Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
What does it mean to be a Christian? Many people say being a Christian means that they believe in Jesus- and this is true, but there is so much more. Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that “those who hear the word of God and observe it” are in fact the ones that are blessed. It is through our living that we most profoundly demonstrate that we are Christians- or disciples of Jesus.
In the gospel reading today, a woman interrupts Jesus and exclaims, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” As Catholics we have deep love and respect for Mary and her role in saying “yes” to God to become the mother of Jesus. Jesus response claiming that being blessed comes from hearing the word of God and observing it, may seem almost harsh, but I wonder if the comment is made to give it even greater significance. I believe that Jesus had great love and respect for His mother. In no way is Jesus trying to degrade the importance of Mary in His life, but it seems that Jesus wants to expand His love and blessings to those who choose to follow Him. Jesus is Himself “the Word of God,” and He is calling for all people to hear what He is saying. But even more than that, Jesus invites all people to “observe” what He says. This is more than just paying attention to His words- to observe means to put into action all that Jesus lived and taught as part of His ministry. To become Christian disciples we need to do more than just say we believe- we need to act!
How do we take to heart the words Jesus speaks in today’s gospel? How do we hear the Word of God? If we believe that Jesus is the Word of God, than it is vital that we grow in our relationship with Him. We can do this through prayer, scripture, sacrament and even finding Him in our daily lives. The more we know Jesus, the better we will be able to follow or “observe” his teachings. Living as a disciple is challenging, but we are not expected to do this on our own. God offers us His grace (Holy Spirit) to provide the courage, wisdom, love, mercy and peace to put Jesus’ words into action. We are also blessed when we have a community of believers that can walk with us and support us as we follow along the way.
Observing what Jesus has shown us is more than just going to church on Sunday. Jesus calls us to love all people- this includes family, neighbors, people from our community and people everywhere across the globe. Our commitment to observe the Word of God is a minute by minute decision. Choosing to forgive instead of blame, to find peace instead of anger, to include instead of exclude, and to respect all people and creation- these are just a few of the ways we are called to live. In order to find a way to live in this mindset, it is vital that we constantly turn to God within and listen to His voice. Although living this way is incredibly challenging, each time we choose to follow Christ, we turn our hearts a little closer to being in line with God and His vision for us and His world.
When we live as disciples, then we bring the “Word of God” to our troubled and hurting world. A life of love and mercy is the greatest witness of our faith that allows others to see what it means to be Christian. Madeline L’Engle says it well, “We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” When we observe the word of God we become that light for the world. As disciples of Christ we are called to be that light, and when others join us and together we walk as one in Christ, we will indeed be blessed.
Loving Father, You sent Your Son Jesus to be Your Word. With the grace of Your Spirit, help us to hear and observe all that Jesus calls us to do, so we can be Your holy people and draw others to Your love. We pray this in Christ’s name. AMEN.
- Marylynn Herchline