Luke 11:27-28 “in a snailshell”
Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang
True blessedness lies in hearing and keeping God’s word, as exemplified by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Luke 11:27-28 (RSVCE)
True Blessedness Through Hearing and Keeping
The Blessed Virgin Mary is the first of all those who “hear the word of God and keep it.” Hearing and keeping (obeying) go hand in hand in Biblical tradition, from Abraham and Moses to the prophets and Jesus Christ:
…Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Genesis 26:5 (RSV)
Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 12:28 (NKJV)
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.
Luke 8:15 (NABRE)
The Shema Prayer
The first part of the Shema (“hear”) prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 shaped the daily life of Jesus and Mary:
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.
In a conversation with a scribe, Jesus taught that the Shema contains the command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Mark 12:31). Love of God and love of neighbor sum up the Law and the Prophets.
Like Mother, Like Children
To hear is to keep, and to keep is to love. By nurturing the word in the heart, we become like the Blessed Virgin Mary carrying the Word in her womb, bringing the divine life within to fruition.
Blessed children of the Blessed Mother
Hear and keep the word of Christ their brother.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《真正的福氣》
有福母親的有福孩子們
聆聽並遵行他們兄弟基督的話。
Related posts:
The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Sower Explained
Prayer to the Sower
The Greatest Commandment
The Hallmark of Christ’s Family
As the Franciscans say: “Christianity isn’t an abstract philosophy. It’s a complete way of life.” I love the way you remind us of that in your reflection. Thank you, GMC.