phúc thực sự không phải là do những mối quan hệ vật chất, nhưng là do những mối quan hệ tinh thần mà tất cả chúng ta cùng chia sẻ với Thiên Chúa và với nhau qua việc chúng ta biết nghe và giữ lời của Chúa. Lạy Chúa chúng con cảm ơn Ngài vì đã cgo con được làm con của Chúa.
Paul’s writing, in today’s passage from the letter to the Galatians, is in response to the question asked by some Jews, “If Jesus Christ is God’s revelation, why then do we have the Torah?” To the Jews, God’s revelation is found in the Torah. Paul’s answer is that the Torah is likened to a ‘disciplinarian’ in a school. It was his or her task to make sure the children went to school, paid attention to the lessons, and where necessary, to discipline them in order to protect them physically and morally. Like the discipline teacher, the Torah provided discipline and restraint for the people of Israel. That is, until Christ came and made authentic self-discipline and self-control possible. Through Christ, the people are no longer children under a ‘disciplinarian’, but have become children of God by faith. Now, there are no differences among them, regardless their backgrounds, since they are all gathered together as one in Christ. Today’s psalm takes up the idea of the descendants Abraham and Jacob being gathered by God.
Father, thank You for making me Your child.
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